WORLD LANGUAGES
Modern Languages - French, German, Spanish
Classical Languages - Latin
WORLD LANGUAGES
The World Language Curricular Design
The world language curriculum in Greenville County Schools is aligned with both the national and state standards. It is communicative-based, performance-driven, incorporates real-life contexts and is assessed through a variety of strategies. Unit themes relate to our curriculum goals, have the potential for high-frequency language use, allow for natural and appropriate integration of culture, and reflect the interests of both students and teachers. The curriculum centers on what students can do with and in the language. Using the basic design of the Understanding by Design model, each unit is based on the assessment of the three modes of communication: interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational. It specifies the targeted outcomes and how students will achieve them.
Heritage Language Learners
As Greenville County School District continues to experience significant growth in the population of heritage language learners, particularly Spanish speakers, our world language program recognizes and respects the languages and cultures of all heritage speakers in our world language classrooms. Schools and teachers strive to address these students’ unique needs and to provide heritage language learners with appropriate language experiences so that students not only maintain, but further develop the first language.
The district strives to place heritage language learners in world language courses where they will be challenged. In many cases, students will have sufficient language background to move beyond traditional world language sequence. Whenever possible, schools should offer language courses specifically designed to meet the needs of native speakers of the language. When heritage language learners and traditional world language learners are grouped in the same classroom, the curricular content will remain the same, but the performance tasks and assignments will differ. Instructional strategies and materials will also vary to accommodate the variety of language proficiency in the same classroom.
Combination World Language Courses
Based on enrollment numbers, upper-level courses often need to be combined. In these combination courses, themes will be rotated so that same instructional units are not repeated year after year. Course content and performance tasks will differ based on differences in language proficiency within the same classroom.
Assessment Philosophy and Practices
Greenville County School District’s world language assessment philosophy and practices are grounded in research-based, performance-driven and standards-driven models, including the Understanding by Design and Learning Focused models. Assessments are aligned with both the curriculum and instruction.
The Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) is a key component of the district’s curriculum design. This assessment model allows world language teachers use to effectively assess students’ knowledge and skills in authentic contexts. The IPA replaces the traditional unit test. Integrated Performance Assessments should be standardized across the district among teachers who teach the same level. Performance tasks are multi-faceted, interrelated, and simulate real-world situations. Teachers create interim performance assessments that prepare students to meet the target goal established in the IPA and use rubrics to assess interpersonal and presentational tasks. Rubrics should reflect the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines.
We believe that…
The primary purpose of assessment is to provide feedback that can improve teaching and learning. Teacher feedback takes a cyclical approach in which teachers share information with students regarding their performance as compared to the model performance.
Use of many different types of assessments is the best indicator of student learning.
Performance assessments facilitate articulation among language programs in the district and provide information to others about our students’ language proficiency.
Assessments guide teacher’s planning by providing the basis for backward design and set appropriate learning goals.
Quality assessments help teachers to evaluate their teaching and the curriculum, and guide the district’s curriculum development.
Assessment is an ongoing process which includes both formative and summative assessments. Assessments must be aligned with targeted standards, program goals, and instructional strategies.
Differentiated assessments should be used to accommodate students’ varying proficiency levels within the same classroom.
The district’s assessment system needs to be transparent so that every student knows in advance what the performance tasks are and the expected levels of achievement, what he or she can do in the language, and what more he or she needs to learn or to improve.
Grading Guidelines for High School Modern and Classical Languages
In addition to following the State Department of Education’s Uniform Grading Policy, each content area in Greenville County Schools has district grading guidelines. The guidelines for high school modern and classical languages reflect a balance across the three modes of communication (two in classical languages). Gathering assessment evidence of these three modes reminds teacher and students that all three are necessary to function and communicate in real-world situations.
In addition to internal assessments, Greenville County Schools also utilizes external assessment to measure students’ progress toward increasing language proficiency. All students enrolled in AP and IB world language courses are required to sit the corresponding exams in May of the year during which the course is taken.
Dr. Jason Bagley-Cooler, Greenville County Schools Lead Teacher for K-12 World Languages
(864) 355.5480