¡Bienvenidos!
Welcome to Gig Harbor Academy’s Spanish Homepage
Señora Agee y Señora Wider
Welcome to Gig Harbor Academy’s Spanish Homepage
Señora Agee y Señora Wider
Mission Statement:
Our mission is to prepare students to participate in local and global communities with an international mindset. We believe that in a world shaped by global politics and economics, global literacy cannot exist without modern language and culture instruction. The study of world languages and cultures enriches and enhances lifelong learning experiences and achievements, while promoting greater intellectual development.
Why is a foreign language so important?
Early Language Learning Studies show that when children begin studying a foreign language in elementary school, they have a higher chance of developing a high level of foreign language proficiency as they progress in their studies compared to students who began learning a language in the post elementary years. Studies have also demonstrated that elementary school learners not only benefit in their linguistic abilities but also their cognitive and creative abilities. Martha G. Abbott [1], Director of Education for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), states that “it is critical that foreign language instruction be available to all students throughout their PK-12 academic experience. According to Abbott, the advantage for younger learners is that “they have the ability to mimic closely the native pronunciation and intonation of a new language. Abbott further states that in addition “literacy skills that are being developed in the native language transfer to the learning of the new language.”
Likewise, according to Therese Sullivan Caccavale, President of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL), children who learn a foreign language beginning in early childhood demonstrate certain cognitive advantages over children who do not.
Brain Research Findings Brain research on foreign language learning commonly shares the theme that “the younger the individual is when he/she is exposed to a new language, the greater the probability of acquiring native pronunciation as well as proficiency in that language. One researcher Begley (1966) lends further support to this theory by stating that the learning window for total language learning is form birth to ten years of age and that the critical periods for language learning close with each child’s passing birthday.
UCLA Professor of Linguistics, endorsing the theory of the critical period for learning states that after this critical period, the brain “becomes slowly less plastic, so that by the time the child reaches adolescence the brain cannot normally develop any new cognitive system, including language (“Language Learning and the Developing Brain”, 1996). The early language acquisition “window of opportunity” when the brain is particularly efficient in learning theory is strongly supported by others like Chugani (1966).
Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/education/languages/articles/99504.aspx#ixzz1AnDZSEtU
Early Language Learning Studies show that when children begin studying a foreign language in elementary school, they have a higher chance of developing a high level of foreign language proficiency as they progress in their studies compared to students who began learning a language in the post elementary years. Studies have also demonstrated that elementary school learners not only benefit in their linguistic abilities but also their cognitive and creative abilities. Martha G. Abbott [1], Director of Education for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), states that “it is critical that foreign language instruction be available to all students throughout their PK-12 academic experience. According to Abbott, the advantage for younger learners is that “they have the ability to mimic closely the native pronunciation and intonation of a new language. Abbott further states that in addition “literacy skills that are being developed in the native language transfer to the learning of the new language.”
Likewise, according to Therese Sullivan Caccavale, President of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL), children who learn a foreign language beginning in early childhood demonstrate certain cognitive advantages over children who do not.
Brain Research Findings Brain research on foreign language learning commonly shares the theme that “the younger the individual is when he/she is exposed to a new language, the greater the probability of acquiring native pronunciation as well as proficiency in that language. One researcher Begley (1966) lends further support to this theory by stating that the learning window for total language learning is form birth to ten years of age and that the critical periods for language learning close with each child’s passing birthday.
UCLA Professor of Linguistics, endorsing the theory of the critical period for learning states that after this critical period, the brain “becomes slowly less plastic, so that by the time the child reaches adolescence the brain cannot normally develop any new cognitive system, including language (“Language Learning and the Developing Brain”, 1996). The early language acquisition “window of opportunity” when the brain is particularly efficient in learning theory is strongly supported by others like Chugani (1966).
Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/education/languages/articles/99504.aspx#ixzz1AnDZSEtU
