FLEX! Foreign Language Experience Program

FLEX!
Foreign Language Experience Program

Registration deadline is January 29, 2010.

Spring classes will begin in late February at many area schools. Please check course offerings to see which schools will be offering this exciting program in the spring.

Flex for Elementary Students

While the first letter in FLEX stands for "foreign", we like to say it stands for "Fun!"

As parents and educators in today's multi-cultural society, we realize that a foreign language component in the education of our children is essential. This type of instruction can directly influence children's attitudes toward future learning opportunities, and it can lead to a fuller understanding and appreciation of cultures other than their own. Research has shown that children who have studied foreign language in elementary school show greater cognitive development and tend to score higher on standardized tests.

This program has been developed with these important concepts in mind and will provide your child with a highly positive experience in his or her "first try" at learning a foreign language. It will provide a rich, multi-sensory, second language environment that takes advantage of your child's energy, curiosity, and natural ability to acquire language. In a relaxed atmosphere, students will begin to develop listening and speaking skills along with word recognition skills. Additionally, children in the upper grades will begin to work on word recognition skills. As language is the expression of culture, cross cultural education will be integrated throughout the course of study.

The program will be organized around the following objectives:

To recognize and be able to reproduce the sounds of the language
To respond to and offer greetings
To recognize and be able to say numbers in different ranges according to course level
To carry out directive statements from the teacher in the target language
To learn to orally identify vocabulary words from such topics as: colors, animals, weather, body parts, clothing, food, family, community workers, everyday objects
To understand and give answers to simple questions relating to themselves such as name, age, etc.
To sing songs, play games and engage in a wide variety of activities in the target language
To identify the countries in which the target language is spoken
To explore cultural similarities and differences via discussions of customs, traditions, holidays, the family unit, etc.

Location: Classes are held on site at your school.