Threats and Strategies to Counter Threats: Voices of Elementary School Foreign Language Learniers

The experience described by Kay Hoag, Advocacy Chair of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL), exemplifies the threat of program elimination and/or cutbacks that elementary school foreign language programs across the nation experienced with increased frequency during the 2002-2003 academic year. Reports of these threats concerned the co-chairs of the Special Interest Group on Foreign Languages in the Elementary School (FLES SIG) sponsored by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). In response, they proposed a panel discussion on the topic as a conference session for the 2003 ACTFL annual meeting. To prepare for and enrich the panel discussion by providing a voice for those directly affected, a survey was designed to gather the stories of teachers who had experienced threats to their own elementary school foreign language programs. The survey also asked respondents to describe strategies they had found to be effective in countering threats. Additionally, respondents were asked to consider whether national organizations could provide support helpful in meeting the challenges faced by local programs. This article presents the results of the survey, and discusses their implications for action.