As the title suggests, this 8 page paper is written in the form of a proposal to add Spanish to the middle school curriculum. The essay begins with the problem description, which is a literature review on the need for bilingual Americans, data regarding the numbers of people who speak Spanish in the world and the benefits to students who study a foreign language. These include both cognitive benefits as well as future job opportunity benefits. The writer then provides a cost-benefit analysis but clearly states there is no price that can be placed on the advantages to students. Alternatives for implementing the program are offered and a recommendation concludes the paper. Statistical data included. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: MM12_PGspmdsc.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
consistently reports it is essential for American students to begin studying a foreign language early in life. The earlier students are exposed to foreign language instruction, the easier it is
for them to master that language. The importance of foreign language learning was identified in the National Education Goals 2000: "By the year 2000 all American students will leave
grades 4, 8, and 12 having demonstrated competency in challenging subject matter including English, mathematics, science, foreign language,. . ." (University of Tennessee, 2005; Tucker and Donato, 2001). In a
speech made on September 15, 1999, Richard W. Riley, then Secretary of Education, said: "I believe that in this new economy every high school student should be close to fluent
in a foreign language when he or she graduates. We should begin teaching foreign languages in our elementary schools, and then in middle schools and high schools" (University of Tennessee,
2005). These statements provide the official justification for teaching foreign language in middle schools. There are even stronger reasons for teaching Spanish in the middle school. Consider these facts: The
U.S. census reported that between 1990 and 2000, the Hispanic population grew by 57.9 percent, going from 22.4 million people to 35.3 million people, 75 percent of whom speak Spanish
(IMAC, 2005). Spanish is spoken by almost 400 million people in the world (IMAC, 2005). Half the population of the Western Hemisphere speak Spanish, which means Spanish is the primary
language for about as many people as English in this region of the world (IMAC, 2005). There are 28 countries where Spanish is either the primary language or is the
largest second most common language (IMAC, 2005). Spanish is the second-most common language spoken in the U.S. (IMAC, 2005). There are an increasing number of job opportunities for Spanish=speaking Americans.