The After-School Language Program
The After-school Language Program is the main work of the Global Language Project.
It is a free, after-school program aimed at helping elementary schoolchildren in underserved public schools achieve fluency in a language other than English.
Public schools must first apply to bring the After-school Language Program to their schools. Once a Partner School, it can only allow students in certain elementary grades to apply for participation. Students whose applications are accepted must commit to learning one language offered through the Program until their eighth grade year.
For students beginning in 2009, the Program offers Spanish or Mandarin. It follows the school-year calendar, and meets for instruction after school, three times a week, for 90 minutes each session.
The Program's curriculum combines the academic-subject content that students are learning in their grade, together with instruction by certified language teachers to best introduce and develop language proficiency in students. Graduates of the Global Language Project will benefit from a structured language curriculum that:
- Develops functional proficiency in a language other than English with each year of study
- Emphasizes speaking and comprehension
- Enhances reading abilities in both English and the target language
- Increases overall cognitive skills
- Promotes and cultivates awareness and appreciation of multilingual cultures
- Meets district, state and national language-learning standards
With increased language skills, Global Language Project graduates will also have increased future opportunities in higher education and the multilingual global marketplace.
