Foreign Language after school program at ES in MCPS?

[Anonymous]

has anyone had their DC do the after school program, FLES for foreign languages in MCPS ES? If so, what were your thoughts? TIA

[Anonymous]

We did the Big Learning Spanish one at our school. DD has done it for two years.

She's not learning any fluent Spanish. We just do it because I figure it's good exposure to a second language since they don't offer it in ES. It's not that expensive, and it's convenient because it's right at the school. And, DD likes the teacher.

[Anonymous]

We did FLES for Spanish and I was frankly super disappointed. The spent a whole quarter on one fairy tale - like Little Red Riding Hood and it was so drawn out and boring and my DS quit. I understand they are trying to revamp the program but it was really lame, they did a lot of coloring, and moved so slowly that it was just really hard to be engaged. Maybe it's hard to teach a language one hour a week - I think languages should be taught in public school much younger and FLES is just not a substitute for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did FLES for Spanish and I was frankly super disappointed. The spent a whole quarter on one fairy tale - like Little Red Riding Hood and it was so drawn out and boring and my DS quit. I understand they are trying to revamp the program but it was really lame, they did a lot of coloring, and moved so slowly that it was just really hard to be engaged. Maybe it's hard to teach a language one hour a week - I think languages should be taught in public school much younger and FLES is just not a substitute for that.

I'm the PP who also did FLES Spanish.

Agree that they did a lot of coloring, which wasn't thrilling. But, I will say that my kid did learn the colors in Spanish that way in K! It does move slow, but I do think it's hard (impossible!) to teach a language one hour a week in school.

And, I completely agree that they should just add languages to every ES, instead of just the immersion programs. If they makes kids take it in MS, it's silly not to start them young, when it's easier to learn.

I'm hoping to stick with FLES, just in case it helps DD out when she gets to MS. At least she'll have been exposed to some Spanish words/pronunciations.

[Anonymous]

PP again -

They also send a link to a website that you can access if you do FLES. So, if you know Spanish, or can help your kid, you can definitely supplement at home.

[Anonymous]

Have never done FLES but was thinking about it. Thank you for sharing. It doesn't sound very good. DC and her classmates learned like 10 colors in Spanish in pre-K just from his teacher saying them a few times during circle time and this was a play-based school where they didn't really have academics. If I had paid their high fees to have my child learn colors I would be pretty upset.

Anonymous wrote:

I'm the PP who also did FLES Spanish.

Agree that they did a lot of coloring, which wasn't thrilling. But, I will say that my kid did learn the colors in Spanish that way in K! It does move slow, but I do think it's hard (impossible!) to teach a language one hour a week in school.

And, I completely agree that they should just add languages to every ES, instead of just the immersion programs. If they makes kids take it in MS, it's silly not to start them young, when it's easier to learn.

I'm hoping to stick with FLES, just in case it helps DD out when she gets to MS. At least she'll have been exposed to some Spanish words/pronunciations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have never done FLES but was thinking about it. Thank you for sharing. It doesn't sound very good. DC and her classmates learned like 10 colors in Spanish in pre-K just from his teacher saying them a few times during circle time and this was a play-based school where they didn't really have academics. If I had paid their high fees to have my child learn colors I would be pretty upset.

Anonymous wrote:

I'm the PP who also did FLES Spanish.

Agree that they did a lot of coloring, which wasn't thrilling. But, I will say that my kid did learn the colors in Spanish that way in K! It does move slow, but I do think it's hard (impossible!) to teach a language one hour a week in school.

And, I completely agree that they should just add languages to every ES, instead of just the immersion programs. If they makes kids take it in MS, it's silly not to start them young, when it's easier to learn.

I'm hoping to stick with FLES, just in case it helps DD out when she gets to MS. At least she'll have been exposed to some Spanish words/pronunciations.

I'm the PP - you're definitely right, that they could be doing more. I think the program could be better, but I'm not willing to travel elsewhere to expose my kid to another language, so we stick with it.

Though, I'm probably doing it a disservice by my description! My kid did learn more than just colors. Like the other PP said, they do learn a fairy tale - once it was Little Red Riding Hood, another was Three Little Pigs. And, they repeat each lesson from week to week. Also they did greetings, etc.

[Anonymous]

I think some of this really comes down to what your goal is for your kid. If you're going for fluency, then a lot more support is likely needed. I the best outcomes it's likely a augment to at home activities. For us we use structured classes as more support to in home activities such as speaking at home in the FL, music, video (tv, movies) etc. It certainly isn't the end all.

[Anonymous]

We did it one year with my older DD and it was a waste of her time. She learned more Spanish from Dora and Diego.

[Anonymous]

We did FLES one year and I am sorry to say it was a terrible experience (put my kid off learning spanish for several years).

I think we had a bad teacher, but also the approach seemed to be "immersion" (i.e. no english) which I think is hard, or at least hard without a good teacher, for the amount of time they had.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did FLES one year and I am sorry to say it was a terrible experience (put my kid off learning spanish for several years).

I think we had a bad teacher, but also the approach seemed to be "immersion" (i.e. no english) which I think is hard, or at least hard without a good teacher, for the amount of time they had.

I am a parent who took FLES as a child. The program has not changed significantly since we were kids. The "immersion" approach is deliberate and most appropriate, especially for little kids. The class is designed to mimic the way children learn a language naturally -- you don't get a vocabulary list of English and French words, you learn these words as a parent reads to you and points to pictures in a book. You learn the word "ball" when a person throws a ball at you while saying the word, etc.

As an adult, besides English and my FLES language (French), I now speak 3 other languages (to different degrees). Several of these other languages I completed at a university level higher than my FLES language. Some of these languages I learned while living for years in a foreign country, whereas I never spent more than a week or two of vacation in a French-speaking region. None of the other non-FLES languages do I speak with such fluency as I do my FLES language. It is still, to this day, 40 years later, the only language in which I can think and speak directly in the FLES language without having to think in English first and then translate. It is the only language in which I can listen to someone speak and still understand what they said, without asking them to pause for me to translate into English in my head. It is the only language, besides my native English, in which I can conduct simultaneous oral translation (into or out of). I cannot translate between any of my other languages without first going thru English. My FLES language is even the only foreign language I occasionally dream in!

There is something unique about learning a language in an immersion environment at a young age. I didn't like getting up early before school, but I'm grateful my parents made me do it.

Because I could see the BIG impact FLES had in my life, I ran the after school FLES program for awhile at my school. The curriculum is developmentally appropriate. Yes, it's true, like any school environment, some teachers are better than others, but ALL of the teachers I met were fluent native speakers. The program does vary a little bit with the "story telling" curriculum geared more toward K and 1st grade, and the "class environment being more appropriate for 2nd or 3rd grade and up and focusing on "units" like numbers, colors, personal descriptions, school, home, work, travel, interests, etc.

You can help your child a lot by explaining that it is OK to be confused in class, that they didn't understand what people were saying to them as babies either, and it's taken them all this time to learn, so it will take awhile in the target language. It's a different experience than "School", in that even though there is no "explanation" in English, there are also no "tests," so they shouldn't feel anxious. Just pay attention to what sounds the teacher makes and try to match them with pictures, actions, etc.

Also, some kids (like me) are more word-oriented learners and by year 3 I think, FLES kids start learning to read. That can really help solidify the phrases they're hearing into individual words. But, reading and the written word are not introduced sooner because it's not developmentally appropriate and would turn the language learning experience into one that is really more akin to the "vocabulary list/translation" style of language education. This latter approach really doesn't foster true fluency.

FLES is not enough that your child is likely to begin their MS language at an advanced level (although a few who took FLES for 3-4 years could try something other than first semester or first year). FLES is only once a week, after all. BUT, for me, even though I didn't start "really taking" my FLES language until MS, once I did begin, the degree to which my language was able to develop was quite different than many students who didn't have the previous exposure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did FLES one year and I am sorry to say it was a terrible experience (put my kid off learning spanish for several years).

I think we had a bad teacher, but also the approach seemed to be "immersion" (i.e. no english) which I think is hard, or at least hard without a good teacher, for the amount of time they had.

I am a parent who took FLES as a child. The program has not changed significantly since we were kids. The "immersion" approach is deliberate and most appropriate, especially for little kids. The class is designed to mimic the way children learn a language naturally -- you don't get a vocabulary list of English and French words, you learn these words as a parent reads to you and points to pictures in a book. You learn the word "ball" when a person throws a ball at you while saying the word, etc.

As an adult, besides English and my FLES language (French), I now speak 3 other languages (to different degrees). Several of these other languages I completed at a university level higher than my FLES language. Some of these languages I learned while living for years in a foreign country, whereas I never spent more than a week or two of vacation in a French-speaking region. None of the other non-FLES languages do I speak with such fluency as I do my FLES language. It is still, to this day, 40 years later, the only language in which I can think and speak directly in the FLES language without having to think in English first and then translate. It is the only language in which I can listen to someone speak and still understand what they said, without asking them to pause for me to translate into English in my head. It is the only language, besides my native English, in which I can conduct simultaneous oral translation (into or out of). I cannot translate between any of my other languages without first going thru English. My FLES language is even the only foreign language I occasionally dream in!

There is something unique about learning a language in an immersion environment at a young age. I didn't like getting up early before school, but I'm grateful my parents made me do it.

Because I could see the BIG impact FLES had in my life, I ran the after school FLES program for awhile at my school. The curriculum is developmentally appropriate. Yes, it's true, like any school environment, some teachers are better than others, but ALL of the teachers I met were fluent native speakers. The program does vary a little bit with the "story telling" curriculum geared more toward K and 1st grade, and the "class environment being more appropriate for 2nd or 3rd grade and up and focusing on "units" like numbers, colors, personal descriptions, school, home, work, travel, interests, etc.

You can help your child a lot by explaining that it is OK to be confused in class, that they didn't understand what people were saying to them as babies either, and it's taken them all this time to learn, so it will take awhile in the target language. It's a different experience than "School", in that even though there is no "explanation" in English, there are also no "tests," so they shouldn't feel anxious. Just pay attention to what sounds the teacher makes and try to match them with pictures, actions, etc.

Also, some kids (like me) are more word-oriented learners and by year 3 I think, FLES kids start learning to read. That can really help solidify the phrases they're hearing into individual words. But, reading and the written word are not introduced sooner because it's not developmentally appropriate and would turn the language learning experience into one that is really more akin to the "vocabulary list/translation" style of language education. This latter approach really doesn't foster true fluency.

FLES is not enough that your child is likely to begin their MS language at an advanced level (although a few who took FLES for 3-4 years could try something other than first semester or first year). FLES is only once a week, after all. BUT, for me, even though I didn't start "really taking" my FLES language until MS, once I did begin, the degree to which my language was able to develop was quite different than many students who didn't have the previous exposure.

I'm 13:59. Thank you for posting about your experience. It's how I feel about FLES, but was not able to articulate that!

I didn't grow up here, but did start taking French through a special program in ES in 3rd grade. It was similarly only once a week, and I continued on through HS. And, then took Spanish in college. I think the experience of starting to learn a second language earlier (rather than later) was definitely beneficial to me.

Glad to hear you had a positive experience, and it helps validate my choice to make my own kid get up early to do it also!

[Anonymous]

I am 12:04 and I can tell you that when I was a kid I went to a dual language school where we were in immersion for several hours each day so I can certainly appreciate the benefits of that approach. However, I think it's a real stretch to consider a class that occurs once a week for an hour to be an "immersion environment" regardless of how much English is or is not used in it, and I also think it's not obvious that treating it as if it is one is necessarily the most developmentally appropriate approach.

I can't speak to the experience of others, but I can tell you that my kid was happy to learn languages when we traveled or in other classes we took, but was absolutely miserable in FLES. The teacher may well have been a native speaker, but it is unclear if she had any pedagogical training at all-- I think she actually used a dunce cap in class.

[Anonymous]

Just one more point-- it gives me no joy to complain about FLES. We tried for the lottery for immersion and it pains me that it is so difficult to get foreign language instruction in lower grades. It's because I know how much easier a language is when you start it early that we signed up for FLES and I hope others have a better experience than we did, but I felt I should share ours as well.

[Anonymous]

I definitely wish we had foreign language instruction more readily available in ES, but since it's not, FLES is the best option for us for now. I figure it's better than nothing!