The importance for Second and third and fourth….

A skinny cat stood for hours waiting for the mouse to walk out from behind the hole, so he could nab him. He was having little success. A fat cat walked by, inquired about the nature of the difficulty, and volunteered to show the skinny cat the ropes. First thing, he had the skinny cat move out of the way where he could not be seen and did likewise himself. Next, he barked, "Woof, woof." The mouse, thinking a dog had scared the cat away, and it was safe, ventured out only to be nabbed and devoured by the fat cat. "You see," explained the fat cat, "it pays to be bilingual.

Gregory Billkopf in the essay Learning Another Language University of California, Davis
Approximately 10% of native-born US citizens are bilingual compared to 50% in the rest of the world. Research in pedagogy overwhelmingly states importance of professional development for teachers.

Moreover, teachers not only have to be experts in their field but simultaneously be able to identify with the learning process. How does the English Language Learner in your class feel? From rich experiences and rigorous academic effort teachers also comprehend the dynamic nature of our field where learning and teaching strategies tend to move incessantly along continua of divergent theories and practices.

If you study a foreign language you can simultaneously put yourself in the shoes of your students.

As professional educators we:

- recognize the value in lifelong learning
- realize the importance of using the scientifically proven strategies to meet the learning needs of individual students.
- know that learning is a natural process
- understand that we must intervene and teach explicit knowledge
- think about our lifelong practice and learn from our implicit experiences.

Best practices schools provide a supportive school-wide climate, school leadership, a customized learning environment, articulation and coordination within and between schools, use of native language and culture in instruction, a balanced curriculum that includes both basic and higher-order skills, explicit skill instruction, opportunities for student-directed instruction, use of instructional strategies that enhance understanding, opportunities for practice, systematic student assessment, staff development, and home and parent involvement. (August & Hakuta, 1997, p.171)


The study of a foreign language is valuable because it:

- offers a sense of a relevant past, both cultural and linguistic
- helps expand one's view of the world
- balances content and skills (rather than content versus skills)
- contributes to the creation of a student's personality
- encourages critical reflection on the relation of language and culture,
- contributes to cultural awareness or literacy
- develops the intellect
- improves one's knowledge of the native language
- builds practical skills
- enables the transfer of training (such as learning of a second foreign language)

How can you learn a foreign language?

- Commit the time!
- Purchase a language-learning CD and booklet
- Take a class or join a speaking group
- Listen and read every day!
- Focus on words and phrases!
- Take responsibility for your own learning!
- Travel abroad

1. Zehler, Annette (1994) WORKING WITH ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS: STRATEGIES FOR ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS. NCBE Program Information Guide Series, Number 19

2. Ellis, N. C. (ed.) (1994a). Implicit and Explicit Learning of Languages. San Diego/CA: Academic Press

3. August, D. & Hakuta, K. (Eds). (1997). Improving Schooling for Language Minority Students: A Research Agenda. Washington, D. C.: National Academy Press.

4. Alan C. Frantz, "Seventeen Values of Foreign Language Study" (ADFL Bulletin, vol. 28, Nr.1, Fall 1996

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