FLES and Academic Achievement Esther W. Lopato The French Review, Vol. 36, No. 5. (Apr., 1963), pp. 499-507. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0016-111X%28196304%2936%3A5%3C499%3AFAAA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-T The French Review is currently published by American Association of Teachers of French.

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FLES and Academic Achievement by Esther W , L o p t o

A

SURVEY OF RECENT LITERATURE in the field of foreign language study has revealed that foreign language training in the United States is viewed by diplomats, military strategists, and educators, as inadequate to meet this country's needs in international re1ations.l American training in foreign languages compares unfavorably with European training in general, and with Soviet training in particular. Since World War I1 there has been an increased interest in foreign language training at the elementary school level, so much so that FLES (foreign language in elementary schools) programs are spreading too rapidly to be adequately staffed by trained language teachers. Existing programs report favorable results and enthusiastic approval of parentteacher groups. There is a difference of opinion as to the selection of students for foreign language study. One faction considers that this type of training should be reserved for gifted children; another faction urges that bright, not necessarily gifted, children receive this training. Still another faction maintains that this training should be made available to all children. There have been reports of success with children of different intellectual levels in existing programs. Neurologists2 have stressed the plasticity and adaptability of the brain in early childhood for learning foreign languages. Psychologists3 maintain that developmentally the most 1 Lopato, E. W., An Experiment to Determine the Effect of Learning Conoersationul French on Academic Aclziecement of Third Grade Children. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. New York University, School of Education, New York, 1961. A complete bibliography is included. 2 Penfield, W., " A Consideration of tfle Neuro-Physiological Mechanisms of Speech and Some Educational Consequences," Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, LXXXII (February, 1953), 199-214. Penfield, W. and Roberts, L., Speech and Bruin-Mechanisms (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1959 ) . 3 Boehm, L., "Age and Foreign Language Learning," lllodern Language Journal, XLIII (January, 1959), 32-33. Hildreth, G., "Learning a Foreign Language," French Reuiew, XXXI (February, 1958 ), 307-316.

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opportune time for foreign language learning is in the early childhood years. Language experts are practically unanimous in their agreement that the aural-oral method is the preferred one for early foreign language training. In the literature, at least, the proponents of elementary school foreign language training greatly outnumber the opponents. However, researchers, in reviewing the existing literature related to the study of foreign languages in the elementary grades, have emphasized the lack of objective studies evaluating the existing program^.^ The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether a regular third grade class in a public elementary school could achieve satisfactory results in a program in beginning conversational French, without adversely affecting achievement in the existing curriculum. The research population consisted of two third grade classes in a New York City (Bayside, Queens) public school, and two third grade classes in a suburban metropolitan New York (Valley Stream, L.I.) public school. The total number of students involved was 114. In each school there was an experimental class which received approximately fifteen minutes of French instruction daily, and a control class which did not receive such instruction. The French instruction was aural-oral in nature, no written French being presented at any time. The lesson plans were formulated in accordance with the needs, interests and environment of the children. The experimental and control groups in each school were equated for grade placement, age, intelligence, and socio-economic status. The distribution of I.Q.'s for the various groups was as follows: Valley Stream Groups: Experimental Group Mean 1.Q.-107.5 Range- 91 to 126 Control Group Mean 1.Q.-104.7 Range- 85 to 124 Bayside Groups: Experimental Group Mean 1.Q.-115.3 Range- 96 to 136 Control Group Mean 1.Q.-115.6 Range-100 to 139 I.Q.'s for the entire population ranged from 85 to 139. Hobbs, N., "'Child Development and Language Learning," School and Society, 78 (July, 1953), 17-26. 4 Justman, J, and Nass, M. L., "The High School Achievement of Pupils Who Were and Were Not Introduced to a Foreign Language in Elementary School," Modern Language Journal, XL ( March, 1956), 120-123. Kaulfers, W. V., "Foreign Languages," Reoiew of Education Research, XXV (April, 1955), 154-165.

FLES AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

501

The teachers of the experimental and control classes in each school were equated as closely as possible in terms of training, experience, and their superiors' judgments of their ability. The French instruction was carried on by the classroom teacher in each experimental class. Both teachers were fluent in French. One had learned French as a child in France; the other had studied French under native French teachers in high school and college in the United States. The duration of the experiment was one school year from September, 1959, to June, 1960. All sections of the Stanford Achievement Test, Elementary Battery, Form J, were administered at the beginning of the year to all classes, and an alternate form of the same test, Form K, was administered at the end of the school year to determine the achievement gain for the year in the prescribed curriculum for all groups. Tape recordings of each child in the experimental classes were made, representing unrehearsed French conversation between each child and the teacher. These tape recordings were evaluated on a five point rating scale, ranging from poor to excellent, for comprehension, fluency, and pronunciation, by a panel of three French language specialists, who were experienced, licensed French teachers. The children were also rated at the end of the year by their teachers, using the same scale. Copies of the teachers' unit plans, too, were presented to the judges for evaluation with respect to the selection of subject matter and the extent of coverage, i.e., the amount of material presented. The findings of the investigation are summarized as follows: 1. Both experimental groups made satisfactory progress in their French studies according to the judgments of the teachers and the judges. Comprehension was considered more highly developed than fluency and pronunciation, but this would be anticipated in view of the fact that a limited vocabulary is drilled repeatedly in order to develop fluency and pronunciation. 2. The pronunciation and fluency of the children in the experimental classes were considered by the judges to be superior to the results generally achieved with average high school students with an equivalent number of hours of instruction. However, although young children are reputed to have better powers of mimicry than adolescents and adults, the judges' and the teachers' ratings showed sufficient variability in pronunciation from one child to another to indicate that this superior ability at mimicry does not produce universally excellent results. Performance in pronunciation, although generally considered at a higher level than that obtained with high school students, still indicates a wide range of ability.

FRENCH REVIEW

TABLE I

Experimental groupgain for year Average reading Average arithmetic Spelling Language

Difference

between

mean

S.D. gains t Score

groupgain for year

Mean

S.D."

hlean

1.0 1.2 1.7 1.4

.81 .29 .54 1.48

.8 .6 1.8 1.3

.69 .36 .58 1.10

.2 .6 .1 .1

1.05 7.50" .71 .29

* Standard Deviation.

*' Significant at better than the .O1 level of confidence.

TABLE I1 STANFORD ACHIEVEMENT TEST FOR THE SCHOOLYEAR VALLEYSTREAM Experimental groupgain for year Average reading Average arithmetic Spelling Language

Difference between

group-gain for year

Mean

S.D.

Mean

1.4 1.5 1.6 2.4

.48 .51 .52 1.50

1.2 .8 1.2 1.7

S.D.

mean gains

t Score

.2 .7 .4 .7

1.54 5.80' 2.83' 1.67

.46 .35 .38 1.43

* Significant at better than the .O1 level of confidence.

TABLE I11 FRENCH ACHIEVEMENT BAYSIDEEXPERIMENTAL GROUP

Comprehension Fluency Pronunciation

Poor

Fair

Good

Very Good

Excellent

7.5% 10.8% 3.2%

17.2% 18.2% 21.5%

22.4% 29.1% 32.3%

26.9% 30.2% 29.1%

25.8% 11.8% 13.9%

FLES AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

TABLE IV

DISTRIEIUTION OF THE MEANSOF THE JUDGES' RATINGS OF

FRENCH ACHIEVEMENT VALLEYSTREAM GROUP EXPERIMENTAL Poor Comprehension Fluency Pronunciation

2.7% 2.7% 6.7%

Fair

Good

Very Good

Excellent

9.3% 9.3% 16.0%

8.0% 33.3% 49.3%

44.0% 45.3% 21.3%

36.0% 9.37% 6.7%

3. The correlation between achievement in the prescribed curriculum and achievement in French for the Valley Stream group ( T = .81) supports the reports of other investigators that there is a positive relationship between general achievement and achievement in French. However, in the Bayside group, the T of .39, while positive is relatively low. 4. In achievement in the regular curriculum, the Stanford Achievement Tests revealed the following results: ( a ) For the Valley Stream group there was no significant difference in achievement for the year between experimental and control groups in Average Reading and Language. There were differences in favor of the experimental group in these two areas but they were not statistically significant. There were statistically significant differences in favor of the experimental group (at better than the .O1 level of confidence) in mean achievement gain for the year in Spelling and Average Arithmetic. ( b ) For the Bayside group there were differences, which were not statistically significant, in mean achievement gain for the school year between the experimental and control groups in Average Reading, Spelling, and Language. In Average Reading and Language the differences were in favor of the experimental group, and in Spelling the difference was in favor of the control group., There was, however, a statistically significant difference in mean achievement gain (at better than the .O1 level of confidence) in Average Arithmetic, the experimental group having achieved a significantly greater mean gain in this area than the control group.

Conclusions

1. The findings of this study indicate that children in a regular third grade class can evidence satisfactory achievement in a program in conversational French, thus supporting the theory of many language experts that this kind of program need not be reserved for gifted children only. The finding of other investigators that there is a positive relationship between general achievement and achievement in French was

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confirmed by an r of .81 in one of the experimental groups. However, in the other experimental group, although the correlation was positive, it was relatively low ( r = .39). 2. The opinion of the judges, that the pronunciation and fluency of the children in the experimental classes is superior to results generally obtained with beginning high school students after an equivalent number of hours of instruction, lends support to the theory that study of a foreign language in the early elementary school years produces results in the spoken language superior to those obtained when the language is begun in high school. However, although the general level of pronunciation is considered superior in the younger children, there is nevertheless variability among the younger students, i.e., the results are not uniformly excellent and indicate rather a wide range of abilities. 3. The results indicate that there was no adverse effect on achievement for the year in the prescribed curriculum by the introduction of the French program. On the contrary, the groups studying French evidenced greater mean achievement gain in seven out of eight instances, with the difference between the groups being statistically significant at better than the .01 level of confidence in three of these seven instances. In the eighth instance the control group evidenced a slight gain over the experimental group but this was not statistically significant. In the judgment of the teachers and the investigator, the advantages in achievement which the experimental groups evidenced were at least in part due to the experimental nature of the program and the high motivational level engendered in these groups.

The results of this study have implications for elementary school teachers, foreign language teachers, school administrators, parents, and teacher training colleges. If elementary school foreign language programs continue to grow as they have in the past decade, and there appears to be every indication that they will, the current shortage of competent language teachers will become more acute as time goes on. There are relatively few universities which have established programs for the training of teachers who are competent in both elementary education and foreign languages. This may be due to the fact that the elementary education and foreign language departments in universities have been very far apart traditionally in education. Before constructive training programs can be instituted, there should be discussions and policy planning by these two departments, which have in the past had very little in common. While

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505

the classroom teacher, if she is fluent in the foreign language, may have advantages of timing and integration over the foreign language specialist, practically speaking it would be very difficult to train a sufficient number of elementary school teachers who would be equipped to teach a foreign language in addition to the regular curriculum. Wherever this can be done, it would appear to be advantageous to do so. It would seem more practical, however, to attempt to train foreign language teachers who could serve as elementary school language specialists, and whose education course sequence in college would stress principles and methods of elementary education instead of secondary education as is now the case. For school administrators, teachers and parents concerned with school curriculum matters, this study and the survey of existing literature indicate that for an elementary school foreign language program to be successful, two conditions should exist. First, teachers who are fully competent in the foreign language must be made available, for the results achieved will be influenced by the ability of the teachers. The extent of the program should, therefore, depend upon the existing supply of competent teachers. Second, the foreign language program should receive the enthusiastic support of the administrators, the teachers, and the parents, for any new idea or method cannot gain impetus and succeed if it is only half-heartedly condoned. The selection of students, too, will depend upon the existing supply of teachers. While this study presents evidence that average classes can achieve satisfactory results in early foreign language study without adverse effect on achievement in other areas of the curriculum, if the supply of teachers is very limited, it would appear to be more practical to restrict the program at first to those students who would be most likely to continue foreign language study in high school. These would most probably be the children with the highest I.Q.'s. Where the supply of teachers is adequate, there is no evidence, on the basis of this study, to indicate that this type of training should not be made available to as many children as possible. While the elementary school foreign language program aids those students who will continue the study of the foreign language in high school, it also provides those children who will not go ahead with the foreign language in high school with an opportunity, which they might not have otherwise, to learn something about a foreign language and culture on an elementary level. One of the problems which emerges when elementary foreign language programs are set up is the question of articulation between elementary school and high school. In some communities there are no special classes in high school for students who have had elementary school foreign language training. Consequently they are placed in a beginning class

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with students who have had no previous foreign language training. More far-sighted communities have set up separate continuing classes in high school for those students who have had previous foreign language instruction. The problem of articulation is one which should be faced before an elementary school foreign language program is started. Similarly, the goals of foreign language study in many instances should be re-evaluated. If the elementary school programs are verbally oriented, and the high school programs stress the written language, the students who receive early aural-oral training may not have sufficient opportunity to develop their verbal skills further in high school. The question of goals and policy requires exploration by all those interested in foreign language programs.

Suggcstio~zsfor Further Research In the course of this study problems have arisen which merit further exploration and which would augment the knowledge which has been accumulated in the area of foreign language study in the elementary schools. The following suggestions are presented in order to direct investigators interested in the problems raised by this study: 1. A basic weakness of this study was the difficulty inherent in evaluating French achievement. There are at present no standardized tests for achievement in an aural-oral French program. Kern has constructed a written test which can evaluate only comprehension, but not fluency and pron~nciation.~ The teacher's grades are then, of necessity, highly subjective and consequently involve many variables. Even the final tape recordings, which the investigator considered the only practical solution for the judges' evaluations, have some limitations. All children are not at ease with a microphone. Some of the spontaneity is lost. Comprehension is sometinles evidenced by an expression or gesture more than a word. The construction of suitable achievement tests for FLES programs is both a necessary and quite perplexing research undertaking. 2. Another weakness of the research was the absence of a uniformly accepted curriculum for beginning French in third grade. There are guides which suggest content and units, and these guides are fairly similar from one program to another, i.e., there is fairly general agreement on the kinds of subject matter appropriate for children. However, the question of the quantity of material to be taught had to be estimated by the teachers. There is as yet insufficient data regarding the quantity of material taught in a number of school systems so that one might 5

Kern, E., "FLES Testing." French Review, XXXIII (October, 1959), 45-52.

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507

determine what an adequate curriculum co~sistsof in terms of quantity, just as such information is available with respect to the actual quantity of Arithmetic or Reading to be taught. It is, therefore, suggested that research be undertaken to gather data from as many FLES programs as possible with respect to the actual quantity of material covered in each grade, i.e., the kinds of units studied, methods of approach (songs, plays, number games, projects, etc.), and the approximate vocabulary mastered at each grade level. Averages would then have to be compiled which could be used as a basis for a uniform curriculum guide. 3. In view of the highly experimental nature of this study and its possible effect on motivation in the experimental groups, it would be advisable to repeat the study in schools where foreign language study has been established in the curriculum for some time, and is not an unusual innovation. 4. A study similar to this one should be conducted on a two year basis to determine whether the results achieved would continue or whether the law of diminishing returns would begin to operate after a certain period of time. This might have an important bearing on the selection of students for this type of training. 5. Studies should be undertaken in schools where FLES programs have been in effect for a number of years to determine the long tange advantages of FLES programs. Such studies should, at the termination of the foreign language sequence in high school, compare students who had elementary school foreign language training with those who started their training in high school. However, in contrast to past studies, these students should be compared on both verbal and written aspects of the language and they should be equated for intelligence. 6. There is a need for research in producing suitable recordings for use in FLES programs. There are some good recordings of folk songs available, and some recordings of children's stories which are, for the most part, difficult for the beginning FLES student to understand. Recordings are needed which would present children in simple conversations geared to the elementary vocabulary which is fairly similar in most FLES programs. Education, in any field, is a long range process. This is so as much in foreign languages as in science or mathematics. American educators are beginning to realize what European educators have recognized for a long time, that it takes continuous effort and study for a number of years to acquire an adequate degree of competence in a foreign language.