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PENNSBURY STANDARDS FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING are the adaptation of the ACTFL Standards
Pennsbury School District subscribes to the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning. The organizing principles of these national standards are often referred to as the “Five C’s” of Foreign Language Education. These “Five C’s” are communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities . By aligning curriculum to these standards, Pennsbury offers a foreign language program that benefits all students with diverse purposes in acquiring multiple languages.
ACTFL STANDARDS
COMMUNICATION
Communicate effectively in more than one language in order to function in a variety of situations and for multiple purposes
Interpersonal Communication: Learners interact and negotiate meaning in spoken, signed, or written conversations to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions.
Interpretive Communication: Learners understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics.
Presentational Communication: Learners present information, concepts, and ideas to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate on a variety of topics using appropriate media and adapting to various audiences of listeners, readers, or viewers.
CULTURES
Interact with cultural competence and understanding
Relating Cultural Practices to Perspectives: Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the cultures studied.
Relating Cultural Products to Perspectives: Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between the products and perspectives of the cultures studied.
CONNECTIONS
Connect with other disciplines and acquire information and diverse perspectives in order to use the language to function in academic and career related situations
Making Connections:
Learners build, reinforce, and expand their knowledge of other disciplines while using the language to develop critical thinking and to solve problems creatively.
Acquiring Information and Diverse Perspectives: Learners access and evaluate information and diverse perspectives that are available through the language and its cultures
COMPARISONS
Develop insight into the nature of language and culture in order to interact with cultural competence
Language Comparisons: Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the nature of language through comparisons of the language studied and their own
Cultural Comparisons: Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own
COMMUNITIES
Communicate and interact with cultural competence in order to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world
School and Global Communities: Learners use the language both within and beyond the classroom to interact and collaborate in their community and the globalized world.
Lifelong Learning: Learners set goals and reflect on their progress in using languages for enjoyment, enrichment, and advancement.
Preparing for the 21 st Century “Language and communication are at the heart of the human experience. The United States must educate students who are linguistically and culturally equipped to communicate successfully in a pluralistic American society and abroad. This imperative envisions a future in which ALL students will develop and maintain proficiency in English and at least one other language, modern or classical. Children who come to school from non-English backgrounds should also have opportunities to develop further proficiencies in their first language.”
Statement of Philosophy: Standards for Foreign Language Learning