The West Des Moines FLES Program
The West Des Moines FLES (Foreign Language in Elementary School) program began in 1994 with first grade. Since 1999, all students in first through sixth grade receive Spanish instruction during two 30-minute classes each week. These classes are taught almost entirely in Spanish, focusing on the natural theory of language acquisition and Total Physical Response to teach Spanish. It is the goal of the teachers to immerse the students in the language as much as possible. The Spanish teacher uses pictures, songs, games, rhymes, and gestures to help students understand.
The FLES curriculum is an interdisciplinary program based on the regular classroom curriculum, so students have the opportunity to learn about science, math, language arts, and social studies topics in their Spanish class. It is designed to complement and enhance the regular classroom curriculum because the teachers believe that teaching through content is the best and most meaningful way for students to learn the language.
The main focus of the curriculum, however, is communication. Beginning with first grade, students learn to communicate in a practical, conversational manner. Partner gap activities have been incorporated to allow for more creativity in the target language. The ultimate goal is to give students the tools necessary to eventually create their own conversations with little or no teacher guidance. As students progress in language comprehension, reading and writing skills are introduced in a content-related manner. It is very exciting to hear children speaking in and understanding Spanish from a young age.
For more information about the program or to schedule a visit contact:
Dr. Phyllis Staplin, staplinp@wdmcs.org
Tammy Dann, trdann@juno.com.