Schools Try Elementary Approach To Teaching Foreign Languages

At Wolftrap Elementary School in Vienna, Sam and his classmates started learning Mandarin last year. They made dumplings and read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" in Chinese.

"It's good because when you go to that country or something you'll already know how to talk to people there," Sam explained. "I can count to 100: y i , er , san , si , wu , liu , qi , ba , jiu , shi . . . "

Sam's not thinking of job prospects just yet, but his mother is.

"China is quickly becoming a dominant player in the world economy, and I want my child prepared for that," said Claire Hassett, a director of product marketing for Verizon Business. "There are a lot of countries not as rich as ours that are teaching their children a second language. I feel it's smart public policy."

So does Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), who pushed for $200,000 in federal funding for Sam's class and a second Chinese language program for elementary students in Fairfax. And in January, President Bush -- citing the need for more speakers of so-called critical languages, including Chinese, Arabic and Russian -- proposed the National Security Language Initiative, a $114 million effort to support language instruction for children and adults.

"I think it's absolutely necessary for our country for trade but also national security," Wolf said.

Still, a shift toward adding foreign language for the youngest students is not easy. School systems are already required by the federal No Child Left Behind law to improve student achievement on math and reading tests. That makes it hard to find time to teach Italian, French or Arabic. Schools that have programs can find it difficult to hire qualified teachers. Plus, adding a program can carry a significant cost.

In Montgomery, a nonprofit group formed by the PTA offers foreign language programs for a fee at most elementary schools before the first bell rings, and about 5,000 children attend each year. Montgomery school board member Stephen N. Abrams (Rockville-Potomac) is a fan of the programs -- his daughters attended -- but he said young students need to concentrate on basics such as arithmetic and reading during the school day.

"Because of leave no child behind, we've decided in terms of curriculum to keep focused," Abrams said. "At least until we get everything done right, I wouldn't want to put another requirement into the day."

Prince George's County school officials expressed similar concerns about starting language instruction in elementary school. They said the district is focusing on expanding language offerings in middle school. This fall, Nicholas Orem Middle School in Hyattsville will offer Italian for the first time.

Arlington schools are fitting in a Spanish pilot program at two elementary schools -- Glebe and Patrick Henry -- by eliminating the traditional early dismissal each Wednesday. Starting in September, students in kindergarten through fifth grade will be taught Spanish for 90 minutes a week.

"The issue that we grappled with were instructional time and resources," said Mark Johnston, assistant superintendent of instruction for Arlington schools.