Voluntary Standards for World Languages

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Voluntary Standards for World Languages

• Workshop for Issaquah School District
• August 30, 2006
• Presented by Michele Anciaux Aoki, Ph.D.
• Anciaux International Communication
  www.anciauxinternational.com
• Materials available on www.anciauxinternational.co
  m/worldlang/issaquah2006/

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Purpose

• The purpose of this workshop is to provide
  current foreign language teachers with an
  overview of World Language Standards and an
  opportunity to incorporate standards into your
  own curriculum development, instruction, and
  assessment practices.

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Workshop Objectives

• Upon completion of this workshop, you will be
  able to
• Explain the purpose of standards
• Distinguish different types of standards
  Content Standards Performance Standards
  Proficiency Standards Program Standards
• Explain how to use Content Standards and
  Performance Standards (sample progress
  indicators) in planning classroom curriculum
• Understand how to use Proficiency Standards
• Demonstrate how to incorporate standards into
  curriculum and assessment planning

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Why Standards?

• Essential questions
• Why do we need standards for foreign/world
  language learning?
• What are the different types of standards?
• What are the National Standards for Foreign
  Language Learning?

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Why do we need standards for foreign language
learning?

• Students, parents, administrators, and language
  teachers need to know what learning another
  language means in U.S. schools.
• If we are to align our efforts to increase
  language proficiency, we need common goals and
  terminology.
• If language learning is a journey, we need a map
  to show us the way.

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What are the different types of standards?

• Content Standards
• What should students know and be able to do?
• Performance Standards
• How can students show they are achieving the
  content standards?
• Proficiency Standards
• How well are students achieving how can we
  measure progress?
• Program Standards
• When? Where? Who? what are the elements of
  program design?

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What are the National Standards for Foreign
Language Learning?

• Content Standards What students should know and
  be able to do.
• A brief history
• 1993 work on national K-12 foreign language
  content standards began
• 1996 generic standards published
• 1999 language-specific standards published for
  Chinese, Classical Languages, French, German,
  Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and
  Spanish
• 2006 Standards for Chinese and Arabic added

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Communication

• Communicate in Languages Other Than English
• Interpersonal Mode
• Interpretive Mode
• Presentational Mode

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Cultures

• Gain Knowledge and Understanding of Other
  Cultures

PERSPECTIVES(Meanings, attitudes, values, ideas)
o
PRACTICES(Patterns of social interactions)
PRODUCTS(Books, tools, foods, laws, music, games)
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Connections

• Connect with Other Disciplines and Acquire
  Information
• Further knowledge of other disciplines
• Recognize distinctive viewpoints

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Comparisons

• Develop Insight into the Nature of Language and
  Culture
• Compare language studied to their own
• Compare culture studied and their own

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Communities

• Participate in Multilingual Communities at Home
  Around the World
• Use the language within and beyond school
• Use language for personal enjoyment and enrichment

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National Standards for Foreign Language Learning
- Intertwined
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Voluntary World Language Standards in Washington
State

• Voluntary Standards adopted by OSPI in
  December, 2005, based on the National Standards
  for Foreign Language Learning
• Washington now has Content Standards for World
  Language (but no Performance, Proficiency, or
  Program Standards)
• By adopting the National Standards we have access
  to a wealth of resources from ACTFL and other
  states

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Bringing the Standards into the Classroom

• Standards-based Curricula
• Focus on communication
• Define culture as relationships among
  perspectives, products, and practices
• Integrate content with language learning
• Make meaningful comparisons
• Take language skills into the world

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No Need to Reinvent the Wheel

• Nebraska K-12 Foreign Language Frameworks
• Aligned with 5 Cs of National Standards
• Excellent resource on curriculum development,
  assessment, and more
• New Jersey World Languages Curriculum Framework
• Aligned with Communication Cultures
• Well-developed Learning Scenarios

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New Ways of Teaching Language

• Standards-Based Thematic Units
• Project-Based Learning
• iEARN International Education and Resource
  Network
• Example Global Art Images of Caring

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New Ways of Assessing Language

• Oral Proficiency Assessment
• Using the COPE/SOPA Rating Scale
• Language Proficiency Self-Assessment
• LinguaFolia

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Program Standards

• Take a moment to consider the schools in your
  district
• Who gets to study languages? All students? Just
  college-bound students?
• What languages do you teach?
• When do students begin world (foreign) language
  study? How many years are offered?
• Where (which schools) offer them? Do some schools
  offer more than others?
• Why do students study a language? To fulfill
  college admissions requirement (2 credits of WL)?
  Personal reasons? Career advantage?
• How do you teach? Are you getting the best
  results possible?

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Program Standards and YOU

• Would it make a difference to you as a teacher
  if you knew what the Program Standards were for
  your district and school?