Keep the Georgia Elementary Foreign Languages Model Program!!!

Issue

• Elimination of funding for Georgia Elementary School Foreign Languages Model

Rationale

• Prepare Georgia’s students to be competitive in the 21^st century.  It is also a matter of national security

History

• The innovative Georgia Elementary School Foreign Languages Model (GA ESFL) began in 1992 in 15 school systems across Georgia.
• Participating schools were selected based on a competitive application process within in each congressional district.
• In 1997, new schools joined GA ESFL to replace those that had discontinued the program.
• In 2000, all schools that wished to continue had to reapply and be evaluated based on their success and commitment to the program.
• Currently, some of the original programs are still in existence while some began in 1997 and others began in 2000.

About Georgia's Program

• Participating schools provide 30 minutes of daily instruction in French, German, Japanese or Spanish to ALL students in grades Kindergarten through Fifth Grade.  Trained foreign language teachers provide this instruction based on the foreign language Quality Core Curriculum.

What We Know About Foreign Language Learning

• Foreign language enhances overall cognitive development.
• Foreign language builds self-esteem, thinking skills, math ability and an appreciation of different cultures.
• The earlier children begin to acquire a second language, the easier it is for them.
• Students who study at least three years of a foreign language score higher on the SAT nationally and even higher in Georgia and regardless of other factors, students taking a foreign language score better on standardized tests.

Georgia's Model Works!

The Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) has studied Georgia's model for several years:

• GEORGIA IS NUMBER ONE IN THE NATION!  Student achievement in the GA ESFL exceeds performance of any known results in similar U.S. program in areas of Oral Fluency and Listening Comprehension. (2001 Report)
• A substantial percentage of students in the GA ESFL Model exceed expectations in their ability to comprehend and speak the language at third and fifth grade levels. (1998 Report)
• CAL described the GA ESFL Model as “a state of the art model within field of foreign language,” and “excellent by any measure…continuous renewal of curriculum and professional development…of a high quality.”

Cost

• The total cost of the program is $2.1 million.
• $2.1 million represents less than 1/100^th of a percent of the total education budget ($17 billion).
• Local school systems contribute as much as 50% of the total cost of the ESFL Model Program in their respective districts.

Georgia coalition on Language Learning was created to support long sequences of Foreign Language for Georgia’s students.  For information and updates, please check the website.