European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 28, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday october 28, 1991 the stars and stripes education Young tongues wag a auf Deutsch by Jimi Jones education writer Darmstadt Germany a six year Olds Kristina Stewart and Danielle Green and their first Grade classmates skipped around the room As they practice their new song which was geared toward the upcoming spook night. De Kurbis Lanzt Bei  Herum a Jetzt Bleidt or Stern. For the record that san Irmgard Braun original song about pumpkins pieced together for her first Grade pupils at Darmstadt elementary school. The 25 youngsters in Braun a class Are learning German As part of an elementary program for partial language immersion that began this school year at department of defense dependents schools in Europe. Children in Braun a class have half their subjects taught in German. Youngsters in other schools under the Pilot program Are taught in italian French and Spanish for half the Day. The Pilot program features five classes at schools in four countries Darmstadt a first Grade German class a kindergarten Spanish class at Royal Oaks elementary school near Madrid Spain an italian fourth Grade class at Simonella elementary school Italy Ana two French classes at Alconbury elementary school England. By next year school officials Hope to expand the plan that weaves instruction in several languages into the regular curriculum. Althour though final approval for More classes will depend on the Pilot program the partial language immersion plan is part of a growing National focus on Early foreign language training. A a in a partial but i think language is As important As any other subject a said Marv Kurtz language coordinator for military overseas schools. A a it a important for the individual to Lead a Fuller life and its important to our country to have multilingual citizens a Young children listen better Kurtz said. A we Haven to measured but we feel their listening skills Are developed much better because they have to be so attentive to not Only what the teacher is saying but to the actions she is taking to explain what she is  Dodds facilities Are among an increasing number of stateside schools that Are stressing the need to develop language skills in their youngest children. A language immersion is something that is becoming Well known in the United states a said Kurtz who estimated that about 96 . School districts Are using some form of language immersion. A a it a pretty appropriate for us a Kurtz said a a. In that we live in these countries that speak the  a Lack of qualified teachers is the biggest hurdle in expanding the program in the overseas school system Kurtz said. Braun is a native German who taught language immersion classes in Milwaukee for four years before joining Dodds. Kurtz Hopes to find other qualified teachers within the overseas ranks. A school system Survey conducted last year he said found that a number of teachers have some knowledge of another language. Darmstadt elementary a Irmgard Braun reads a Story about a falling Leaf in German to her first Grade class.0" a we do have people who Are bilingual but the More difficult thing will be finding teachers who Are fluent enough to teach the classes. They would have to be pretty near a native speaker at least on an advanced level to be Able to teach an immersion  foreign language instruction in Dodds and other american Public schools overseas is hardly new. The system has schools in 19 countries around the world but foreign languages except for the Low key Host nation program primarily have been offered Only to High school students. Although recommended foreign language courses Are not part of graduation requirements. Americans Are the developed world s most notorious language stumble bums experts say labelled As a group largely unable or unwilling to speak Deutsch or fran cats. But educators and other experts say a compact world and parental concern is changing All that. A we have been rather isolated for a Long time in our history a Kurtz said. A English was the More predominate language the language of the country., the Way. For immigrants who came. To become successful both socially and economically. A parents would not teach their children their own language. That a something that a been revelant in the United states for a Long time. We Are just finally getting Over it and seeing that its important for our country not Only economically but also As a self fulfilling also changing world trends dictate that Young americans be prepared to meet the challenges of a global tomorrow. A the Way the world is moving kids need to be exposed to other languages a said Beth Peris who teaches the Spanish kindergarten class in Spain. A this is part of an education that they Are going to need because the world is getting smaller every Day. English is not necessarily going to be the no. 1 language in 20 years a she said. Parents Are beginning to fear their children will lag behind countries like Japan and others that routinely teach second languages at Early Ages. A Many children Are raised bilingual in Many countries from the Day they Are bom a Kurtz said adding that with the Large number of americans married to foreigners its natural that children grow up being bilingual. And its easier to teach a foreign language to younger children educators said. A they done to even remember when they Learned the language and there was no pain a Kurtz said. A if you wait until High school it s pretty hard work to learn a language. But As a child its part of your experience Ana you grow up with  foreign language instructors agree that Dodds children have one advantage Over youngsters who participate in stateside immersion programs. A total or partial immersion programs in the states done to have the advantage of having that language spoken in the country where they live a Peris said. A its a whole different  language immersion program gets High Marks from educators a amps Oava Camy a poster in Irmgard Braun s classroom urges her first graders to pay attention. By Jimi Jones education writer Darmstadt Germany a foreign language instructors say the partial Lan Sage immersion project is off to a Success-1 Start with pupils doing Well and parents and administrators offering support. A i m amazed at How Well they re responding a Beth Peris said of her Kinder Gart ners. A they Are responding Back in Spanish. They Are not supposed to be doing it quite so soon. In a really  Peris at Royal Oaks elementary school in Spain spends about 45 minutes of her 2v�-Nour kindergarten class in English and then switches to Spanish. She is one of five department of defense dependents schools teachers spearheading the systems partial language immersion program a concept that is spreading in the United states. Roughly 125 students in four countries get math social studies and science lessons in one of four foreign languages. The Pilot program being conducted in Germany Spain England and Italy is the result of a heightened emphasis on foreign language instruction As a tool to broaden horizons for american schoolchildren living overseas. There Are optional High school courses but foreign language has rarely been offered at the elementary level. Marv Kurtz foreign language coordinator for Dodds said that because of a Lack of teachers for the systems Host nation program which provides cultural and minimum language instruction a a. We were looking for other ways to increase language instruction for students. We put a lot of Effort into the Host nation programs but were never Able to get them to work. A Good alternative seemed to be partial  at Alconbury elementary school in England Danielle Lajoy and Joan White teach fourth and fifth Grade French. Lajoy said Alconbury a a program is different from the others having evolved from a program she started last year. She said it began with some Basic French. A students loved it so much that i started teaching subjects in French a she said. A we had a big parents meeting and proposed doing French immersion. They were very very positive and supportive As Well As the  there were practical reasons for selecting science math and social studies to be taught in the foreign tongues Lajoy said. A science offers lots of hands on experience. Kids can see As you speak. Math deals with numbers which basically is Universal and in social studies its also easy to get into skill work a said Lajoy who is in her third year with Dodds. At Simonella elementary school in Italy where James Fletcher teaches fourth Grade italian there is practical experience. His students have planned their first Outing to a bakery to practice their italian