1. Venturing Together Into an Elementary Language Program 2. If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart. Nelson Mandela One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way. Frank Smith If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart. Nelson Mandela Photo credit Talking on the edge in Zurich, Alexandre Dulaunoy. 3. In Baltimore County Public Schools guiding document, Blueprint 2.0, Superintendent S. Dallas Dance identified second language acquisition as one of his two primary theories of action. 4. One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way. Frank Smith Photo credit 1/2 Mile Hallway, Randy Robertson 5. When it comes to second language acquisition, the benefits to our students go beyond learning the language itself. There are benefits to academic achievement, general thinking and reasoning, and global citizenship. 6. Source: Huffington Post & Middlebury Interactive Languages/ 7. See this infographic full size at http://www.bhlingual.com/brain-benefits-bilingual-infographic/ 8. Source: Huffington Post and Middlebury Interactive Languages/ 9. Taking a thoughtful and deliberate approach to implementation, Baltimore County Public Schools will pilot a new model of instruction developed internally. 10. The model was crafted by a committee consisting of teachers, administrators, education leaders, and content experts in second language acquisition after having studied research, best practices, and models from across the US and even internationally. 11. The result is a cost-effective, research-based, and sustainable blended learning model. Baltimore County will pilot this model in 10 elementary schools for the 2014 2015 school year, with plans to expand implementation widely in the following year. 12. In school time to work on self-paced digital content Once-a-week conversational instruction with a Spanish teacher Anytime anywhere access to digital content 13. For the digital content, the committee selected the elementary student-friendly content of proven leader Middlebury Interactive Languages, a partner of Middlebury College. 14. Together with the pilot schools, Baltimore County will make sure that the Elementary program gives our students a strong start whether they continue to learn Spanish in later years or switch to a new language on their way to becoming graduates proficient in a second language -- thus, globally competitive. 15. Photo credit Talking on the edge in Zurich, Alexandre Dulaunoy. Whether or not you agree when Gregg Roberts says, monolingualism is the illiteracy of the 21st Century, it is inarguable that home or abroad our students will be far better equipped to capture the world armed with a second language. Photo credit: Wanderlust, Sophia Louise