Curriculum Matters

Standard 1:

Students will be able to use a language other than English for communication.

Checkpoint B:

1. Listening and speaking are primary communicative goals in modern language learning. These skills are used for the purposes of socializing, providing and acquiring information, expressing personal feelings and opinions, and getting others to adopt a course of action.

Students can: • comprehend messages and short conversations when listening to peers, familiar adults, and providers of public services either in face-to-face interactions or on the telephone • understand the main idea and some discrete information in television, radio, or live presentations • initiate and sustain conversations, face to face or on the phone, with native-speaking or more fluent individuals • select vocabulary appropriate to a range of topics, employ simple and complex sentences in present, past, and future time frames, and express details and nuances by using appropriate modifiers • exhibit spontaneity in their interactions, particularly when the topic is familiar, but often rely on familiar utterances • use repetition and circumlocution as well as gestures and other nonverbal cues to sustain conversation.

This is evident, for example, when students: ▲ follow conversations and understand messages that concern everyday life and the larger society ▲ view slides depicting diversity within the target culture and discuss their reactions ▲ listen to Native speakers live or on tape, and use nonverbal cues, repetition, and rephrasing to understand ▲ conduct an interview with a native speaker of the target language ▲ watch television programs in the target language ▲ discuss songs, stories, and selected excerpts from the literature of the target language.

2. Reading and writing are used in languages other than English for the purposes of socializing, providing and acquiring information, expressing personal feelings and opinions, and getting others to adopt a course of action.

Students can: • read and comprehend materials written for native speakers when the topic and language are familiar. • use cognates and contextual and visual cues to derive meaning from texts that contain unfamiliar words, expressions, and structures • read simple materials independently, but may have to guess at meanings of longer or more complex material • write short notes, uncomplicated personal and business letters, brief journals, and short reports • write brief analyses of more complex content when given the opportunity for organization and advance preparation, though errors may occur more frequently • produce written narratives and expressions of opinion about radio and television programs, newspaper and magazine articles, and selected stories, songs, and literature of the target language.

This is evident, for example, when students: ▲ read personal letters and notes, simple business correspondence, pamphlets, feature articles or editorials in newspapers or magazines published for the general public and discuss the positions presented in them ▲ read selected short stories and poems and identify the main idea and some specific ones ▲ identify subtleties of meaning through the use of learned vocabulary and structures including present, past, and future tense ▲ give an oral presentation on an assigned topic, using learned and practiced vocabulary, complex sentence structures in the present and, some sentences in the past and future ▲ write a short response to a classroom situation.

Standard 2:

Students will develop cross-cultural skills and understandings.

NY State Syllabus: Modern Language for Communication

NY State LOTE Resource Guide

Image result for checkpoint b learning outcomes

Proficiency

"The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines are a description of what individuals can do with language in terms of speaking, writing, listening, and reading in real-world situations in a spontaneous and non-rehearsed context. For each skill, these guidelines identify five major levels of proficiency: Distinguished, Superior, Advanced, Intermediate, and Novice. The major levels Advanced, Intermediate, and Novice are subdivided into High, Mid, and Low sublevels. The levels of the ACTFL Guidelines describe the continuum of proficiency from that of the highly articulate, well-educated language user to a level of little or no functional ability."

"The ACTFL Performance Descriptors for Language Learners are designed to describe language performance that is the result of explicit instruction in an instructional setting. A companion to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, a document that describes broad, general language proficiency regardless of when, where or how language is acquired, the ACTFL Performance Descriptors for Language Learners provide more detailed and more granular information about language learners. "

"The Can-Do Statements help learners identify what they need to do to function at a specific level of proficiency. The statements also help educators plan curriculum, units of instruction, and daily lessons to help learners improve their performance and reach a targeted level of proficiency. Through multiple opportunities to show that they "can do" in classroom formative and summative assessment, unit by unit, learners collect the evidence that points toward a specific proficiency level."

"LinguaFolio® is a portfolio assessment instrument designed to support individuals in setting and achieving their goals for learning languages.

It includes these three components:

  • Biography, where information about a learner’s language background, intercultural activities, and the NCSSFL-ACTFL can-do self-assessment statements are published,
  • Dossier, where samples of a learner’s work document progress over time, and
  • Passport, where formal qualifications, certificates or diplomas, and achievements are recorded, along with a summary of self-assessments that describe competency with different languages.

This three-fold approach, based on the European Language Portfolio, enables language learners of all ages and levels to document their language learning as they move along the continuum towards greater proficiency.

The vision of LinguaFolio® is to allow seamless progress in language learning as individuals move from one level to another, from one program to another, and even as they cease to participate in formal language instruction, but continue active language learning independently. The goal is to empower each individual learner to take responsibility for his or her language learning and be able to continue to develop proficiency independently and autonomously once the formal sequence of language instruction has ended."

"The Seal of Biliteracy is an award given by a school, school district or county office of education in recognition of students who have studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation. The Seal of Biliteracy takes the form of a gold seal that appears on the transcript or diploma of the graduating senior and is a statement of accomplishment for future employers and for college admissions. In addition to the Seal of Biliteracy that marks attainment of high level mastery of two or more languages, schools and districts are also instituting Bilingual Pathway Awards, recognizing significant steps towards developing biliteracy along a student’s trajectory from preschool into high school."