(5) Students in Level I are expected to reach a proficiency level of Novice Mid to Novice High, as defined in the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012 and the ACTFL Performance Descriptors for Language Learners.
(A) Students at the Novice Mid proficiency level express meaning in highly predictable contexts through the use of memorized and recalled words and phrases. They are best able to understand aural cognates, borrowed words, and high-frequency, highly contextualized words and phrases with repetition. Novice Mid students may be difficult to understand by the most sympathetic listeners and readers accustomed to dealing with language learners. Novice Mid students are inconsistently successful when performing Novice-level tasks.
(B) Students at the Novice High proficiency level express meaning in simple, predictable contexts through the use of learned and recombined phrases and short sentences. They are best able to understand sentence-length information within highly contextualized situations and sources. Novice High students may generally be understood by sympathetic listeners and readers accustomed to dealing with language learners. Novice High students are consistently successful when performing Novice-level tasks. Novice High students show evidence of Intermediate Low proficiency but lack consistency.
(C) By the end of Level I, students of logographic languages should perform on a Novice Mid proficiency level for reading and writing. In listening and speaking, students of logographic languages should perform on a Novice Mid to Novice High proficiency level.
(D) Students who have fully or partially acquired the skills required at each proficiency level through home or other immersion experiences are known as heritage speakers. Heritage speakers may be allowed to accelerate based on their ability to demonstrate a proficiency in the Texas essential knowledge and skills for LOTE across all modes of communication at the prescribed proficiency level.
(6) Statements containing the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
(c) Knowledge and skills.
(1) Interpersonal communication: speaking and writing. The student negotiates meaning through the spoken and written exchange of information in rehearsed and unrehearsed situations in a variety of contexts. The student uses a mixture of words and phrases and some simple sentences with appropriate and applicable grammar structures and processes at the specified proficiency levels. The student is expected to:
(A) ask and respond to questions about everyday life in spoken and written conversation;
(B) express and exchange personal opinions or preferences in spoken and written conversation;
(C) ask and tell others what they need to, should, or must do in spoken and written conversation;
(D) articulate requests, offer alternatives, or develop simple plans in spoken and written conversation;
(E) participate in spoken conversation using culturally appropriate expressions, register, and gestures; and
(F) participate in written conversation using culturally appropriate expressions, register, and style.
(2) Interpretive communication: reading and listening. The student comprehends sentence-length information from culturally authentic print, digital, audio, and audiovisual materials as appropriate within highly contextualized situations and sources. The student uses the interpretive mode in communication with appropriate and applicable grammatical structures and processes at the specified proficiency levels. The student is expected to:
(A) demonstrate an understanding of culturally authentic print, digital, audio, and audiovisual materials in everyday contexts;
(B) identify key words and details from fiction and nonfiction texts and audio and audiovisual materials;
(C) infer meaning of unfamiliar words or phrases in highly contextualized texts, audio, and audiovisual materials; and
(D) identify cultural practices from authentic print, digital, audio, and audiovisual materials.
(3) Presentational communication: speaking and writing. The student presents information orally and in writing using a mixture of words and phrases and some simple sentences with appropriate and applicable grammar structures and processes at the specified proficiency levels. The student is expected to:
(A) state and support an opinion or preference orally and in writing; and
(B) describe people, objects, and simple situations orally and in writing using a mixture of words, phrases, and simple sentences.