When languages other than English have been included in a school’s curriculum, the choice of the languages to offer and how best to teach them has been influenced by many factors, including the following:

• Availability of teachers–always a prime consideration.

• Historical tradition–The European and American post-Renaissance focus on the classical languages of Latin and Greek spurred Lab School instruction of Latin well into the 20th century.

  
  

• World events and politics:

  
  

  • Late 19th and early 20th century extensive German immigration to Iowa.  

  
  

  • 1915– The Olympic Committee named French the new modern Olympic Games’ “official language.”  French also then was considered the language of diplomacy.  Since then, English has been named the Olympics' second official language, with the rotating host country’s language the third.

  
  

  • 1957– The Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik, the first space satellite, caused increased interest in Russian language instruction.

  
  

  • 2001– The 9/11 terrorist attack on New York City and Washington D.C. brought a cry for more instruction of Arabic.

  
  

  • 21st Century– China’s rise has caused calls for greater instruction in Chinese (with its many dialects).

  
  

• Support from administration, parents, and colleagues for language instruction and travel abroad and student faculty exchanges.

• Publication of World Readiness Standards by the ACTFL (American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, Communities).

• A long standing tradition at the Laboratory School–since at least 1914–of offering Foreign Language instruction to children in the Elementary School.

The following section, “Innovation: Teaching Strategies/Methods Developed by the Department,” describes how the Laboratory School’s World Languages Department met these challenges.