http://www.chs.advertisnet.com/CamdentonFLeducators.HTML foreign language sites
http://ed.sc.gov/agency/offices/cso/standards/foreign/ state standards
http://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/websites/nwest/tbutler/parents.html sample lesson plans
Standards for Foreign Language Learning
Communication
Communicate in Languages other than English
Standard 1.1
Students engage in
conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions,
and exchange opinions.
Standard 1.2
Students
understand
and interpret written and
spoken language on a variety of topics.
Standard 1.3
Students present
information, concepts and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a
variety of topics.
Cultures
Gain Knowledge and Understanding of Other Cultures
Standard 2.1
Students demonstrate an
understanding of the relationship between the practices and the perspectives of
the culture studied.
Standard 2.2
Students
demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and the
perspectives of the culture studied.
Connections
Connect with Other Disciplines and Acquire Information
Standard 3.1
Students reinforce and
further their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language.
Standard 3.2
Students acquire
information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are available only
through the foreign language and its cultures.
Comparisons
Develop Insight into the Nature of Language and Culture
Standard 4.1
Students demonstrate
understanding of the nature of language through comparisons between the language
studied and their own.
Standard 4.2
Students
demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons between
the culture studied and their own.
Communities
Participate in Multilingual Communities at Home and around the World
Standard 5.1
Students use the language
both within and beyond the school setting.
Standard 5.2
Students show
evidence of becoming life-long learners by using the language for personal
enjoyment and enrichment.
· Benchmark stages
· The need for assessment and evaluation
· Standards for foreign language learning
· Standards for classical language learning
A French festival—complete with music, dancing, food, and a “street celebration” in the school cafeteria—culminates a year’s worth of exposure to French language and culture for students at one of the State’s elementary schools. All ages of students, from kindergartners to sixth-graders, participate to varying degrees in the introductory language program.
As students begin studying foreign languages at younger ages, designing programs that take into account the varying needs and developmental stages of learners at different grade levels becomes increasingly important. Sequential and articulated programs are essential. The study of a foreign language should be continuous and cumulative, with a smooth and logical progression of skills from one school year to the next. Concepts and topics are recycled and expanded from year to year as tasks become more challenging and complex.
At all levels of foreign language education, instruction should be based on a sequential, articulated program of study. The goals and standards for foreign language learning are
Communication—to communicate in languages other than English;
Cultures—to gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures;
Connections—to connect with other disciplines and acquire information;
Comparisons—to develop insight into the nature of language and culture; and
Communities—to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world.
Benchmark stages
These standards are assessed at three benchmark stages. The terms beginning, developing, and expanding are used to designate these stages of language development (Nebraska Foreign Language Frameworks, 1996). The three terms emphasize the fact that language is a complex system and that language skills are developed over a long period of time.
A student at a beginning level is learning basic skills regardless of his or her grade level.
A student at the developing level will be able to use short phrases and simple sentences but will still not be considered proficient or fluent in a foreign language with regard to any of the five goals.
Each benchmark stage will incorporate and expand the skills developed in the previous stage.
A student at a beginning level will be able to use words and phrases but will not be considered proficient or fluent in the target language with regard to any of the five goals. However, a student benefiting from a K–12 language experience will be at the expanding level and able to participate in the target language in analytical and higher-level tasks similar to those in his or her other core and elective subjects.
The need for assessment and evaluation
Assessment of student progress at the end of each benchmark stage is necessary both to evaluate program quality and to ensure the smooth transition of students from one stage to another. Student progress is measured by a combination of achievement testing (traditional testing that measures knowledge of a specific body of material taught in the classroom) and proficiency testing (open-ended testing that gauges the ability to function in real-life situations). Interviews with students, videotapes, checklists, and portfolios are some of the useful methods for determining student proficiency.
An effective foreign language program takes into account the fact that individuals develop language proficiency at different rates. A predetermined set of assessment standards cannot always be met within the confines of the school year. Foreign language assessment is further complicated when students enter the beginning stage of language study at different grade levels. Therefore, benchmark assessments give school districts the flexibility to evaluate student progress within each stage.
The development of benchmark assessments will follow the publication of the South Carolina Foreign Language Curriculum Standards.
Standards for foreign language learning
In 1993, a coalition of four major language organizations— the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF), the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG), and the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP)—received funding to develop standards for foreign language education, grades K–12.
An eleven-member task force, representing a variety of language levels of instruction, program models, and geographic regions, was appointed to undertake the task of defining content standards—what students should know and be able to do—in foreign language education. At each stage of development, the task force shared its work with the broader profession and the public at large. The resulting document, Standards for Foreign Language Learning: Preparing for the 21st Century, represents an unprecedented consensus among educators, business leaders, government, and the community on the definition and role of foreign language instruction in American education.
While Standards for Foreign Language Learning: Preparing for the 21st Century suggests the types of curricular experiences needed to enable students to achieve the standards and supports the ideal of extended sequences of study that begin in the elementary grades and continue through high school and beyond, it does not describe specific course content or recommended sequence of study. The document must be used in conjunction with state and local standards and curriculum frameworks to determine the best approaches and reasonable expectations for the students in individual districts and schools.