World Language/English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

Learning a World Language

“American business leaders and policymakers are touting foreign-language proficiency as a necessary tool for maintaining the nation’s global competitiveness and for preparing students to work in the 21st century marketplace.”  Language skills are viewed as essential tools in the global economy.

By the end of Grade 12, Brookfield Public School students will listen, speak, read and write proficiently in at least one language other than English, and will understand the culture(s) of that language.

World Language Program Goals in Brookfield:

As a result of education in Grades K-12, students will:

1. Communicate in at least one language other than English
2. Gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures
3. Make connections with other areas of study and acquire information
4. Understand the nature of language and cultures through comparisons, and
5. Participate in multilingual communities within a variety of contexts

World Language Program & Curriculum Resources:

• World Language Status Report 2012. Prepared for the Connecticut State Department of Education by The Center for World Languages and Cultures. Education Connection: World Language Survey Ct 2012
• K-12 World Language Content Standards
• American Council on the Teacher of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
• The Study of World Language in Connecticut Public Schools on the CSDE
• Alignment of the National Standards for Learning Languages with the Common Core State Standards: Aligning CCSS Language Standards
• Common Core Framework and World Languages: 
  This article champions how world languages support the Common Core standards, and what is needed for the success of these standards as well as success for world languages. The authors’ intent is that the article be useful to all pre-K–16 language educators, and that they share it with their colleagues, administrators, parents, and any stakeholders and decision makers.

Benefits of Studying a World Language:

• 21st Century Skills Map and the study of World Languages
• Developed through a year-long collaborative process, spear-headed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and P21, this map reflects the collective effort of hundreds of World Language teachers and illustrates the integration of World Languages and 21st Century Skills. This map provides educators, administrators and policymakers with concrete examples of how 21st Century Skills can be integrated into core subjects: World Languages Map
• Benefits of Studying a Second Language: Research Findings
• Gray Matter: Why Bilinguals are Smarter from the NY Times, March 18, 2012: Why Bilinguals Are Smarter
• What the Research Shows
• What Does Research Show About The Benefits Of Language Learning?
  In this age of accountability in education, policymakers and administrators, as well as parents, are increasingly demanding to know what research studies show regarding the benefits of language learning.  This document will identify some of the major correlation studies that highlight how language learners benefit from their experiences.

Three Major Areas have been Identified:

1. How does language learning support academic achievement?
2. How does language learning provide cognitive benefits to students?
3. How does language learning affect attitudes and beliefs about language learning and about other cultures?

Elementary Language Learning:

• National Network for Early Language Learning
• Why, How, and When Should My Child Learn a Second Language?