Lived Experiences of Voluntary Pre-Service Foreign Language Teachers in an Inclusive Early Foreign Language Program

Abstract

Hilal Peker

Previous studies provided evidence on the benefits of early foreign language education; however, U.S. schools typically offer foreign language classes after middle school or during high school. In addition, there are no teacher training programs specifically designed for early foreign language teaching, let alone for “inclusive early foreign language programs.” Therefore, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the classroom experiences of voluntary pre-service French teachers teaching French in an Early Foreign Language Exploratory (FLEX) Program at a charter school. This school provides education for students from pre-kindergarten through grade five and observes full inclusionof students with special needs in one of the Southern states of the United States. Findings from the lived experiences of voluntary French teachers may shed light in establishing foreign language teacher training programs that offer inclusive education orin offering courses on methods in teaching foreign languages to students with special needs.