TEACHERS TEACHING TEACHERS REVISITED - THE BAY AREA FOREIGN-LANGUAGE PROGRAM - A MODEL THAT WORKS

Efforts to improve instruction in K-12 schools in California have incl uded a variety of professional development programs ranging from short -term endeavors aimed at specific instructional objectives to more com prehensive undertakings designed to extend and enrich the professional preparation of teachers, which in tum will benefit California student s. This article describes one such effort-the California Foreign Langu age Project (CFLP), and more specifically the Bay Area Foreign Languag e Program (BAFLP)-one of CFLP's ten regional sites. BAFLP and its cadr e of teacher-leaders aims: (a) to implement communication-based foreig n language instruction in their classrooms and to help develop a sense of collegiality at their schools; and (b) to identify and develop eff ective strategies to address the challenge of educating California's h ighly diverse student population.