FOREIGN LANGUAGES CURRICULUM REVIEW
HOLLISTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
MAY 19, 2011
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Foreign
Language is an Accelerant for Innovation
in
21st Century Learning”
“Essential in the formula for a
world-class education is an urgent need for schools to produce students who
actually know something about the world—its cultures and languages, and how its
economic, environmental, and social systems work. Language learning is a
central part of what high-performing nations are doing to make their students
and their societies globally competitive—virtually all of the
highest-performing nations on the recent Program for International Student
Assessment exam require second-language learning. At this defining moment in
American education, we sell ourselves short if we do not strive for schools
that prepare students for an interconnected world driven by the demands and
opportunities of globalization.” National Imperative for Language Learning by Anthony W. Jackson,
Charles E. M. Kolb, & John I. Wilson
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREIGN LANGUAGE CURRICULUM REVIEW
Notice
to School Committee
Acknowledgements
Introduction to the Curriculum Review Process
CURRICULUM REVIEW DOCUMENT
I. PERSPECTIVES: (What We Believe)
· Mission, Vision and Goals Statements 2011
·
Preface to Foreign Languages Curriculum Review
·
Statement of Philosophy ACTFL
·
Keeping Instruction in the Target Language
·
Foreign Languages and the Common Core
II. PRACTICES: (What We
Are Currently Doing; What We Need to Do)
·
Content-Based Thematic Instruction in Foreign Language Classrooms
·
Inclusion of Students with Diverse Learning Styles
·
Differentiated Instruction in Foreign Language Classrooms
·
Multiple Entry Points for Foreign Language Instruction
·
Technology Integration in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning
III. PRODUCTS: (What we have achieved)
·
Alignment of French Immersion Program, K-12 with MA Foreign
Languages Framework (Executive Summary)
·
Alignment of Mandarin Chinese with MA Foreign Languages Framework
(Executiv Summary)
·
Special Recognition: Melba D. Woodruff Award, ACTFL 2010
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS (Where We Will Go From Here)
·
Recommendations for Spanish, French and Mandarin Programs
·
Recommendations for French Immersion Program
V. BUDGET
(Resources we will need to make this happen)
VI. APPENDICES:
Appendix
A: Documents Illustrating our Perspectives
- Document #1: Article, The Benefits of Foreign Language Study (NEA 2007)
- Document #2: Article, The
Correlation Between Early Second Language Learning and Native Language
Skill Development by T. Caccavale
- Document #3: Bibliography:
Research on the Importance of
Foreign Language Learning
- Document #4: Advocacy and Resource Links for Foreign Languages
(Websites, Organizations)
- Document #5: 21ST
Century Skills Alignment with Foreign Language Learning
- Document #6: ACTFL 21st Century Skills Map for Foreign
Languages
Appendix B: Documents Illustrating our Practices
· Document # 7: Electronic Links for Foreign Language Learning
·
Document
#8: Research on
Content-Based Thematic Instruction in FL Classrooms
·
Document
#9: Research on
Differentiated Instruction in Foreign Language Classrooms
Appendix
C: Documents Illustrating our Products
·
Document
# 10: Videos
of Classroom Teaching and Learning in the Annenberg Workshop For Foreign
Language Teaching, K-12
·
Document
#11: Videos of Holliston Public Schools Foreign Language Instruction
·
Document
#12: Videos of Holliston Students Participating in the 2010 ACTFL Conference in
·
Language and Film Talent Award Competition - 2008 winning entry
Appendix
D: Alignment Tables for MA Foreign Languages Framework
Appendix
F Glossary of Foreign Language Teaching Terms
http://www.learner.org/workshops/tfl/glossary.html#A
Appendix
G Surveys for Parents, Teachers, Administrators and Students
Appendix H:
Independent Study on French Immersion Students’ Identity
Appendix
I Backward Design (UbD) Concepts
(Courtesy Social Studies Review)
- Sample UbD Unit of French /Spanish II
- Sample UbD Unit of Mandarin
HOLLISTON
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Office of the Superintendent
Telephone
(508)429-0654 • FAX (508)429-0653
Bradford L. Jackson.
Ed.D. Timothy M. Cornely
Superintendent
of Schools Assistant Superintendent
To: Members,
From: Tim Cornely
Date: May 19, 2011
RE: Foreign Language Curriculum Review
I am pleased to announce that the district-wide foreign language curriculum review has been completed and that it will be presented electronically to you on Thursday, May 19, 2011. This review document has been developed by a committee of 9 foreign language teachers representing all levels of Spanish, French, Mandarin and Latin instruction, K-12.
During the past 10 months, members of the review committee have met frequently at the building level and the district level to complete the alignment of current curriculum practices with state and national standards for PreK-12 students and discussion of best practices in foreign language education, the most important of which is exclusive use of the target language for all classroom instruction. Recommendations from this review will direct our work in the following areas:
- Professional Development centered upon exclusive use of the target language (district-wide workshop scheduled at HHS for TEC communities for September 2011) and content-based thematic instruction (district-wide workshop scheduled for May 13, 2011), as well as UbD curriculum documentation and inclusion of students with diverse learning needs in foreign language classes.
- Mapping of curriculum in the Spanish FLES program and French Immersion Program, 6-12, in a consistent Backward Design format across all grades, inclusive of essential questions and enduring understandings;
- Development within curriculum documents of content-based, thematic units of instruction centered upon a literacy, content area or cultural focus;
- Increased focus on literacy and mathematical skill development via foreign language instruction, as per alignment with Common Core standards;
- Increased focus on meaningful cultural content at every level of foreign language instruction, through the development of essential questions and enduring understandings;
- Integration of Web 2.0 tools to increase student access to authentic representations of the target languages and cultures studied;
- Large-scale assessment of proficiency attainment on the part of students at exit points of Grades 5, 8 and 11;
- Expansion of our high school Mandarin program.
At Thursday night’s meeting, one hard copy of the document will be available for your review. Per our district practice, the entire document will be linked electronically to our district website. In electronic format, the document will become an access portal through which students, parents and teachers will be able to expand their knowledge of and access to foreign language learning and 21st century skill development in a blended learning environment.
Members of the Foreign Language Review Committee will be presenting an overview of the process and outcomes of this work.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
With appreciation and gratitude, we acknowledge our Foreign Languages Review Committee:
Sonya Merian (Spanish) Diane Crefeld ( Spanish)
Dianne Nault (French Immersion) Claire Picard (French Immersion)
Dr. Deborah Blinder (Spanish) Liz Moreno (Spanish)
Sheryl Bunker (French Immersion) Marissa Ferrante (French)
District Level
Terry Caccavale, World Languages Specialist, K-12
Central Office
Timothy Cornely, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
We wish to acknowledge all of our foreign language teachers, K-12 for their ongoing participation in the development of this review document, and to the building principals, K-12, for allowing the committee to hold regular review meetings throughout the 2010-2011 school year.
We also wish to acknowledge Judy Boroschek, Former
Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Wellesley Public Schools, and
consultant to the original Holliston Curriculum Review Committee, for her
expertise and knowledge, as well as for permission to us the structure and
information of Wellesley’s curriculum review process and documentation; and Dr.
Karen LeDuc, Assistant Superintendent of the Natick, MA Public Schools, for her
permission to use and adapt the content
of Natick’s foreign language curriculum
review surveys.
Special thanks to Kathy Caswell, Executive Assistant,
and Susan Garvey, Data Administrator
Foreign Language Staff K-12
Placentino: Nancy
Collins, Eleanor Gerson, Germinal Isern, Kendra Mason, Sonya Merian, Dianne
Nault, Rosalie Paillard, Aaron Snyder
Holliston High School: Terry Caccavale, Joy Dinizio, Marissa Ferrante, Leah
Li, Marilyn Miracle, Liz Moreno, Edith Nelson, Kim Thebado, Paul Whalen,
Special thanks to our teachers for their participation in the
curriculum review process.
INTRODUCTION TO THE CURRICULUM REVIEW
PROCESS
The Foreign Languages Curriculum
Review documents were developed by a joint committee of teachers representing
both the French Immersion Program and the district-wide Foreign Languages
Program including Spanish, Gr. 1-12, French, Gr. 6-12, Latin, Gr. 9-12 and
Mandarin Chinese, Gr. 9-12. This team of eight members, comprised of two
teachers from each of the four district levels, met during the 2010-11 school
year, under the direction of the K-12 World Languages Specialist and the
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. The principles of a
Professional Learning Community Model were applied to this entire process, as
the committee reached consensus on the main points of the review after sharing
information at each of the four levels on an ongoing basis. These meetings served as the culmination of a
two-year period of data collection (2008-10)during which time the entire staff
of the foreign languages department, K-12, met during scheduled monthly
curriculum meetings to discuss alignment with standards, big ideas and
essential questions related to foreign language teaching and learning.
The first official meeting
of the Review Committee occurred in June of 2010 as the committee met to begin
to shape a
We then began to research best practices in foreign language
instruction, nationwide, as evidenced in these documents. From each of these
sources, we gathered the content and constructs of our new
Once the Mission, Vision and
Goals Statement was finalized, the committee
and the foreign language staff began the rigorous process of aligning
current curriculum with the MA Frameworks, the ACTFL K-12 Performance
Guidelines and the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. As with other reviews
conducted to date, the Committee examined and compared, by program, grade level
and course, the specific strands and standards, or performance benchmarks,
within each document. The outcome of this alignment process will be the
reformatting of foreign language curriculum documents/maps, to begin in May of
2011 and continue throughout the 2013-14 school year. The content of these maps
will guide the implementation of Backward Design for curriculum documentation
as the UbD process is rolled out across the district in the next few years. It
is essential to understand that foreign language curriculum documentation is
much less about specific content and much more about the language functions
students are able to perform with varied vocabulary themes. Unlike the Social
Studies and Science reviews, which offer specific content to be covered at
specific grades, the Foreign Language curriculum review addresses the
benchmarks and outcomes for performance against specific language functions
such as describing, telling stories, asking questions, sharing information,
making hypothetical statements, etc.
The Committee entered into
very rich discussions of benchmarks and outcomes for foreign language learners,
K-12. The constant comparing and contrasting of benchmarks for French Immersion
and traditional foreign language courses was informative and motivational for
all. One intended outcome of this review process is the creation of a district
leadership team for foreign languages over the course of the implementation of
our recommendations and beyond. These recommendations include future topics of
discussion, technology integration, curriculum redesign and documentation,
professional development specific to foreign language instruction, and more.
Another intended outcome is the documentation of when and how well students are
currently meeting the benchmark standards for foreign language education, K-12
and what recommendations we can put into place to increase the predictability
of all students meeting our district-wide expectations for long-sequence
foreign language instruction. In some cases, this review process has provided a
venue for discussion of issues such as the inclusion of students with special
needs in our foreign language programs. The discussions resultant from our
findings will provide us with a more clear and consistent direction for
providing interventions to students in need while considering their equitable
access to foreign language instruction from K-12. In other cases, the review
has provided us with a venue to reconsider our program’s central focus on the
development of proficiency in another language and reconsider proficiency as
but a stepping stone to deep and enduring understanding of other cultures,
something that will become very clear through the documentation of all
curriculum in the Backward Design model.
PERSPECTIVES
(Guiding
Documents: What We Believe)
This section of the review contains
all of the work compiled by the District K-12 Foreign Languages Curriculum
Review Committee during the 2010-11 school year.
IN THE 21ST CENTURY
PERSPECTIVES
(Philosophy and
__________________________________
Second language learning
provides students with an incomparable problem-solving experience, enhancing
cognitive development and stimulating the creative and divergent thinking
skills essential to meaningful interaction in an increasingly complex,
multilingual global society.
All students in our Foreign
Language Programs will develop linguistic and cross-cultural competence and
sensitivity, enabling them to view the world through multiple lenses and to
develop an insider’s perspective on other cultures.
PRACTICES
(Vision and Goals)
_________________________________
The Holliston Public
Schools Foreign Language Programs will help all students develop a deep
understanding of the Perspectives, Practices and Products of the cultures
associated with the target languages being taught. Deep cultural understanding is only
attainable through the acquisition of advanced proficiency in a second
language.
Research shows that the
development of advanced proficiency in a second language (L2) requires an early
start in a long-sequence, well-articulated curriculum. Research also supports
the fact that students that participate in this type of foreign language program
achieve higher levels of linguistic and mathematical literacy and transfer
these skills to all other curricular areas.
Our curriculum will be reflective of an early start, spiraling in conceptual breadth and depth,
based upon Power Standards, Big Ideas and Essential Questions, and correlated
to the Massachusetts Foreign Languages
Framework and the National Standards
for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st
Century, and the ACTFL Performance
Guidelines for K-12 Learners.
This level of advanced
proficiency will be achieved in an environment which is rigorous and relevant,
intellectually and emotionally safe, and promotes risk-taking, which is
essential to engagement in authentic communication in the target language. A natural outcome of student participation in
this rigorous curriculum will be the development of 21st century
skills such as: cross-cultural
competence, global awareness, multiple literacies, critical thinking/problem
solving, collaboration, flexibility and adaptability, and mutual responsibility.
All foreign language curricula will be
guaranteed and viable, and formatted using the Backward Design model.
Holliston’s foreign language curriculum will be content-enriched, interactive
and delivered through the exclusive use of the target language in the
classroom.
PRODUCTS
(Outcomes of Student Learning)
__________________________________
As they become meaningfully engaged
citizens in a 21st century global society, FL students will:
·
consistently
demonstrate appropriate levels of functional fluency/bilingualism in the target
language,
·
understand
and recognize bias as it relates to cross-cultural issues,
·
make
appropriate choices and judgments demonstrating deep cross-cultural
understandings,
·
demonstrate
insight into relationships between language and culture,
·
analyze
the perspectives, practices and products of target cultures through the use of
Essential Questions,
·
demonstrate
adaptability both inside and outside classroom setting,
·
demonstrate
the application of critical thinking and cognitive flexibility to everyday
life,
·
demonstrate
transferability of skills and habits developed in FL classrooms to other
domains,
·
demonstrate
cultural curiosity through the discussion and formation of Essential Questions,
·
become
better prepared to meet college and career expectations of a multilingual
world, and
·
develop
second language literacy skills and strategies applicable to English language
learning.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
PREFACE TO
FOREIGN LANGUAGES CURRICULUM REVIEW
(Introduction to Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st
Century, pp. 11-12)
Copyright ACTFL 1999
The businessperson, the poet, the emergency
room nurse, the diplomat, the scientist, and the teenage computer buff are
representative Americans who play diverse roles in life, yet each could present
a convincing rationale for the importance of studying a foreign language. Their
reasons might range from the realistic to the idealistic, but one simple truth
would give substance to them all: to relate in a meaningful way to another
human being, one must be able to communicate.
From the flowing green lawns and porch
swings of rural
To study another language and culture
gives one the powerful key to successful communication: knowing how, when, and
why, to say what to whom. All the linguistic and social knowledge required for
effective human-to-human interaction is encompassed in those ten words.
Formerly, most teaching in foreign language classrooms concentrated on the how
(grammar) to say what (vocabulary). While these components of language remain
crucial, the current organizing principle for language study is communication,
which also highlights the why, the whom, and the when (the sociolinguistic and
cultural aspects of language). The approach to second language instruction
found in today’s schools is designed to facilitate genuine interaction with
others, whether they are on another continent, across town, or within the
neighborhood.
FOREIGN
LANGUAGES AND THE EDUCATED CITIZEN
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To study another language and culture
enhances one’s personal education in many ways. It is only in learning a new
linguistic system that one acquires an objective view of one’s native language. For
someone who has never learned a second language, this point is difficult to comprehend;
for those who have learned one, it is manifestly clear. The structural bones of
one’s language, the limits to the range of ideas expressible in that language,
the intense interdependence of language and culture – all these concepts become
apparent only as second language acquisition takes place. The student becomes
aware of the ways in which language
speakers
adroitly switch levels of discourse as the context of communication changes.
The contributions of volume, pitch, speed, and tone of voice to the emotional
layers of language become clear. The language learner also realizes that eye
contact, facial expression, and gestures play a vital role in enhancing the
message that is being conveyed. With these understandings comes a new-found
respect for the beauty and grace of others’ languages, as well as one’s own.
Research studies indicate that the very
process of studying another language may give students a cognitive boost which
enables them to perform at higher levels in some other subjects. An analysis of
data on over 17,000 students who applied for admissions to Northeast Missouri
State University between 1981 – 86 revealed that students who had completed a
foreign language class in highs school tended to have higher scores on their
ACT exams in English and math regardless of their ability level (Olsen and
Brown, 1992 ). This study reinforces the findings of another researcher, who
discovered that high school foreign language students perform significantly
better on the SAT verbal exam than non-foreign language students, and that SAT
verbal scores increase successively with each half year of foreign language
study. In the same study, it was shown that the economic background of foreign
language students did not affect performance; students from lower
socio-economic levels who studied foreign languages performed on par with their
more affluent peers (Cooper 1987).
To study another language and culture
provides access to literature as it is experienced by the audience for whom it
was written. Irony, humor, satire, and other rich textures of prose are
revealed at their deepest level only to those familiar with both the language
and culture. Similarly, the subtle seasonings which flavor drama and poetry are
discernable only to those who know the language of the playwright and the poet.
To study another language and culture
increases enormously one’s ability to see connections. Since the content of a
foreign language course deals with history, geography, social studies, math,
and the fine arts, it is easy for students to develop an interdisciplinary
perspective at the same time they are gaining intercultural understandings.
Pedagogically, this is enhanced by the methods used to teach foreign languages:
the use of images and items from real life for sharpening perception, a wide
variety of physical activities and games, involvement in role play and other
dramatic activities, the use of music in both receptive and participatory
modes, and learning experiences that call for sequencing, memorizing, problem
solving as well as both inductive and deductive reasoning. This broad range of
language learning strategies appeal to a variety of learning styles and expands
the learner’s awareness of the many dimensions of his/her own intelligence.
To
study another language and culture is to gain an especially rich preparation
for the future. It is difficult to imagine a job, a profession, a career, or a
leisure activity in the twenty-first century which will not be enhanced by the
ability to communicate effectively and sensitively with others. While it is
impossible to foresee which foreign language will be useful at a later point in
life, those who have once experienced the process of acquiring a second
language have gained language learning skills that make learning another
language easier. Possession of the linguistic and cultural insights which come
with foreign language study will be a pre-requisite for life as a citizen in
the worldwide neighborhood.
________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
The
following statement was developed by the K-12 Student Standards Task Force as it
began work on developing national standards in foreign language learning. From
this philosophy, the goals for foreign language education were derived, and all
the work in standards setting relates to these concepts.
Language and communication are at the
heart of the human experience. The
Supporting this vision are three
assumptions about language and culture, learners of language and culture, and
language and culture education:
Competence in more than one
language and culture enables people to
>communicate with other people in other cultures in a variety of settings,
>look beyond their customary borders,
>develop insight into their own language and culture,
>act with greater awareness of self, of other cultures, and their own relationship to those cultures,
>gain direct access to additional bodies of knowledge, and
>participate more fully in the global community and marketplace.
All students can be successful
language and culture learners, and they
>must have access to language and culture study that is integrated into the entire school experience
>benefit from the development and maintenance of proficiency in more than one language,
>learn in a variety of ways and settings, and
>acquire proficiency at varied rates.
Language and culture education is
part of the core curriculum, and it
>is tied to program models that incorporate effective strategies, assessment procedures, and technologies,
>reflects evolving standards at the national, state and local levels, and
>develops and enhances basic communication skills and higher order thinking skills.
KEEPING
INSTRUCTION IN THE TARGET LANGUAGE:
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
The following excerpt from ACTFL’s national standard document explains
the difference between foreign language study and the study of sequential
subjects such as math, science and social studies. (Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century,
pp. 25-26)
SPECIAL FEATURES OF LANGUAGE STUDY
______________________________________________
Most teachers and educators
within a given subject matter or discipline have a variety of reasons for
thinking that their subject matter is “special” in one way or another, from
history to art, from math to music. What is rather special about language
learning, however, is that it can be learned without formal schooling at all.
People “learn” their first languages all over the world without schooling, even
without lessons, as might be the case in learning the piano or learning to tap
dance. Moreover, this sort of learning is not dependent on talent. While we may
say that Mary learned to play the piano “by ear” or Jose was a “natural artist”
from age four, or that Tina was a “natural” swimmer by age five, we do not say
that Maria had a “real talent” for learning her first language, Spanish, whereas
her brother did not. All children all over the world, unless they have some
sort of neurological disorder, are typically fluent in their first language by
age five. They gain control of various components of language for competent use
long before the emergence of the cognitive skills that will be necessary for
schooled learning, and they seemingly learn it “naturally,” that is, without
conscious effort.
Much of this same sort of natural learning
can occur when children acquire a second language. There are plentiful examples
of children learning a second language through exposure and use far outside of
school environments – residence in the country of the language learned being a
typical case. Again, neither formal lessons nor “talent” seems to enter the
picture. These unique features of language acquisition as an “unschooled”
learning experience contrast sharply with math, science, social studies, art,
music, dance, drama and the like – subjects we normally think of as being
learned only through instruction (schools or lessons) and/or in some cases by a
combination of talent and instruction.
Even for older learners, the idea persists
today that the “best” way to learn a language is to just “go to the country”
and learn the language “naturally” without formal instruction. Surely, it is
rarely said that the best way to learn math is to just “hang around”
mathematicians, or the best way to learn studio art is exposure to professional
artists, or the best way to learn social studies is to “live in the society”.
Putting language learning into
formal educational environments does not change the features unique to language
acquisition; in fact, these features offer certain challenges to treating
language study as a pure, sequentially mastered subject matter such as math,
science, or history. In mathematics, for example, the school curriculum moves
students through a fairly well-defined sequence of steps in acquiring
mathematical competencies involving computation and problem solving. Subjects such
as “math,” “biology,” and “social studies” may be taught and learned as an
unfolding of increasingly complex concepts (arithmetic to algebra to calculus)
and/or as the learning of a set of facts. Foreign languages, on the other hand,
are not “acquired” when students learn an ordered set of facts about the
language (e.g., grammar facts, vocabulary). Ideally, students need to use the
target language for real communication, that is, to carry out a complex
interactive process that involves speaking and understanding what others say in
the target language, as well as reading and interpreting written materials.
Acquiring communicative competence also involves the acquisition of
increasingly complex concepts centering upon the relationship between culture
and communication. For some students, this acquisition process takes place in a
natural setting. They have access to another language because they interact
frequently with people who speak to them in this language or because they have
spent time abroad. For other students, the process takes place in the
classroom. For still others, it takes place in both the classroom and a
real-world setting.
The standards have been written to suggest
that the goals of language study cannot be divided into a set of sequenced
steps. It is not the case that young students must first deal with isolated
bits and pieces of language. Real communication is possible for young students
as well as for students in high schools. While the progress indicators for each
grade level – 4, 8 and 12 – reflect differences in student cognitive
development, maturity and interests, the standards at all levels offer a vision
of what students should know and be able to do in another language.
This document was written one year after Holliston started its Spanish FLES
Program, and twenty years after we
started our French Immersion Program. Both of our programs were founded upon
the premise that all instruction in
foreign language classrooms should be kept in the target language.
Years ago, it was assumed
that second language learners learned to speak, read, and write other languages
in a part-to-whole fashion, first focusing on small bits of instruction, such
as isolated vocabulary and grammar, and eventually building the capacity to express
language in big, meaningful chunks. We now know that this model simply does not
work. Students neither learn a second language in part-to- whole fashion, nor
in whole-to-part fashion, but, rather, in whole-to-part-to-whole fashion,
listening to long streams and sequences of phonology from which they eventually
can pick out the small pieces which eventually they can reconstruct into whole
segments of streaming, fluent language output. In order for students to be
exposed to the rich, flowing stream of language necessary to their ability to
develop fluency, all classroom
instruction must necessarily be kept in the target language.
Years ago, foreign language
teachers practiced a methodology known as the grammar-translation method, whereby students were exposed to small,
isolated bits of grammar and vocabulary, in sequential order, following the
model used to teach highly sequential subjects such as mathematics. Over the
course of the past twenty years, foreign language teaching has changed
entirely. We now know that languages have to be acquired, in the long run, and that long sequences of exposure to
the target language delivered in meaningful contexts are essential to the
development of true proficiency. We know that languages do not map with each
other in one-to-one correspondence for syntax and word order, and that the act
of translation from one language to another is something so difficult to
achieve that in university foreign language programs, translation is considered
a post-graduate level class even for foreign language majors. Therefore, in 21st
Century foreign language classrooms, the focus is not on grammar-translation,
but on the development of oral proficiency in the second language followed by
proficiency in reading and writing. Modern language theory also tells us that
learning to speak a language is much less cognitively complex than is learning
to read and write that language, and that those students who are exposed to an
immersive learning environment first learn to communicate orally, and then go
on to have better achievement in reading and writing, following the
developmental pattern of native language acquisition and learning.
If instruction in foreign
languages is centered upon the development of oral/aural proficiency, teachers
can actually “cast a wider net” for success of all learners, some of whom may
have language-related difficulties and disabilities that make grammatical rules
and spelling difficult to master. Again, since the act of speaking is much less
cognitively complex than is the act of writing, it makes good sense for foreign
language teachers to target the language skill that all students can master.
In 2009, thirty years after Holliston began its foray into
immersion education, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
published its first formal position statement on the use of the target language
in the foreign language classroom.
USE OF THE TARGET LANGUAGE IN THE
CLASSROOM
MAY 2010
AMERICAN COUNCIL ON THE TEACHING OF
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Research indicates that effective language instruction must provide
significant levels of meaningful communication* and interactive feedback in the
target language in order for students to develop language and cultural
proficiency. The pivotal role of target-language interaction in language
learning is emphasized in the K-16 Standards for Foreign Language Learning
in the 21st Century. ACTFL therefore recommends that language
educators and their students use the target language as exclusively as possible
(90% plus) at all levels of instruction during instructional time, and when
feasible, beyond the classroom. In classrooms that feature maximum
target-language use, instructors use a variety of strategies to facilitate
comprehension and support meaning-making. For example, they:
- provide comprehensible input that is
directed toward communicative goals;
- make meaning clear through body
language, gestures and visual support;
- conduct comprehension checks to ensure
understanding;
- negotiate meaning with students and
encourage negotiation among students;
- elicit talk that increases in fluency,
accuracy and complexity over time;
- encourage self-expression and
spontaneous use of language;
- teach students strategies for
requesting clarification and assistance when faced with comprehension
difficulties; and
- offer feedback to assist and improve
students’ abilities to interact orally in the target language.
* Communication for a classical
language refers to an emphasis on reading ability and for American Sign
Language to signed communicative ability.
FOREIGN
LANGUAGES AND THE COMMON CORE
During
the 2010-11 school year, the term Common Core has come into colloquial use,
both nationally and locally. At this
point in time, the areas of Language Arts (including English reading) and Math
are considered to be the foundational Common Core subjects. It is important to
understand that in teaching other languages, we are continually scaffolding
students’ skills in these core areas. Our instruction of reading in the target
language helps students to build skills and strategies transferable to English
reading, and our inclusion of content-area skills such as mathematical
operations in our K-8 program scaffolds student performance in this area as
well.
One study, conducted in
set up a control group of students whose foreign language instruction
took time away from their basic math instruction. Remarkably, students who studied a foreign language even
when time spent in the foreign language class took time away from math
performed better, overall, in math testing than did the students with no foreign
language instruction. The results of this study are replicated in a doctoral
dissertation by Dr. Carolyn Taylor.
In this study, a reprise of the original
It is
the belief of the Holliston Public Schools Foreign Language Department that
foreign language instruction scaffolds all learning in the Common Core, and
should therefore be considered a core discipline in the Holliston Public
Schools.
PRACTICES
(What we are
currently doing; what we need to do to improve our programs)
This section of the review contains
position statements on various aspects of pedagogical practice in foreign
language instruction.
CONTENT-BASED
THEMATIC INSTRUCTION
IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS
For 21st Century foreign language learners, it is
simply not enough to learn about the linguistic systems of
languages, namely vocabulary and grammar. The ACTFL Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century
have, as their goal, the knowledge on the part of all students of how, when, and where to say what to whom. In
this scenario, students need something more. That something is Culture, with a
capital “C”. And, while it is entirely possible
for second language learners to learn to speak like natives without ever truly
developing a deep and enduring understanding of a language’s relative cultures,
it is entirely impossible to develop
deep and enduring understanding of cultures without first speaking a language
fluently, in such a way as to be readily understood by native speakers of the
language. Functional fluency allows us to make ourselves understood; true
fluency allows us to participate in conversations and cultural events intended
for native speakers.
In order for 21st
Century learners to be able to arrive at the intended destination, which is a
deep and enduring understanding of other cultures,
we must first ensure their acquisition of fluency (reading, writing, speaking
and listening on level with native speakers) in the target language. Fluency in
the second language is the portal through which we must pass in order to access
knowledge of the cultures associated with that language. Developing real
fluency takes time and motivation on the part of the learner.
How, then, is it possible to
better develop the levels of fluency of our students while aiming for deep and
enduring understanding of the cultural aspects of the languages they are
studying? For deep and enduring understanding does not imply information about a culture or cultures,
but an understanding of the
Perspectives, Practices and Products associated with that culture and why and how this belief system
(Perspectives) is translated into daily life (Practices and Products). The
implementation of content-based, thematic instruction calls for a central focus
of culture (folktales are often used)
or content (integration of math,
science, or another content area) through which greater levels of fluency are
attained on the part of the students.
Researchers in the field of
second language learning often call upon research first developed to explain
phenomena in the area of first language acquisition. Canadian researcher Kieran
Egan (Simon Fraser University, Toronto, Canada http://www.educ.sfu.ca/kegan/ ) in his
book, Teaching as Storytelling: An
Alternative Approach to Teaching and Learning in the Elementary School, highlights what is referred to as “the orality of childhood” and the
integral importance of storytelling in the “mental
life” of children (http://www.ierg.net/assets/documents/ideas/supplement.PDF
).
Associations such as the Imaginative
Education Research Group, directed by Egan,
have identified the value of shaping curriculum delivery in all content
areas into a story format, and integrating content, including cultural content,
as the foundational basis of each “story” told (http://www.ierg.net/about/storytell.html).
Second language researchers such as Curtain and Dahlberg, in their own book,
entitled Languages and Children: Making
the Match (4th Edition, 2009), highlight the work of Egan to
underscore the importance of storytelling in second language instruction as an
effective methodology. They and others (Granville, Langer de Ramirez) have
developed a model of content-based thematic instruction in second language
teaching. In this model, either a content-area concept, such as the solar
system, or a cultural perspective, usually embedded in an authentic folktale,
becomes the thematic center of the unit. Once the center is established, the
instructor finds more connections to that center, and tries to make connections
to every other content area. This theory is illustrated in an article written
by Curtain and Haas in 1995, and accepted throughout the foreign language
profession as the best illustration of content-based thematic instruction (http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/int-for-k8.html).
Holliston’s foreign language
programs were formatted to develop oral/aural proficiency on the part of our
students. 21st Century learners need more than fluency in another
language for language’s sake; they need to be able to use the language to
interact with members of other cultures to make significant contributions to
the global society in which we now live. The neighborhood of the 1960’s has
gone global, and as members of this global neighborhood, we need to use more
than one language to connect with our intercultural peers. If the ultimate
outcome of foreign language learning is connectedness with other cultures, the
best means of achieving that goal is to practice content-based, culturally
embedded, thematic instruction for all students, K-8, and culturally based
thematic units for high school, grades 9-12.
CONTENT-BASED INSTRUCTION IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM –
FLAM Conference 2008 Wendy Brownell
INCLUSION OF
STUDENTS WITH DIVERSE LEARNING NEEDS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION
Since long before the
inception of the national foreign language standards document, entitled Standards for Foreign Language Learning in
the 21st Century, it has been considered a best practice in
foreign language instruction to include in long-term, articulated instruction,
students with diverse and differentiated learning needs. This group of students
includes students with emotional or physical disabilities, learning
disabilities, needs for differentiated instruction through preferred
modalities, and English Language Learners.
National, State and Local
Foreign Language organizations, from the American Council on the Teaching of
Foreign Languages to The Education Cooperative, have long sponsored workshops
on the advisability of including ALL students in elementary through secondary
foreign language instruction. Research studies have shown that it is students
who are performing academically in the average to below average ranges who
actually have the most to gain from studying a second language.
The Effect of Second Language Learning on Test Scores,
Intelligence and Achievement
For students with social,
emotional or physical difficulties, learning a second language can open to them
a whole new world of possibilities, in terms of social interactions and
emotional skill development. Speaking a new language allows a person to take on
a whole new aspect. For some children, foreign language study is an area in
which they find something uniquely interesting.
For students with
language-based learning disabilities, foreign language instruction offers them
a new chance to “start over” in another language. Children who have difficulty
with English spelling find it ultimately easier to spell in Spanish, wherein
each letter makes a single sound, and each sound is represented by a single
letter or letter combination. Unlike English, which is the most difficult
language in the world to spell, Spanish offers phonemic consistency, and a much
simpler spelling system. Every foreign language offers students the opportunity
to speak in other words, to participate in other cultures. Since the development
of speaking skills is much less cognitively complex than is the development of
reading and writing skills, our foreign language programs cast a wide net for
meeting the needs of all students by being proficiency-based. This means that
the intended outcome of our program is to first produce students who know what
to say when, and to whom, in the target language. Since bilingualism, and, in
many cases, multilingualism, is the norm, world-wide, we can no longer think
that “English is enough” or that “Two languages are too many for this child.”
Research has shown that the notion of a specific foreign language learning
disability has been disproved and that all students can successfully learn to speak a second language. For students
with language-related difficulties, more exposure to the target language over a
longer sequence of time is necessary. Since the benefits of an early start in a
long sequence program apply to all
second language learners, students with special linguistic needs should not be
excluded from foreign language instruction, as the later they begin foreign
language instruction, the less time they will have to be surrounded by the
language in order to develop the speaking skills targeted in our curriculum. We
value and encourage the participation of all students in foreign language
classes, Grades 1-12.
The national standards
documents are also specific in encouraging each English Language Learner (ELL)
to take part in foreign language and sometimes heritage language instruction,
aside from English. Based upon the English proficiency level of the student,
instruction in English will take precedence in the student’s schedule. We
encourage the eventual inclusion of English Language Learners in our foreign
language programs, whenever they complete ELL instruction, in order to provide them with equitable
access to learning what their English-speaking peers are offered in terms of
foreign language instruction.
It is therefore recommended
that foreign language instruction be included in the curricular goals for
students with diverse learning needs
whenever possible, with due consideration to individual linguistic,
social and academic circumstances.
DIFFERENTIATED
INSTRUCTION IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
The term “differentiated instruction” refers to instruction
(content) either delivered differently (process) or assessed differently
(product), depending upon the academic, social-emotional, or motivational
profiles of the individual learner. Differentiation allows for individualization
and personalization of the learning process without calling for separate
one-on-one instruction of each individual learner.
ACTFL 2009 Teacher of the
Year Toni Theisen, of Loveland, Colorado, has written the foremost article
related to differentiated instruction in foreign language classrooms. Her
article, entitled, Differentiated Instruction in the Foreign Language Classroom:
Meeting the Diverse Needs of All Learners offers teachers an overview
of the ways in which content, process
and product can become differentiated
for individual and unique learners. This article provided the basis for a
professional day presentation to Holliston’s foreign language teachers, Grades
6-12, in January of 2009.
In accordance with the
Holliston Public Schools’ favorable disposition toward differentiated
instruction, the Foreign Language Department K-12 will continue to make strides
toward differentiated instruction that can scaffold learning for all students in foreign language
classes.
MULTIPLE
ENTRY POINTS FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN HOLLISTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
In keeping with its philosophy
of an early start for all second language learners, Holliston offers multiple
entry points and a variety of options for all students. ACTFL’s National
Standards Document emphasizes the importance of offering all students more than
one choice for foreign language study, and not limiting options.
In the case of our traditional students it is possible to study
Spanish in depth over the course of
twelve years, adding another language at the high school level; or to study
Spanish at the elementary level, switch to French at the middle school level,
and perhaps add Chinese at the high school
level, thereby studying two or three languages, each for a shorter
period of time. Students are recommended to follow a single foreign language
for a longer sequence, adding additional languages whenever possible. It must
be noted that students who are successful in their study of Spanish at the
elementary level and choose to study French beginning in Grade 6 and continuing
through high school are just as likely to achieve high levels of proficiency in
French as are their counterparts who choose to remain in the Spanish program
over the long sequence. This is because they have become efficient second
language learners over the course of five years of Spanish study, and can
easily transfer their knowledge of second language learning to the situational
context of the second foreign language.
The following chart illustrates options open
to our traditional foreign language students.
|
|
|
Language #1 |
Language #2 |
Language #3 |
|
Grade 1 |
ŕ |
Start Language #1 (Spanish) |
|
|
|
Grade 5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OPTIONS |
OPTIONS |
|
|
Grade 6 |
ŕ |
Continue Spanish |
Switch to French |
|
|
Grade 8 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OPTIONS |
OPTIONS |
OPTIONS |
|
Grade 9
|
ŕ |
Continue Spanish |
Continue French |
Add Mandarin Add Latin |
|
|
|
OUTCOMES |
OUTCOMES |
OUTCOMES |
|
Grade 12 |
ŕ |
10-12 year sequence based upon options taken |
5-7 year sequence based
upon options taken |
2-3 year sequence based
upon options taken |
In
the case of French Immersion students, it is highly recommended that students
remain in the program from K through 12, as the outcome of the completed
immersion program is a much higher rate of oral/aural proficiency than that of
the Spanish program, due solely to the amount of time on task in each of the
programs. Many Immersion students choose to undertake the study of a second
foreign language at the high school level.
The following chart illustrates options open
to our French Immersion students.
|
|
|
Language #1 |
Language #2 |
Language #3 |
|
Grade K-1 |
ŕ |
Start Language #1 (French) |
|
|
|
Grade 5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OPTIONS |
|
|
|
Grade 6 |
ŕ |
Continue French |
|
|
|
Grade 8 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OPTIONS |
OPTIONS |
OPTIONS |
|
Grade 9
|
ŕ |
Continue French |
Add Spanish or Add Mandarin or Add Latin |
|
|
|
|
OUTCOMES |
OUTCOMES |
OUTCOMES |
|
Grade 12 |
ŕ |
13-year sequence in
Language #1 |
2-3 year sequence based upon
options taken |
|
IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
The use of technology in
foreign language teaching allows students to access portals through which other
worlds and other cultures are readily available to them. Technological
applications allow students to experience other cultures in real time, and to
not only view those cultures from an outsider’s
perspective, but to interact with members of those cultures in order to begin
to develop an insider’s perspective.
Since cultural Perspectives, Practices and Products cannot be taught,
but must be acquired, it is imperative that our 21st Century classrooms
move beyond the four-square, walled environments we once knew as the center of
instruction to the dynamic model of 21st Century teaching and
learning, using technological applications to extend and embed the teaching and
learning experience into the arena of the world beyond the classroom.
Technological applications
include much more than hardware. The technology of the overhead projector has
been replaced by the technology of LCD
projectors fully configured with networked computer hard drives and wired for
instant Internet access, thereby allow teachers to find, flag and click onto
sites allowing students access to real-time learning in culturally authentic
environments. Students of French, Mandarin and Spanish are now able to view
streaming videos of news and cultural broadcasts in the target languages, and
to access blogs, wikis and other social and academic networking sites that take
them far beyond the desks of their classroom learning environment. MP3
downloads allow them access to documents formatted in the target language for
aural/oral practice. Technological applications allow students to participate
in “flipped” classroom environments where they can review basic lesson content
online on their own, so that classroom discussion may move far beyond the
basics and into the realm of application and critical thinking skill
development.
Collaborative teaching and
learning environments no longer require the presence of two or more teachers or
students in the same room at the same time. Through Moodle, Google Docs,
Blackboard, Wikis, Blogs (www.Blogger.com
), Glogs (www.Glogster.com ), podcasts (www.PodOmatic.com
) and websites such as www.delicious.com (social bookmarking for sharing favorite
sites), www.VoiceThread.com (audio recording,
online). www.issuu.com, www.voki.com,
www.classroom20.com and other
means of sharing information related to teaching and learning, students and teachers
can access the work of myriad other professionals, thereby allowing themselves
to focus not on the nuts and bolts of hunting for information in the first
place, but on the application of critical thinking skills they will invite
their students to put into place in processing digital, visual and auditory
information available from Web 2.0 applications. Through integration of meaningful technology, teachers of
foreign languages can bring new languages to life for their students by
capitalizing on the digital world in which they live to make communication in a
second language a meaningful experience.
A recent workshop (May 13,
2011) held at Holliston High School featured Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez of
Various grants from parent
organizations have afforded the foreign language teams at different levels the
opportunity to provide students with meaningful technology integration in the
foreign language classroom. The middle school language lab, the technology for
which was recently purchased by the MS-PTSA, is now in the process of being
updated with new hardware. Students at
this level are able to visit host sites as a class, including those sites
included in their virtual foreign language textbooks, for which they have all
received site licenses (Spanish and traditional French). French Immersion
students visit websites formatted entirely in French and are able to take
virtual tours of the countries representative of the Francophone experience. At
the elementary schools, we are hoping to receive the funds to purchase a MIMEO
stick, which will turn each whiteboard in the classroom into an interactive
SMART board. The High School and Middle School levels just received grants for
this purchase, and will be integrating this tool into classroom instruction
beginning this spring. At the high school level, the use of LCD projectors on
carts allows life-size access to internet sites with content to assist in daily
instruction. Students have equal access to online textbooks and are able to
complete formative assessment activities at their own individual pace. The
2010-11 school year proved to be pivotal in moving all high school foreign
language teachers into the arena of blended learning.
A recent article by Tiesa Graf, First Vice-President of the
Massachusetts Foreign Language Association (MaFLA) describes the use of
recording software known as Audacity in the foreign language classroom (and
beyond).
The phrase technology integration should always be
preceded by the term meaningful. In
their book, Brave New Schools, second
language acquisition experts Jim Cummins and Dennis Sayers provide clear direction for the meaningful
use of the Internet in 21st Century learning. They argue that the
notion of cultural literacy as put forth by E.D. Hirsch is really not enough,
but that it represents only monocultural
literacy, when the wider world demands more— when the world-wide network
demands multicultural literacy.
Brave New Schools is a vision of schooling
for the 21st Century as well as a guide for parents and teachers.
Brave New Schools describes a world in which students, teachers, and parents
are globally connected by the Internet and thereby able to communicate across
geographical and cultural barriers once thought impassable. In one of the
book’s many astonishing case studies, a high school student on Long Island
translates an Internet message from a young man in a Croatian refugee camp
describing prisoner abuse, send the translation around the world, and sets off
a wave of humanitarian aid. Brave New Schools also contains an invaluable updated
guide to the Internet and World Wide Web for parents and teachers, which
includes a listing of K-12 networking resources, lists of available and
published materials, and descriptions of successful networking activities.
Stunning in its implications for the future of learning guided by technology,
Brave New Schools offers hopeful solutions to the problems of cultural
differences and the future of our children. (Back cover, Brave New Schools)
Cummins and Sayers add, “…the educational value of computer-mediated
learning networks can be realized only within a context of collaborative
critical inquiry. A community of
learning must be created in the classroom, where students and teachers jointly
investigate issues that are of relevance to them in their lives and of broader
social significance.” (Cummins, J. and Sayers, D. 1995. Brave New Schools.
The role of technology should never be to replace a face-to-face,
interactive classroom environment, but to provide students with instant access
to portals through which they can immediately apply their second language
skills. Holliston’s foreign
language staff is committed to the inclusion of meaningful technological applications in the second language teaching
and learning process.
PRODUCTS
(What
We Have Achieved)
This section contains the
Executive Summaries of our FL Programs and Standards Alignment, K-12
_______________________________________________________________
Alignment of
French Immersion Program K-12 with MA Foreign Language Framework
Executive Summary
The work of aligning the
French Immersion Program with the MA Foreign Language Framework began two years
ago, as each team of French Immersion teachers met to discuss how well students
were meeting each individual standard at each grade level. It was decided that
there was so much incremental growth from one grade level to the next that we
would not delineate growth against the standard by Stages of the Framework, but
rather by individual grade levels.
There are 5 Strands to the MA
Foreign Language Framework. These Strands are exactly the same as the Strands
of the ACTFL National Standards document.
|
Standard #1: Interpersonal
Communication (Speaking, Writing) |
By the end of Grade 2 in
the French Immersion Program, students have reached standards for interpersonal
communication met by students in Grade 10 in the early start Spanish Program.
The Immersion environment offers such a degree of intensity in exposure to the
foreign language that students are fully able to communicate daily wants,
needs, desires, opinions, emotions, etc. by the end of Grade 2. Writing skills
in French are not fully developed until the middle school years, still far
ahead of their Spanish-speaking peers. Ability in writing is commensurate with
ability to perform analytical grammatical functions in the target language. It
is not a guarantee of program participation that every child will prove to
develop great analytical skill levels, as the immersion experience is far
better at developing global competencies on the part of students who learn to
circumlocute (use peripheral language skills to “talk around” a specific topic)
to make themselves understood by interlocutors, or conversational partners.
|
Standard #2 : Interpretive Communication (Listening, Reading) |
Again, by the end of Grade 2 in the
French Program students achieve what their peers in Spanish can do in the area
of reading by Grade 7. The gap is somewhat closer in this regard, as reading
skills naturally improve with age, and traditional learners can learn to read
and write foreign languages very well. In the area of listening, the second
receptive skill, Grade 2
French Immersion students perform at least on par with Grade 10
traditional students, and often higher. This is remarkable given the fact that
our traditional foreign language students are meeting expectations for their
grade level in the foreign language. French students’ listening and reading
skills grow incrementally over time, to the point where they are functioning in
both of these areas on a third-year college level by the time they complete the
AP French Language sequence, the final year in the program.
|
Standard #3: Presentational Communication (Speaking,
Writing for an audience) |
By the end of Grade 2, students in
French Immersion have reached levels attained by their Spanish-speaking peers
at the end of Grade 10 in the traditional program. Their ability to speak
extemporaneously about a variety of topics is simply amazing. We do find,
however, that by the high school level, if students have not been asked to participate
in presentational tasks along the way, they are hesitant to get up and speak in
front of their peers.
We recommend more focus on
presentational skills through the middle school years of instruction in all
curriculum areas, to help scaffold students’ confidence levels and ability to
organize thoughts orally in order to make presentations on specific topics of
curricular importance.
|
Standard #4: Culture |
Deep and enduring understanding of the
cultural perspectives, practices and products of speakers of other languages is
the ultimate goal of every foreign language program.
The review process brought to light
several issues requiring immediate attention in the context of the French
Immersion Program. Since children follow the same curriculum as that
established for their grade levels, they are not really immersed in aspects of
French culture as much as they should be. The teachers in our program have
decided to focus more intensely on developing knowledge of Francophone cultures
on the part of our students. We will immediately begin the development of
thematic, culture-based units of instruction for each grade level. Students in
the elementary grades will study Carnaval
in
|
Standard #5: Linguistic Comparisons |
The review process also
brought to light some inconsistencies in meeting this strand of the MA
Framework. This, however, is due to the fact that no English is spoken in the
context of the immersion program, and therefore, making direct connections
between the two languages is not something we do in a formal manner. Students
in the upper levels of the Immersion Program do begin to make these connections
on their own, as vocabulary roots, prefixes and suffixes are directly taught
and students are asked to think more analytically about their learning.
|
Standard #6: Cultural
Comparisons |
Since culture with a big “C” is not
being effectively taught at present, it is difficult to assess how and when
students are making cultural comparisons. Some of these comparisons are a
natural outcome of learning about things relative to culture, but not
explicitly taught. For instance, the French calendar begins on Monday, not
Sunday, as does the English calendar. Although students are never quizzed on
the differences between the two, they do learn to make these comparisons on
their own. More explicit teaching of French culture begins at the 9th
Grade level. It is our hope to move more cultural content down to the middle school
level, as students learn about Francophone West Africa and compare those
countries to
|
Standard # 7: Connections |
Since Immersion students follow the
same curriculum as the traditional students at the same grade level, the
standards of the Connections
|
Scenario Grade 2 French: ACTFL Conference Presentation |
Students in French Grade 2 were invited to participate in a
professional conference presentation in the fall of 2010. Students, facilitated
by their classroom teacher, discussed the parts of a tree, the ways in which
trees help the environment, overall, and the dire consequences which would
result from a sudden loss of trees in the natural world around us. Connections
to science, language arts and math curricula were evident in this discussion.
NB A review of the math program used in French Immersion classes should
be part of the district-wide Math Review in 2011-12, and a complete review of
the French Immersion
|
Standard # 8: Communities |
The standards of the Communities
Strand are met within the grade levels of the program, as older students
interact with younger students, and also with adult fluent speakers of the
target language, but are not being met in terms of development of deep
understanding of the cultural perspectives, practices and products of
French-speaking countries. The introduction of thematic, culture-based units is
but one way to scaffold this understanding. The other way to ensure the development
of deep understanding is to engage in a learning partnership with a school in
Alignment of
Spanish FLES 1-5 and Continuing French and Spanish Program 6-12 with MA Foreign
Language Framework
Executive Summary
The results of the alignment
process for our Spanish FLES (1-5) and Continuing French and Spanish Programs
(6-12) also yielded very valuable information regarding our students and their
success as second language learners. Since progress in the Spanish FLES Program
is not as dramatic from grade to grade, given the time and exposure to the
target language, we formatted the standards alignment by stages, as per the MA
Foreign Languages Framework. We are very please to report that our students are
meeting and sometimes exceeding all of the standards for language skill
development. However, the same concern exists for the Spanish Program in that
we are not fully meeting the standards for Culture with a capital “C”; that is,
developing deep and enduring understandings related to the cultural
perspectives, practices and products of Spanish-speaking countries and regions
around the world. Our recommendations, therefore, include the development of
culture-based thematic units of instruction for grades 5-8 Spanish, and
thematic units with a content area base for the younger grades.
|
Standard #1: Interpersonal
Communication (Speaking, Writing) |
Students in our program meet and often
exceed the benchmark standard of the MA Foreign Languages Framework in this
area, if they continue their study of a second language over long sequences of
instruction. Since the ability to speak a second language is directly
correlated to time and exposure to the language, this point is extremely
important.
The early start of our Spanish Program
in Grade 1 allows students to develop positive dispositions to learning a
second language, and to develop knowledge of the phonological system of Spanish
in order to begin to develop oral/aural proficiency. Using total immersion
methodology combined with highly visual materials, teachers ask students in the
lower elementary grades to chant rhymes, recite passages and sing along with CD’s and big books. At
the Grade 3 level, students continue to develop their receptive language skills
and begin to mimic phrases and expressions used by their instructors.
Production of simple phrases and fixed expressions continues through Grade 5.
At the middle school level, students’ ability to actually speak in full
sentences is developed. Students become functionally fluent over long sequences
of instruction in an articulated program with spiraling curriculum. Functional
fluency (the ability to make oneself understood when speaking the language) is
a springboard to the development of true proficiency as students move on to the
college level of foreign language study.
Writing skills develop
separately from speaking skills, and are more directly related to the
development of analytical/grammatical skills. In other words, it is much more
difficult to write effectively in a second language than it is to speak
effectively. In some cases, students who hesitate to speak aloud in front of
their peers find it much easier to commit their thoughts to paper, given the
time to prepare using graphic organizers. Again, it is important to note that
the benefits of an early start program are incrementally greater, the longer
the course of study pursued by the student.
We encourage all students to
continue their study of French or Spanish through the fourth year of instruction,
to allow them to develop at least an intermediate level of interpersonal
communication skills.
|
Standard #2: Interpretive
Communication (Listening, Reading) |
All communicative proficiency
begins with the development of listening skills in the target language. The
phonological benefits of instruction formatted entirely in the target language
are great; students exposed to a constant stream of target language use develop
listening skills much more quickly than do those for whom instruction about
another language is offered in English. Holliston’s practice of total immersion
methodology beginning in Grade 1 is consistent with the ACTFL position paper
encouraging exclusive use of the target language for all classroom interactions
in foreign language teaching and learning.
As a result of this
practice, Holliston’s students often surpass expectations set forth in the MA Foreign
Languages Framework for interpretive (listening) skills.
In the area of reading
skill development, students begin with the basics of phonetic pronunciation in
Spanish at the Grade 3 level. Since Spanish is one hundred percent phonetically
consistent, that is, since one letter or letter combination makes only one
sound, with no exceptions, Spanish is much easier to learn to read and write
than is English. In many cases, students who experience difficulty with English
reading and writing find more success in Spanish due to this high level of
consistency between letters and sounds.
One recommendation of this
curriculum review is that reading in
Spanish become a greater part of the curriculum in Grades 5-8, especially
in consideration of the fact that we will be developing content and
culture-based thematic units of instruction. When reading is the center of
instruction, grammar becomes more familiar in a natural manner, without
explicit and direct instruction. As students explore stories together, they are
called upon to visit the forms of verbs indicating a change in tense or time
(past, present, future) and become “familiar” with otherwise difficult verb
tenses. What is difficult to learn in a direct and explicit manner, out of the
context of a story, becomes much easier to understand and recognize within a
story format.
Improvement in the Spanish
and French reading skills of our traditional students is one goal of this
review process.
|
Standard #3: Presentational
Communication (Speaking, Writing for an Audience) |
The standards for presentational
communication are not targeted in the early years of our Spanish FLES program.
Since presentational skills are correlated to one’s level of productive skills in
the language, and since our program targets the development of receptive skills
at the earliest levels, this standard is not applicable to students in grades
1-5.
Presentational communication at middle
and high school levels is one area in need of improvement on the part of our
foreign language students. Although our students eventually do meet the
standards for presentational communication, after long sequences of instruction
(Standards for Grade 10 are met by Grade 10), it has become apparent especially
at the middle school level that students do not have well developed
presentational skills. This ability is not developed in isolation in foreign
language classrooms; in fact, this is one area that is usually developed in
large part in other courses.
We will continue to work
with colleagues in other subject areas to try to develop common goals for
presentational communication that can be applied to both foreign language
coursework and coursework in other disciplines.
|
Standard #4: Culture |
Deep and enduring understanding of the
cultural perspectives, practices and products of speakers of other languages is
the ultimate goal of every foreign language program.
The curriculum review process
brought to light some issues regarding the teaching of cultural aspects of the
target languages (Spanish, French, Chinese) in a manner consistent with the
development of deep and enduring understandings. Although we have long
participated in cultural celebrations such as Day of the Dead and Mardi Gras,
or Carnaval, we have not really been successful at developing any deep level of
understanding of cultural perspectives found in the societies representative of
the target languages we offer. The national standards document is clear in
delineating the importance of Culture with a capital “C” as opposed to cultural
capsules, or small “c” culture.
In reorganizing our
curriculum according to the Backward Design framework, we will invite the
discussion of essential question and enduring understandings on the part of our
students at all levels of instruction. The development of cultural-based
thematic units will allow students to develop deep understanding of the
perspectives, practices and products of those cultures chosen for joint
exploration on the part of the teachers and students.
|
Standard #5: Linguistic
Comparisons |
Although we purposely do not spend
much time directly teaching linguistic comparisons between the target languages
and English, students do begin to make them on their own. Teachers often use
knowledge of cognates and verb stems to compare one aspect of the target
language to another aspect, and often will make side comparisons to what
students know in English. Since we follow the premise that all instruction
should be kept in the target language, this strand of the Framework is less
focused upon than are the others.
|
Standard #6: Cultural
Comparisons |
As stated in the synopsis of Standard #4,
we have found that the cultural component of our foreign language program is
weaker than the linguistic component. Since fluency in a language is an
absolute prerequisite to the development of deep understanding of its relative
cultures (basically, if one cannot communicate in the language to begin with,
there is no means by which to understand anything related to the speakers of
that language), it is understandable that in our zeal to develop proficiency on
the part of our students, we set aside a real focus on the development of
cultural understandings. New research on the teaching of foreign languages
actually demonstrates that by using culturally authentic folktales or documents
as the thematic center of instructional units, we can actually engage all
learners by making instruction more meaningful to them, thereby scaffolding the
development of proficiency on their part. The idea of waiting for them to
become proficient before introducing cultural topics for discussion is no
longer considered to be a viable approach to instruction, as teaching culture
in the target language is now recognized as a means of making instruction more
meaningful and engaging even to younger students.
As a result of our
curriculum review process, we will be moving forward with the incorporation of
cultural topics as the centers of thematic units. UbD documentation begs the
question of developing units of deep understanding, and, in foreign language
instruction, this means cultural content.
|
Standard #7: Connections |
Our K-5 Program of Spanish FLES
provides myriad opportunities for students to make connections to other subject
areas. At the lower elementary levels, Spanish students explore concepts from
math, science, language arts, social studies, music and art. Actual lessons in
the target language include concept development in these areas. Often,
districts think that making time for foreign language instruction will result
in time “taken away from” other areas. In Holliston, this is certainly not the
case. Our foreign language programs are formatted to scaffold students’
learning in Common Core subjects. In Holliston it is not a question of fitting
five quarts of water into a one-gallon tank. It is, rather, a question of
coloring the water in that tank. Content-enriched foreign language instruction
is the coloring of the water, making curriculum look and feel different while
not adding any extraneous material to the existing curriculum, but rather
inviting students to look at the same concepts through a totally different
lens. Making connections through foreign language instruction results in
increased problem-solving ability and critical thinking skills on the part of
all of our students.
|
Standard #8: Communities |
Holliston as a community
is becoming ever more divergent in terms of the cultural backgrounds of its
citizens. While our students meet some of the benchmarks within the Communities
Standard, we are not fully engaged in inviting members of the Spanish-speaking
community to make presentations in Spanish to our students. The idea of finding
a partner school where Spanish is taught or of communicating with a community
in Central or South America (or
Alignment of
French Immersion and Spanish FLES and Continuing Spanish and French to the
ACTFL Performance Guidelines for K-12 Learners.
Executive Summary
This document delineates the
progress of our French and Spanish students in relation to five specific
standards having to do with communicative proficiency in all of its iterations:
receptive language skills, expressive language skills, grammatical and
syntactical accuracy, vocabulary, and discourse competence (how well they are
able to maintain communication in the target language). Whereas the national
standards document and state frameworks do not delve into the specifics of
grammar and syntax, this document is categorized by developmental levels with
appropriate descriptors, and is designed specifically for K-12 learners. The
results are graphed into three categories, Novice (K-4), Intermediate (K-8) and
Pre-Advanced (K-12). The Novice Level describes what students should be able to
do by the end of Grade 4 in a K-12 Sequence; the Intermediate Level describes
what students should be able to do by the end of Grade 8 in a K-12 Sequence;
the Pre-Advanced Level describes what students should be able to do at the end
of Grade 12 in a K-12 Sequence. The results of this alignment process, by
program, are as follows
- Comprehensibility:
How well are they understood?
French Immersion Program --Interpersonal and Presentational Modes
Students perform at the Novice Level in grades K-1 only; students move to the intermediate level in grades 2-5; students perform at the Pre-Advanced Level in grades 6-10 and move beyond this scale to the ACTFL scale for adult learners, Advanced, in grades 11-12 (AP). ALL French Immersion students meet and surpass this standard.
Spanish FLES and Continuing Program--Interpersonal and Presentational
Modes
Students perform at the
Novice Level of presentational communication in grades 1-6, as the focus of our
program during this time is the development of receptive language skills.
Students perform at the Intermediate Level in grades 7-11 (IV-CP) and move to
the Pre-Advanced Level in grades 11-12 (IV Honors, V and AP).
One recommendation from this review is to scaffold better presentational skills on the part of our Spanish and French traditional students earlier on.
- Comprehension:
How well do they understand?
French Immersion—Interpersonal Mode
Students perform at the Novice Level in Kindergarten only; by Grade 1 they have moved to the Intermediate Level of listening comprehension. By Grade 5, French Immersion students are at the Pre-Advanced Level, and by Grade 11, they have moved to the Advanced Level on the ACTFL scale for adult learners.
French Immersion –
Interpretive Mode
Students perform at the Novice Level in Grades K and 1, when they are just learning to read. By the end of Grade 2, students have moved to the Intermediate Level, and by Grade 7 they have moved to the Pre-Advanced Level. Students in Grades 11-12 are performing on the Advanced Level of the ACTFL scale for adult learners.
Spanish FLES and Continuing Program—Interpersonal Mode
Students perform at the Novice Level in Grades 1-6, as our program is built upon the development of receptive skills at these levels. Students move to the Intermediate Level in Grades 7-11, and to the Pre-Advanced Level in Grades 11 Honors and 12 V/AP. Consistent use of the target language in the classroom through all levels of instruction will allow students to develop better interpersonal communication skills earlier on.
This recommendation is consistent with our perspective on target language use.
Spanish
FLES and Continuing Program—Interpretive Mode
Students perform at the Novice Level in Grades 1-4. They move to the Intermediate Level in Grades 5-11, and to the Pre-Advanced Level if they move to IV Honors, V or AP in Grades 11-12.
It is recommended that we incorporate much more reading in the target language in our Spanish and continuing French programs, Grades 5-10, in order to have students at higher levels of proficiency in reading before exiting the program. More reading in the middle school years will allow for more cultural content to be explored.
- Language
Control: How accurate is their language?
French Immersion—Interpersonal Mode (Speaking, Writing)
Students perform at the Novice Level in Grades K and 1; they move to the Intermediate Level in Grades 2-4; they are performing at the Pre-Advanced Level in Grades 5-10 and move off the chart to the Advanced Level of the ACTFL scale for adult learners in Grades 11-12 (AP). Writing skills in the target language are the most difficult skill to master, and the last to be developed.
French Immersion –Interpretive Mode (Listening, Reading)
Students perform at the Novice Level in Grades K-1; they move to the Intermediate Level in Grades 2-6; they perform at the Pre-Advanced Level in Grades 7-10 and move into the Advanced Level of the ACTFL scale for adult learners in Grades 11-12. Listening skills are much easier to develop than are reading skills at all levels.
French Immersion – Presentational Mode
Students perform at the Novice Level in Grades K-1; they move to the Intermediate Level in Grades 2-6; they perform at the Pre-Advanced Level in Grades 7-10 and move off the chart to the Advanced Level of the ACTFL scale for adult learners in Grades 11-12 (AP). Writing skills lag behind speaking skills at every level, per developmental expectations.
Spanish FLES and Continuing Spanish and French Programs –Interpersonal
Mode
Students perform at the Novice Level in Grades 1-6; they move to the Intermediate Level in Grades 7-11(CP); they perform at the Pre-Advanced Level in Grades 11-12 (IV Honors – AP).
Consistent use of the target language in the classroom and focusing on increasing student speech production is recommended. More opportunities for student interaction in the target language are needed to help students develop better speaking skills. Risk-taking is encouraged in FL classrooms.
Spanish FLES and Continuing Spanish and French Programs –Interpretive
Mode
Students perform at the Novice Level in Grades 1-6; they move to the Intermediate Level in Grades 7-11; they perform at the Pre-Advanced Level in Grades 11-12 (IV-Honors, V, and AP).
A recommendation to include many more reading activities in Grades 5-8 is one outcome of our review.
Spanish FLES and Continuing Spanish and French Programs—Presentational
Mode
Students perform at the Novice level in Grades 1-7; they move to the Intermediate Level in Grades 8-11; they perform at the Pre-Advanced Level in Grades 11 -12 (IV Honors, V and AP).
A recommendation to include more opportunities for students to speak in classes will result in better performance against this standard.
- Vocabulary
Use: How extensive and applicable is their vocabulary?
French Immersion – Interpersonal Mode
Students perform at the Novice Level in Grades K-1; they move to the Intermediate Level in Grades 2-6; they perform at the Pre-Advanced Level in Grades 7-10 and move off the chart to the Advanced Level of the ACTFL standards for adults in Grades 11-12 (AP).
French Immersion – Interpretive Mode
Students perform at the Novice
Level in Grades 1-4; they move to the Intermediate Level in Grades 5-6; they
perform at the Pre-Advanced Level in Grades 7-9 and move off the chart to the
Advanced Level of the ACTFL standards in Grades 10-12.
French Immersion –
Presentational Mode
Students perform at the Novice Level in Grades K-1; they move to the Intermediate Level in Grades 2-5; they perform at the Pre-Advanced Level in Grades 6-10 and move to the Advanced Level of the ACTFL standards for adult learners in Grades 11-12 (AP).
Spanish FLES and Continuing Spanish and French Programs—Interpersonal
Mode
Students perform at the Novice Level in Grades 1-6; they move to the Intermediate
Level in Grades 7-11; they perform at the Pre-Advanced Level in Grades 11-12.
Recommendations to teach vocabulary in FL classes using techniques considered to be best practices in elementary and middle school English classrooms are an outcome of this review.
Spanish FLES and Continuing Spanish and French Programs—Interpretive
Mode
Students perform at the Novice Level in
- Communication
Strategies: How do they maintain communication?
Alignment of
Mandarin Chinese Program to the MA Foreign Language Framework
Executive Summary
Students in our Mandarin Chinese Program perform at Stage 1 of the
Framework in all areas, after two semester of instruction. It is very impressive to see the rapid
progress made by all students in Mandarin classes, especially those with prior
foreign language learning experience. Several of our district’s top-performing
foreign language students have gone on to college study of Chinese as a major.
Our recommendation resultant from this review is to expand our Mandarin
offerings here at
(This section contains all
information included in Holliston’s nomination dossier for the Melba D.
Woodruff Award, which we won in the fall of 2010)
HOLLISTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAMS
MELBA D. WOODRUFF AWARD NARRATIVE
Prepared by T. Caccavale,
Dr.
Mr. Timothy Cornely, Assistant Superintendent
1. PROGRAM MODELS:
a.) Elementary program model in place for a
minimum of 5 years
Our French Immersion Program began in 1979 and has been in place for
over 30 years. Our Spanish FLES
Program was begun in 1998 and has been in place for 12 years. Both programs are formatted entirely during the school
day for students.
The French Immersion Program follows a
model of total immersion in Grades K-2 (100% classroom instructional time) and
partial immersion (50% classroom instructional time) in grades 3-5 with a
follow-up immersion program in grades 6-12, with one course per year taught
entirely in French. The Spanish FLES Program is formatted at 1x 50 minutes per
week in Grades 1-2, 3X30 minutes per week in Grade 3, and 5 times 25 minutes in
Grade 5, followed by 38minutes per day in Grades 6-8 and one course per year at
the high school level.
b.) Participation open to all students
Participation in both foreign language programs is open to all students
in the Holliston Schools. The French Immersion Program is open to all children
whose parents enroll them at the K level, and continues through the twelfth
grade. There are two sections of French
Immersion open to students at the K level. In cases of over-enrollment, an open
lottery without sibling preference is held in order to ensure that all students
have equal access to enrollment. All students who do not participate in the
French Immersion Program are placed in the Spanish FLES Program beginning at
the 1st grade level, and continuing through the middle school and
high school, which has a two-year high school foreign language requirement.
Approximately eighty percent of our students continue in foreign language study
for more than the two required years of study. Programs are entirely
heterogeneously grouped, K-9, and honors classes are available for the last
three years of high school study. At the high school level, French and Spanish
students may choose to enter classes of Latin or Mandarin Chinese as well.
c.) Articulation plan for elementary school
through high school for sequential language learning.
There is a clear plan for
articulation for both foreign
language programs.
French Immersion teachers meet in vertical teams, K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and
9-12, on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. K-12 meetings are held as appropriate.
At all levels, K-12, there is a flow of sequential, spiraling curriculum from
one grade level to the next, and teachers at one level meet with teachers at
the subsequent level in the spring of each year to provide vertical
articulation regarding individual student needs. All curriculum taught in
French, K-5, mirrors that which is taught in English, providing horizontal
articulation with each grade level of traditional instruction. Monthly curriculum
meetings at the elementary level, K-5, include discussions of individual
student concerns in a vertical team format. Student portfolios with samples of
student work at each grade level, standardized tests of French listening and
reading comprehension, and rubric-based classroom assessments, including
running records and DRA (Developmental Reading Assessments) in French accompany students throughout the elementary
and high school years. At the middle school level, there is one single French
Immersion teacher who loops with all French Immersion students in grades 6-8,
providing built-in articulation from one level to the next. The middle school
teacher meets with both the Grade 5 teacher and the Grade 9 teacher at the
beginning of each year in order to facilitate program articulation. Over the
course of the past several years, as high school teachers have noticed some
weaknesses in vocabulary among our immersion students, we have asked that the
AP vocabulary lists be addressed in Immersion grades 6-8, to provide initial
exposure to words found in non-fiction reading passages. This has been highly
successful in helping students to better develop their second language
vocabulary. Program articulation continues through the Advanced Placement Level
at the high school, offering exposure to college-level curriculum and
instruction.
Spanish teachers follow an established curriculum for each grade level
of the FLES Program. The program is articulated not only vertically, from one
grade level to the next, but horizontally, following the same curriculum used
in the English classroom program at each grade level, 1-5. If the Solar System is taught at a certain
grade level in English, it is also taught in Spanish at that grade level.
Portfolios of large-scale and individual assessments given in Grades 3, 5, 6, 7
and 8 follow students into the high school where they are appropriately placed
in Spanish classes. Students are heterogeneously grouped for instruction, in
order to maximize the scaffolding of language for our neediest students.
Program articulation also includes the placement of high school foreign
language students as interns in our elementary and middle school classrooms on
a regular basis. This program helps us to develop a community of learners
within and outside of the Holliston Public Schools.
d.) Periodic Program Evaluation
Most evaluation of the
French Immersion program, which has become entirely engrained in the fabric of
our school culture, comes in the form of
disaggregated test scores of Immersion students in relation to traditional
classroom students on such measures as the Stanford Achievement Tests and the
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) Tests. As per findings
from language immersion programs across Canada, our students perform as well or
better than their grade level peers by the end of Grade 4 on all measures of
English language achievement and subject matter tests, including English
spelling and writing. Although Immersion students make up only 20 percent of
the overall school population, they tend to make up at least 30 percent of the
top ten students per graduating class from Holliston High School. Program
evaluation has not included such measures as the SOPA and the ELOPA, as our
immersion students have traditionally far outperformed expectations for
students enrolled in sequential FLES programs.
Evaluations of our Spanish FLES Program
have been formatted in terms of student results on large-scale assessments
given at the end of Grade 3, Grade 5, and at the end of each of three terms of
instruction in Grades 6-8. Results of these assessments are regularly
communicated to administration and parents.
The best form of program
evaluation is obviously the results of learning on the part of our students.
Holliston’s foreign language program graduates are known throughout the country
for their second language proficiency and their achievement on incoming college
freshmen placement exams, consistently scoring among the top candidates on
these assessments.
During the 2008-10 school years,
foreign language teachers in both programs have spent hours and hours of
curriculum meeting time mapping curriculum documents and demonstrating
alignment to MA Foreign Language Curriculum Frameworks, including the level of
rigor to which each standard is met at each individual level. This work will
culminate in a revised
2. CURRICULUM:
a.)
Curriculum
aligned with the “5 C’s” of the National Standards
Holliston’s curriculum is entirely predicated upon the 5 C’s of the MA
FL Framework, which is a direct mirror of the National Standards for FL Learning.
Holliston was instrumental in providing feedback to the MA Dep’t of Education
in regard to the proposed Framework and Holliston K-
12 FL Specialist Terry Caccavale was member of the FL Framework
Development Committee. Evidence of our framework alignment is as follows:
Communication:
Holliston’s French Immersion and Spanish FLES Programs are entirely
proficiency-based. This means that ALL instruction is formatted in the target
language and that students are immersed in the language from the very first day
of class, albeit French or Spanish. In August of 2009, ACTFL President Janine
Erickson wrote an article stating that teaching someone another language using
English for instruction is comparable to teaching someone to swim in a pool
with no water. Just as the buoyancy of water holds the swimmer afloat, so the
scaffolding of language provided by the total immersion environment in French
and in Spanish catapults students into new realms of oral/aural proficiency.
Cultures: While it is entirely possible to learn to speak
another language with native-like proficiency and yet not have mastered the
cultural nuances of that language, it is impossible to develop deep and
enduring understanding of another culture without first being proficient in
speaking, reading and writing the language(s) associated with that culture. It
is for this reason that so much focus in Holliston is placed upon the
development of oral and written language proficiency as a conduit to
cross-cultural understanding.
In the French Immersion
Program, cultural knowledge is developed first in relation to the countries of
In the Spanish FLES
Program, cultural content is infused from the very beginning into each and
every lesson. Simple mannerisms such as the way of counting on one’s fingers or
raising a finger instead of a hand are modeled and reinforced without explicit
teaching. Cultures are not learned, but rather acquired, and language is the
conduit to cultural knowledge.
Comparisons: Linguistic and cultural comparisons are naturally
scaffolded in the context of these proficiency-based programs. Although it is
very difficult to teach explicit comparisons between the target language and
English when all instruction is offered in the target language, students do
learn to make implicit comparisons on their own. Most explicit comparisons are
done at the middle and high school levels when they can be used as teaching
tools. Cultural comparisons are made on a daily basis, beginning at the
earliest levels of instruction. Language is simplified, but cultural content is
rich and complex. As one student recently stated in a letter of support for our
program, she found the experience of living with a Hispanic roommate whose
cultural background differed from her own to be “not foreign at all.” This is a
wonderful testimony to her foreign language experience here.
Connections: Both of our programs fully implement the
Connections strand into daily instruction. Our French Immersion Program
delivers the exact same curriculum as that taught in English classrooms, in
French. This means that all mathematics, social studies, science, language
arts, etc. addressed in the classroom is delivered through the medium of the
French language. There is a 100% mapping of connections to the regular grade
level curriculum. Our Spanish Program uses content areas such as math, social
studies (including geography), language arts, reading and writing to teach
through the medium of Spanish. Our content-based curriculum is also rich in
cultural relevance and comparisons.
Communities:
Both French and Spanish
programs succeed in developing communities of learners within the Holliston
Public Schools and beyond. French Immersion students meet with students within
the program at the lower grade levels to help scaffold students’ success with
reading and writing. Our high school students of French and Spanish often serve
as interns in our elementary and middle school programs, through our School to
Career Partnership Program. One recent graduate has noted that learning Spanish
helped her to communicate with the workers who boarded and groomed her horse,
and thereby allowed her to assure better care for this animal. As our
elementary assistant principal has noted, foreign language is such a part of
our school community that it has simply become “what we do here.” Those within
our own community who are speakers of the languages we teach are invited to be
guest readers in our classrooms and our libraries. Our annual Family Reading
Night at the elementary schools is punctuated by the voices of French and
Spanish teachers reading aloud their favorite predictable books in the target
languages to an auditorium full of children and their families. Such is
definitely not the case in many school districts around us. However, Holliston’s
development of a community of foreign language learners has been modeled by
several surrounding towns which have gone on to model programs after our own.
Such has been the case in Mendon, Millis, Milton, Wellesley, Uxbridge, Foxboro,
and other surrounding towns which have begun FLES and Immersion Programs
following our lead.
b. Integration of language
with content areas as appropriate to the program model and grade level.
The French Immersion
Program is based upon the premise that French is the medium, but not the sole
object of classroom instruction. In this manner, all classroom instruction in
Grades K-2 is formatted entirely in French, with no English spoken. The
curriculum taught at each level follows the exact same curriculum taught in
English at the respective grade level in the traditional educational program.
The Spanish FLES curriculum
reflects elements of all of the various curricula taught in English at each
grade level. Since the theme of aquarium is taught in Grade 1 English, it is
also taught in Grade 1 Spanish. It is extremely important to remember that
second language development always follows the path of cognitive development in
children, and that curriculum should never be minimized because of limited linguistic development in the target
language. This principle holds true for ESL instruction in our schools, and
certainly hold true for foreign language instruction in both languages. Our
program follows the model of “If you build it (interesting curriculum), they
will come (and learn!)”. Units are spiraling in nature, and will soon be
rewritten to reflect Backward Design using Essential Questions and Enduring
Understandings. The UbD model is currently in use at the high school levels of
foreign language instruction, and is making its way down to the elementary
levels.
3. STAFFING:
a.)
Elementary
foreign language teachers are highly qualified for their positions
Our elementary foreign language teachers are all highly qualified for
their positions, as we insist upon them holding MA Elementary Certification in order
to teach in our programs. This means that whereas other schools might allow
them to teach at the elementary level while holding foreign language
certification for that level, we also insist that they actually be certified to
teach general elementary education. In this way, we are guaranteed that our
teaching staff is focused first and foremost on the overall development of
every individual child.
French Immersion teachers are all elementary certified and have
near-native proficiency in the target language of French. Our Spanish teachers
are possess near-native proficiency in Spanish and are all elementary
certified. In order to teach in our content-enriched program, it is imperative
that they be able to teach math, science, social studies, etc. in addition to
Spanish vocabulary and language arts skills. We draw upon the best of both
worlds by demanding that they hold elementary certification to work in our
foreign language programs, K-5.
At the middle school level
(6-8), teachers in our programs hold certification to teach the specific
language at that level of instruction. Since our program is proficiency-based,
they participate in workshops run by the curriculum coordinator and addressing
such topics as reading and writing, which are two instructional domains not
usually covered in foreign language teacher education courses. Their
rubric-based assessments are indicative of their highly qualified status.
b.)
Evidence
of active involvement of our staff in foreign language professional
organizations that promote early language learning.
Our district holds an organizational membership to the National Network
for Early Language Learning (NNELL). The NNELL journal, Learning Languages, is
available to our teachers each time it is published. Several of our teachers
are also individual members of NNELL. Some of our teachers are members of other
foreign language associations, including MaFLA, AATF and AATSP, as well as
ACTFL. Our curriculum coordinator has
served on the Board of Directors of NNELL (President, 2006-08) and also belongs
to ACTFL, AATF, MLA and ASCD. She is a frequent presenter at state and national
conferences, and shares much information gained from attendance at these events
with our staff, K-12.
c.)
Evidence
of teacher participation in foreign language professional development.
Staff members regularly attend the MaFLA Conference, held each October,
and also are invited to participate in conferences such as NELMS (
d.)
Communication
among language teachers and classroom teachers
Ongoing communication
between classroom teachers and foreign language teachers is essential to the
success of our programs. In the Spanish FLES Program, all initial program
curricular development was done in partnership with our own classroom teachers
at each grade level. Meetings were held to decide which aspects of the grade
level curriculum could also be addressed during Spanish instruction. Such
communication continues to this day, as Spanish teachers touch base with
classroom teachers before each day’s instruction begins. Spanish teachers join
their grade level counterparts for district professional development days each
year.
In the context of the French
Immersion Program, French classroom teachers are members of their respective
grade level teams. There are two immersion teachers at each grade level for
grades 1 and 2, and a single French teacher at each level of instruction in
grades 3-5. These teachers meet on a weekly basis with other teachers at their
respective grade levels to discuss curricular issues and planning implications.
The middle school program in grades 6-8 is staffed by one teacher who teaches
two classes each day at each grade level. All middle school foreign language
teachers meet together on a monthly basis to discuss curricular issues with the
District Coordinator. Teachers at each level of instruction do the same in
once-a-month foreign language curriculum meetings.
e.)
Evidence
of teamwork in school, school district and community.
Teamwork is the hallmark of our foreign language programs. Within each
level of each individual school, teachers are teamed for instructional
planning. French Immersion teachers (K-5) work together in grade level and also
vertical teams. Spanish teachers (K-5) plan lessons in common, and have worked
to develop and maintain a curriculum rich in content and thereby complex by
design. At the middle school level (6-8), all teachers have common planning
each day, and meet twice a week to discuss common goals and objectives, as well
as to implement new curriculum objectives and plan for assessment, both
formative and summative. At the high school level, teachers also engage in
common planning time twice a month to develop common formative and summative
assessments, and FL curriculum in UbD format which will be made available to
the greater FL profession upon its completion. Our teachers have worked very
hard to develop curriculum which is specific to grammar, in Backward Design
format. Our foreign language teachers
regularly seek out community support in terms of professionals who speak more
than one language. Holliston has been contacted by the Language Flagship of the
US Government to explore interest in partnering as a feeder school to universities
specializing in the development of speakers of critical languages such as
Mandarin, which we offer to our high school students.
4. ADVOCACY:
a.)
Evidence
of promoting early language learning, advocating for early language learning in
the community and interaction with the community.
The Holliston Public
Schools, as an organizational member of NNELL, has long been devoted to foreign
language advocacy. Letters attesting to this fact are included in this
nomination packet. James Palladino, former Principal of the Miller Elementary
School, points out that for many years, Holliston has formatted visiting days,
whereby people from other districts around the state and the nation are allowed
to enter our classrooms and interact with our students and teachers during the
course of instruction. Visiting dignitaries, including members of foreign
consulates in
5. ACHIEVEMENT:
a.)
Evidence
of student success
Student success in foreign language
education is not measured simply by the number of students who go on to major
in second languages at the college level, but by the number of students whose creative and critical
thinking skills have been further developed through the experience of learning
a second language. Results of MCAS and Stanford Tests tell us that our students
are achieving in relation to educational standards. Success in real life tells
us that our students are achieving in relation to those intangible standards
that are used to measure quality of life and meaningfulness of our overall
educational experience. On all counts, Holliston’s programs have met with
success.
b.)
Program
outcomes aligned with program model.
As a proficiency-based district, we have
targeted real life applications of foreign languages as the desired outcome of
instruction. Former students from
Dr. Bradford L.
Jackson, Superintendent,
Mr. Timothy Cornely,
Assistant Superintendent,
Ms. Therese S.
Caccavale, K-12 Foreign Language Specialist,
RECOMMENDATIONS
(How
We Can Improve)
RECOMMENDATIONS
(2011-2014)
SPANISH FLES
AND CONTINUING FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAMS INCLUDING FRENCH, MANDARIN AND LATIN
CURRICULUM DESIGN, ASSESSMENTS, and
LEARNER SELF_EVALUATION :
Pre-K-12:
Using an
Understanding by Design (UbD) model for curriculum design, we will develop and continue
to develop content-based, thematic units around identified power standards, big
ideas , enduring understandings and essential questions related to the themes
of language and cultures as determined to be appropriate to each grade level. Such curriculum development will also include
the development of essential questions and enduring understanding related to
strategies to use in learning a second language.
Institute
the use of a second-language based portfolio system, such as Linguafolio, to scaffold students’
ability to self-assess their own capacity to use the foreign language they are
studying for meaningful communicative purposes, and to permit the collection of
learning evidence over time (as opposed to administering assessment as a single
event in time) in order to meet the needs of diverse learners.
Develop lessons using Web 2.0 tools to allow
students to access learning about other cultures in real time.
Format large-scale
and small-scale assessment of foreign language learners in grades 5, 8 and
11/12 to provide objective feedback about student performance. Online
assessments for foreign language learners are currently available and provide a
viable option for this purpose.
Increased
focus on integration of concepts from Common Core subjects into the existing
foreign language curriculum.
Pre-K – 8
Design
content-based, thematic units of instruction encompassing all curriculum topics
in a meaningfully connected format, with essential questions and enduring
understandings.
Redesign
common summative assessments at Grades 3 and 5 to match the projected learning
outcomes of content-based, thematic instruction at these levels.
Redesign
common summative assessments in Grades 6-8 to include a cultural component
based upon thematic units of geography and culture.
Include
more reading in the target language as the central focus of instruction in
Grades 5-8; using folktales or readings about cultural topics in authentic
formats wherever possible.
Grades 9-12
1.9
Expand existing Mandarin Program to provide a cohort of core courses
through four years of high school study.
Continue
to document all new and existing curriculum in UbD format.
Design and
document in ATLAS various common
formative and summative assessments to track our students’ learning over their
years of foreign language study.
Design
and document in ATLAS a variety of formative and summative assessments to be
used at the discretion of the teacher, taking into account learner variables
and differentiated instruction.
Develop units of study in UbD format using
reading selections (graded and authentic texts) as the thematic center of each
unit, with essential questions and enduring understandings developed for the
reading experience.
* The Linguafolio System is a trademark of the Kentucky Department of
Education, and is available to foreign language learners nationwide. Holliston
has been given permission by the publisher to translate the entire system into
French for our French Immersion students.
STAFF PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Provide
ongoing professional development to all teachers, district-wide, in relation to
keeping all classroom instruction in the target language; provide venues for
K-12 discussion of what practice looks like in the classroom at various levels.
Provide
ongoing differentiated professional development specific to foreign language
teaching (culture) and its connections to core curriculum (reading, writing,
speaking and listening).
Format
partnerships with organizations such as the Center for Applied Second Language
Studies at the
(Proposal TBA Summer 2012)
TECHNOLOGY
INTEGRATION AND WEB 2.0 APPLICATIONS
K-12
Incorporate
use of SMART technology such as interactive white boards, LCD projectors, and
ceiling mounted projectors in foreign language classrooms, including portable
SMART technology.
Middle School (5-8):
Maintain and update existing Middle School
Language Lab to keep pace with Web 2.0 applications for learning.
High School (9-12):
Update existing Language Lab technology to a
digitally formatted lab.
CURRICULUM DESIGN, ASSESSMENTS, and
LEARNER SELF_EVALUATION :
Pre-K-12
Using an
Understanding by Design (UbD) model for curriculum design, we will develop and
continue to develop content-based, thematic units around identified power
standards, big ideas , enduring understandings and essential questions related
to the themes of language and cultures as determined to be appropriate to each
grade level. Such curriculum development
will also include the development of essential questions and enduring
understanding related to strategies to use in learning a second language.
Institute
the use of a second-language based portfolio system, such as Linguafolio, to scaffold students’ ability
to self-assess their own capacity to use the foreign language they are studying
for meaningful communicative purposes, and to permit the collection of learning
evidence over time (as opposed to administering assessment as a single event in
time) in order to meet the needs of diverse learners.
Develop lessons using Web 2.0 tools to allow
students to access learning about other cultures in real time.
Design content-based, thematic units of
instruction encompassing all curriculum topics in a meaningfully connected
format, with essential questions and enduring understandings.
Format
large-scale and small-scale assessment of foreign language learners in grades
5, 8 and 11/12 to provide objective feedback about student performance. Online
assessments for foreign language learners are currently available and provide a
viable option for this purpose.
Pre-K – 8
Redesign
common summative assessments at Grades 1-8 to match the projected learning
outcomes of content-based, thematic instruction at these levels.
K- 5
Increase
instruction on phonetic decoding and increase frequency of assessments
regarding students’ automatic decoding abilities.
Participate
in District K-12 Math Review by reviewing materials, concepts, language-related
issues in math instruction in Grades K-2 French Immersion.
Conduct a
thorough review of the French Immersion reading program in Grades K-5,
documenting all curriculum in scope and sequence format with assessments.
(2011-12)
Update
existing reading program with a new, phonetic-based reading series with a
strong vocabulary and comprehension component.
Include
findings from the French Immersion Reading Review in the District Language Arts
Review document in 2013.
Grades 6-8
Redesign curriculum
in Grade 6 French Immersion to reflect the study of Francophone countries of
Redesign curriculum in Grade 7 French Immersion to
reflect the study of French regions and culture
Expand the vocabulary program of French
Immersion Grade 8 to reflect best practices and to introduce students to AP
word list.
9-12
Continue
to document all new and existing curriculum in UbD format.
Design and document in ATLAS various common formative and summative
assessments to track our students’ learning over their years of foreign
language study.
Design
and document in ATLAS a variety of formative and summative assessments to be
used at the discretion of the teacher, taking into account learner variables
and differentiated instruction.
Develop
units of study in UbD format using reading selections (graded and authentic
texts) as the thematic center of each unit, with essential questions and
enduring understandings developed for the reading experience.
* The Linguafolio System is a trademark of the Kentucky Department of
Education, and is available to foreign language learners nationwide. Holliston
has been given permission by the publisher to translate the entire system into
French for our French Immersion students.
BUDGET
(Materials
and Resources We Will Need to Make Recommended Improvements)
FOREIGN LANGUAGE CURRICULUM REVIEW
RECOMMENDED IMPLEMENTATION BUDGET 2011-2014
|
TIME FRAME TOPIC/UNITS COST MATERIALS STAFF |
||||
|
Summer 2011 or 2012 |
Development of
Content-Based Thematic Units in K-2 Immersion |
6 staff x 6 hours x $30 per hour $1080 |
Professional Resources
$100 per teacher = $500 |
5 teachers plus K-12 Curriculum
Specialist |
|
Summer 2011 |
Development of
Content-Based Thematic Units French Immersion Grade 6 |
2 staff x 18 hours
each x $30 per hour $1,080 |
Professional
Resources $300.00 |
1 teacher plus K-12
Curriculum Specialist |
|
Summer 2011 |
Development of Content-Based Units Grades 4-5 Spanish |
3 staff x 18 hours
each x $30 per hour $1,620 |
Professional
Resources $300.00 |
2 teachers plus K-12
Curriculum Specialist |
|
Summer 2011 |
Development of
Content-Based Thematic Units for Grade 6 Spanish |
4 staff x 18 hours each x $30 per hour $2,160 |
Professional
Resources $600.00 |
3 teachers plus
K-12 Curriculum Specialist |
|
Summer 2011 |
NEW AP French
Curriculum HHS and Term Elective in UbD
Document |
2 staff x 24 hours x $30 per hour’ $1,440 |
Professional
Resources $400.00 |
2 AP French
Teachers |
|
Summer 2011 |
NEW Grade 9 Immersion
Virtual Residence Curriculum |
2 staff x 18 hours
x $30 per hour $1,080 |
Professional
Resources $300 |
1 teacher plus 1
K-12 Immersion Curriculum Specialist |
|
Summer 2011 |
NEW Spanish AP and
Term Elective in UbD Document |
1 staff x 18 hours
x $30 per hour = $540.00 |
Professional
Resources $300 |
1 AP Spanish
Teacher |
|
Summer 2011 Summer 2011 |
Development of
Content-Based Thematic Units of Culture in French Immersion 3-5 ------------------------- Development of
Content-Based Thematic Units of HS Grades 9-11 |
4 staff x 12 hours x $30 per hour $1,080 3 staff x 12 hours
x $30 per hour = $1,080 |
Professional
Resources $300 Professional Resources #300 |
3 teachers plus
K-12 Immersion Specialist 3 HS Spanish
Teachers |
|
School Year 2011-12 ------------ School Year 2011-12
|
District-Wide PD on
Keeping Instruction in the Target Language
9/16/11 --------------------------
District-Wide PD on
use of Web 2.0 tools for Foreign Language Learning |
25 teachers for full day = 25 subs x $75 per day = $1875 25 teachers for
full day = 25 subs x $75 per day = $1875 |
˝ cost of TEC
workshop presentation = $ 1,250 $2,000 including
travel expenses |
All ------------------- All |
|
School Year 2011-12
|
Release time
meetings of Curriculum Review Committee
for follow-up on progress |
4
x ˝ day x 8 teachers = 16
days x $75 = $1200.00 |
No Cost |
7 teachers plus
K-12 Curriculum Specialist |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Summer 2012 ----------- Summer 2012 |
Development of
Content-Based Thematic Units for Grade 6 Spanish ------------------------- Development of
Content-Based Thematic Units French Immersion Grade 6 |
4 staff x 18 hours each x $30 per hour $2,160 ------------------ 2 staff x 18 hours
each x $30 per hour = $1,080 |
Professional
Resources $600.00 ------------------- Professional
Resources $300.00 |
3 teachers plus
K-12 Curriculum Specialist -------------------
1 teacher plus K-12
Curriculum Specialist |
|
Summer 2012 |
Development of
Content-Based Thematic Units in Grades 4-5 Spanish |
3 staff x 18 hours x $30 per hour = $1,080 |
Professional
Resources $300 |
2 teachers plus
K-12 Curriculum Specialist |
|
Summer 2012 |
District-wide
Collaboration with CASLS on Action Research Projects for FL |
Estimated Cost to
District $4,000-10,000 (per conditions of
grant) |
Professional Resources
$1,000 |
Invitation to join
in Action Research Group to all |
|
Summer 2012 |
Development of
Content-Based Thematic Units of HS Grades 9-11 |
3 staff x 12 hours
x $30 per hour = $1,080. |
Professional
resources $300 |
3 HS Foreign
Language Teachers |
|
Summer 2013 |
TBA Professional
Development |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
|
2013-14 |
District-Wide PD on
Teaching Vocabulary in FL |
TBA |
TBA |
All |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TBA |
Language Lab HHS |
$85,000 plus cost
of new computers |
TBA |
Sanako or Sony Lab TBA |
|
TBA |
|
Updating of
software and hardware |
TBA |
Sanako or Sony Lab TBA |
TEACHER MATERIALS REQUESTED: PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES
CONTENT-BASED THEMATIC UNITS OF INSTRUCTION: (2011)
|
Title |
ISBN No |
Quantity |
Price per item |
Extended Price |
|
Haas, Mari The Language of
Folk Art Workbook |
9780801314063 |
6 |
$30.00 |
$180.00 |
|
The Language of
Folk Art |
Teacher’s Guide |
6 |
$50.00 |
$300.00 |
|
Blaz, Deborah Differentiated
Instruction: A Guide for Foreign Language Teachers. |
9781596670204 |
4 |
$40.00 |
$160.00 |
|
Egan, Kieran
(1986). Teaching as Storytelling : An Alternative Approach to Teaching
and Curriculum in the Elementary School. |
9780415007009 |
5 |
$20.00 |
$100.00 |
|
Curtain, |
|
5 |
$80.00 |
$400.00 |
|
Allen, Janet
(2008). Inside Words: Tools for Teaching Academic Vocabulary |
|
5 |
$40.00 |
$200.00 |
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT:
Conference, ACTFL
(American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages)
November 19-20, 2010
All teachers allowed to
attend one or two days of sessions
Cost to District
$3,000.00
Workshop, Lori Langer
de Ramirez May 13, 2011
« Using
Folktales as Thematic Centers of Content-Based Instruction »
Preparation and
Presentation $1,000.00
Transportation ,
Meals
600.00
________________
$1,600.00
Workshop, September
16, 2011
Alice Kosnik, Bureau
for Educational Research
How to Improve Your
Foreign Language Program = $1,250.00
Workshop TBA 2011-12
Lori Langer de Ramirez, Ed.D.
Web 2.0 Applications
for Foreign Language Instruction
Preparation and
Presentation $1,000.00
Transportation,
Meals
600.00
_______________
$1,600.00
Workshop offered by
Summer 2012
“Developing Plans for
an Carrying Out Action Research in the Foreign Language Classroom”
Carl Falsgraf,
Director, NFLRC
Cost to District approximately $ 10,000.00
(may be less if grant
fully funded by US Dep’t Education)
APPENDICES
(This section contains links to documents illustrating
our Perspectives, Practices and Products relate to Foreign Language instruction
and learning.)
Appendix A: Documents Illustrating our Perspectives
Document #1: Article, The Benefits of Foreign Language Study (NEA 2007)
(This study by the National
Education Association highlights the benefits of foreign language study for all
students.)
Document #2: Article, The Correlation Between Early
Second Language Learning and Native Language Skill Development by T. Caccavale
(This article explains how
foreign language study makes students better problem-solvers and thereby
scaffolds vocabulary skill development in one’s native language.)
Research on the Importance of
Foreign Language Learning and the Effects of Foreign Language Learning on Test
Scores and Intelligence
ACTFL Abstracts of articles on academic achievement and foreign
language learning
Article: 700 Reasons for Studying Languages by Angela Gallagher-Brett, The
Higher Education Academy
Article, Cognitive Benefits of Learning Languages
Duke Digest of Gifted Research
Article, Effect of Bilingualism on Intelligence
by Kalyani K. Sampath, Tamil Language
Institute
Article, Foreign
Languages, An Essential Core Experience, by Robert D. Peckham, Ph.D
Article,
French: The Most Practical Foreign
Language
Article, Importance of
the Foreign Language Study
Article, Improving
Students’ Capacity in Foreign Languages
Article,
Is There a Disability for Learning a
Foreign Language? by Richard Sparks
(Research does not support this notion!)
(ALL students can learn to speak another language!)
“Essential
in the formula for a world-class education is an urgent need for schools to
produce students who actually know something about the world—its cultures and
languages, and how its economic, environmental, and social systems work.
Language learning is a central part of what high-performing nations are doing
to make their students and their societies globally competitive—virtually all
of the highest-performing nations on the recent Program for International
Student Assessment exam require second-language learning. At this defining
moment in American education, we sell ourselves short if we do not strive for
schools that prepare students for an interconnected world driven by the demands
and opportunities of globalization.”
Article, The Importance
of Learning a Second Language
]
Article,
The Importance of Spanish
Article, The Importance
of Teaching Culture in the Foreign Language Classroom by Dimitrios Thanasoulas - Member of TESOL Greece and the AILA Scientific Commission
on Learner Autonomy
Article,
Why Learn Languages? 10 Reasons Why You Should Be Learning a
Foreign Language.
Article, Why Should I Learn a Language?
Bibliography, Speaking in
Tongues - Benefits of Second Language Study
A new provision in HEA from Rep. Rush Holt’s International Education
Leadership Act established a new Deputy Assistant Secretary of International
and Foreign Language Education as a political compromise. JNCL-NCLIS
worked very closely with Rep. Holt regarding the creation of this position
which was originally intended to be an Assistant Secretary requiring Senate
confirmation. In October, Andre Winston Lewis was appointed as Deputy
Assistant Secretary. Mr. Lewis has a degree in Russian Studies and worked
with the State Department in the late 90s.
Video: The Importance of
Foreign Language Study
Video,
ACTFL: A Case for the Study of Foreign
Languages as a Required Core Subject in our Schools
www.utm.edu/~globeg/profren.shtmlwww.utm.edu/~globeg/profren.shtmlwww.utm.edu/~globeg/profren.shtml
Document #4: LINKS: Advocacy and Resource Links for
Foreign Languages
FOREIGN
LANGUAGE ADVOCACY and RESOURCES LINKS
|
National Organizations: |
AATF (
American Association of Teachers of French)
AATSP ( American Association
of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese)
ACIE
( American Council on Immersion Education)
ACL
( American Classical League)
ACTFL (American
Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages)
ACTFL POSITION STATEMENTS: (Use of the Target Language)
ACTFL Video: “A Case for the Study of Foreign Languages as a
Required Core Subject in our Schools”
Annenberg Foundation - Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A
Library of Classroom Practices
(Video Library of Best Practices in Teaching FL K-12)
Advanced Placement (AP) Central
CASLT (Canadian
Association of Second Language Teachers)
CAL (Center for
Applied Linguistics)
CALICO
(Technology-Assisted FL Education)
CARLA ( Center for
Advanced Research on Language Acquisition)
CIEE (Council
on International Educational Exchange)
Cervantes Institute website in Spanish for children:
CLASS ( Chinese
Language Association of Secondary Schools)
Digital
Dialects – Language Learning Games
ERIC (Educational
Resources Information Center)
Executive
Planet (Cultural resources)
Fairfax
County Public Schools (Great teaching resources and rubrics)
FLAD
(Foreign Language Assessment Directory)
IALLT (International
Association Language Learning Technology)
JNCL/NCLIS Advocacy Video – Making Your Voice Count
LAC
(Languages Across the Curriculum)
MLA (Modern Language
Association)
NADSFL (National
Association of District Supervisors of Foreign Languages)
NCSSFL (National
Council of State Supervisors of Foreign Language)
NNELL (National
Network for Early Language Learning)
NRCSA
(National Registration Center for Study Abroad)
Partnership for Global Learning
TFLTA Professional Resources Center
|
Statewide Organizations: |
MaFLA (Massachusetts
Foreign Language Association)
|
Regional Organizations: |
CANE (Classical
Association of New England)
NECTFL
(Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages)
|
Local Organizations: |
EMFLA Eastern Massachusetts
Foreign Language Administrators
French Library and
Cultural Center
TEC The Education
Cooperative (Job-Alike Group for FL Supervisors)
Return to Top
Document
#5: 21ST Century Skills Alignment
with Foreign Language Learning
Document #6: ACTFL 21st Century Skills Map for Foreign Languages
(This document is
essential to understanding the role of foreign language instruction in 21st
Century Schools.)
Appendix B: Documents Illustrating our Practices
Document # 7: Electronic
Links for Foreign Language Learning
Resources for Foreign
Language Learning: Online
Audacity Self Recording
Freeware
Audio-lingua.eu has samples of native speakers in several languages. You can search not just by language, but also by difficulty level, which is nice (it uses the European system, with A1 the most basic and C2 the most advanced).
French: Elementary:
Links to several great French sites for children.
http://www.instant-french.com/top-learn-french-site/
http://french.about.com/od/kids/French_for_Kids_French_Resources_for_Children.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/subjects/childrens_learning.shtml
http://www.primarylanguages.org.uk/resources/online_resources/french.aspx
http://www.bilingualfamiliesconnect.com/resourcesfrench.html
http://freelanguage.org/learn-french/digital-tools-and-media/games/learn-french-children-games
Resources
for French Immersion students
Cool
websites for children learning French.
Activities for children
learning French
French Phonics Recordings to help students practice French reading skills at home!
http://www.sitespourenfants.com/ Site in French
http://www3.sympatico.ca/martine.mario/Pomme-or/pomme-or.html Site recognized in
French:
Adolescents
French: High
School
FL TEACH Listserv
http://web.cortland.edu/flteach/flteach-res.html
(Hundreds of websites
to help foreign language teachers and students!)
French Culture and
Civilization:
Tennessee
Bob’s On the Importance of Knowing French
Marie Ponterio’s
French Civilization Website
http://web.cortland.edu/flteach/civ/
Newscasts in French:
French Grammar
Websites:
http://www.uni.edu/becker/grammar.html
French Listening
Exercises: All levels
http://www.ielanguages.com/frlistening.html
http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=495250
French Websites from
Jim Becker
http://www.uni.edu/becker/French.html
French Websites from
http://www.utm.edu/departments/french/french.html
Mandarin Websites:
http://www.digitaldialects.com/Chinese.htm
http://www.hello-world.com/Mandarin/index.php
http://www.bamboolearning.com/
Project
Gutenberg not only
has copyright free texts in maybe 40 or 50 languages, but also audio
books in mp3 and other formats.
Spanish
Teacher Resources:
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/spe/index.html
Spanish Proficiency Exercises -
Spanish: Elementary:
Links to Spanish sites for children.
Other sites: Check them out!
www.miscositas.com Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez’s site for
students in elementary and middle schools.
www.spanishworkshopforchildren.com/
http://anacleta.homestead.com/learninganewlanguage.html
Website developed by longtime Spanish teacher, Kathy Siddons
BBC website
for children learning Spanish
spanish-learning-websites-children.html
http://gardenofpraise.com/spanish.htm
http://www.ala.org/gwstemplate.cfm?section=greatwebsites&template=/cfapps/gws/displaysection.cfm&sec=20 Great websites for children!
http://webs.rps205.com/schools/training/websites4kidsspan.html
http://theschool.columbia.edu/co-curriculars/spanish/websites
http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/spanish.htm
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/books/spanish/
http://www.123teachme.com/learn_spanish/spanish_for_children
http://www.d.umn.edu/~ezeitz/Curriculum%20Project/Topicsindex.html
http://www.spanishtown.ca/spanishforkids/grade1/grade1.htm
http://www.spanishplayground.net/fun-game-reinforces-spanish-clothes-vocabulary/
http://www.uni.edu/becker/children.html
http://www.123teachme.com/learn_spanish/spanish_for_children
http://www.uni.edu/becker/Spanish3.html
For all ages
http://zachary-jones.com/spanish
http://ochoamores.typepad.com/morespanish
Spanish:
Adolescents and Older Learners
http://www.uni.edu/becker/Spanish3.html
Spanish: Advanced
Learners:
Why Study Languages?
Website Promotes Multilingualism
The Why Study Languages website is full of materials promoting language
study: for children ages 7-college, for teachers, for parents, and for career
advisors. The site is designed for people in the
BlogUrl: http://casls-nflrc.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-study-languages-website-promotes.html
Document #8: Research
on Content-Based Thematic Instruction in FL Classrooms
Research on Content-Based Thematic
Instruction for Second Language Learning
Article,
Content-Based Instruction
Article, Content-Based Instruction by Myriam Met
www.carla.umn.edu/cobaltt/modules/.../decisions.html
Article, Content-Based Instruction, Cooperative
Learning, and CALP
Article, The Evidence
Base for the Connections Standard - Ohio Department of Education Website
Article, The Whats, Whys, Hows and Whos of
Content-Based Instruction
in Second/Foreign Language Education by Maria Duenas, University of Murcia
by Helena Curtain, Milwaukee Public Schools, and Mari Haas, Teachers College, Columbia University
(This is the article studied by the FL
Curriculum Review Committee)
Links to articles and lessons on content-based instruction
(Pertains to ELL Students)
Selected
References on CBI (Content-Based Instruction)
Compiled by
Fredericka L. Stoller
http://www2.nau.edu/fls/cbi-bib.html
The Annenberg Project, K-12 Foreign Language Instruction
Website, Language Study and the Brain, edited by
Dr. Teresa Kennedy
Workshop on Content-Based Thematic Instruction for Self-Study
The Annenberg Project, K-16 Foreign Language Instruction
Document #9: Research
on Differentiated Instruction in FL Classrooms
RESEARCH ON DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE
CLASSROOM
Article, Differentiating Instruction in the AP Spanish Classroom by Grace Smith and Stephanie Throne
(The premier article on differentiated FL instruction)
Article, Reaching
Every Student in the Classroom Through Alternative Assessment
Article, The First Step of Differentiated Instruction
Book, Differentiated Instruction: A Guide for
Foreign Language Teachers, by Deborah Blaz
ISBN: 9781596670204
Differentiating Instruction in
the World Language Classroom
Presentation, Powerful Strategies for
Differentiating Instruction in the FL Classroom
Website, Differentiated
Instruction, Webquests and Problem-Based Learning
Appendix C: Documents Illustrating our Products
Document # 10: Videos
of Classroom Teaching and Learning in the Annenberg Workshop For Foreign
Language Teaching, K-12
Document #11: Videos of Holliston Public Schools
Foreign Language Instruction
(TBA)
Document #12: Videos of Holliston Students
Participating in the 2010 ACTFL
Conference in
(TBA)
Appendix D: Alignment Tables for MA Foreign Languages
Framework
·
French Immersion
Program K-12 with MA Framework
·
Spanish FLES and
Continuing Spanish and French with MA Framework
Appendix E: Alignment Tables for French Immersion and
Spanish FLES and Continuing Spanish and French with ACTFL Performance
Guidelines for K-12 Learners
Appendix F:
Glossary of Foreign Language Teaching Terms
http://www.learner.org/workshops/tfl/glossary.html#A
Appendix G:
Surveys for Parents, Teachers, Administrators and Students
Foreign
Language Student Survey Traditional
Foreign
Language Student Survey French Immersion
Foreign
Language Parent Survey Traditional
Foreign
Language Parent Survey French Immersion
Foreign
Language Curriculum Review Teacher Survey
Foreign
Language Administrative Survey
Appendix H: Independent Study on Immersion Students’ Cultural Identity
Appendix I: Understanding by Design (UbD)
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Understanding by
Design
The
concept of “backwards planning” offers a particularly effective way of planning
unit instruction so that core knowledge, concepts, and understandings can be
planned by teachers and learned by students in such a way that neither is
overwhelmed by the quantity of facts involved in the march of history. Understanding by design is about the design
of curriculum to engage students in exploring and deepening their understanding
of important ideas and the design of assessments to reveal the extent of their
understanding. The logic of backward
design suggests a planning sequence for curriculum in three stages,
Identify desired
results (key learnings derived from national standards, state standards,
district standards, regional topic opportunities, teacher expertise and
interest).
Determine acceptable
evidence (gathered through a variety of formal and informal assessments during
a unit or study or a course).
Plan learning
experiences and instruction around big ideas and essential questions (research-based
repertoire of learning and teaching strategies that are built around essential
and enabling knowledge and skills).
Helpful
questions when examining curriculum and the identification of the desired
results (key learnings):
To what extent does
the idea, topic, or process represent a “big idea” having enduring value beyond
the classroom?
To what extent does
the idea, topic, or process reside at the heart of the discipline?
To what extent does
the idea, topic, or process require uncoverage (as opposed to coverage—the
degree to which students need to be taught and coached and given the
opportunity to work their way through to a deep understanding of the material;
which activities, recourses, processes
can best equip students with the needed knowledge and skills)?
To what extent does
the idea, topic, or process offer potential for engaging students?
See p. 51 for Chart Describing Facets of
Understanding
_________________________________
Purpose
of Essential and Guiding Questions
Essential and guiding questions assist teachers in planning and deciding what is included in instruction and what is left out. Essential questions are based on the broad topics (lynchpin ideas) that are common to all aspects of social studies. Guiding questions provide focus and direction in answering the essential questions and are linked to the specific region or time period being studied. Both essential and guiding questions define key instructional content and assist students and teachers in understanding what is important to teach and to learn. Common guiding questions across the grade provide basic consistency without requiring conformity of instructional approaches. As units and courses are developed and refined on a yearly basis, essential and guiding questions will also be reviewed and revised.
Guiding questions should not inhibit a teacher’s creative ways of thinking about teaching or about assessing student understanding. Sound guiding questions often invite a range of different answers and lead students to higher levels of thinking (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation).
If an individual or team wishes to change or pilot different guiding questions, they are encouraged to do so speaking first with the curriculum coordinator. Proposals to permanently change core-guiding questions common to all teachers of a grade level or unit should be submitted for review to the curriculum coordinator.
_________________________________
Rationale
for Guiding Questions
The answers to guiding questions are open-ended, leaving students with the responsibility and opportunity to do their own thinking, not simply repeat the teacher’s ideas and classroom-presented themes.
Guiding questions lead students to higher levels of thinking that can then be applied to both prior and new learning.
They help students know where they are going to end up. Guiding questions imply why students are studying a particular topic.
They provide a link from the past to the present and to the student’s present life.
Good guiding questions are motivating. They beg to be answered.
They require reasoning, ideas, and information, not just recall of information.
They are generative, sparking inquiry and further questions.
On a practical note, guiding questions help move the state standards from a burdensome, extensive list of topics to valuable and memorable, shorter, goals.
Guiding questions can bring the students to the enduring values at the heart of the discipline.
How did Jefferson (or Lincoln) view slavery? How has that view changed with new evidence and different perspectives?
How did the authors of the Constitution attempt to balance the rights of individuals with the common good? Were they successful?
In each of the following time periods, which part
of the
Again, on a practical note, guiding questions are helpful to teachers new to the school or subject area. Guiding questions are an efficiency tool, focusing teachers’ efforts in the first years with the curriculum and guiding students to better understand the key points of good curriculum.
____________________
Criteria for Writing Essential
Questions
Heidi Hayes Jacobs in Mapping the Big Picture offers eight criteria for writing essential questions based on the best practices for generation questions that guide learners and refine teaching.
Each student should be able to understand the question. Be wary of language that students to not readily understand (e.g. What were the intellectual underpinnings of sectionalism?). Keep in mind that simple questions do not necessarily connote simple answers.
The
language of the question should be written in broad, organizational terms. Essential questions provide an umbrella-like
focus and act as a heading for a set of activities on a broad topic. If a question is too narrow, it is probably
an activity in itself of something that might be a point of discussion in the
classroom.
The
question should reflect your conceptual priorities. Make choices about what you will spend your
time on, and develop essential questions that focus on those priorities. Allow students to negotiate the questions
with the teacher and thus choose what they will write, speak, and think about
during the unit.
Each
question should be distinct and substantial. Each question should require a number of
activities and experiences in order to uncover the multiple layers of answers
to the question. There may be one set of
activities to address one aspect of the question and other experiences to
address other aspects.
Questions
should not be repetitious. If
questions are repetitious, they should be collapsed into one question with
subheads. Each question should stand on
its own with distinct content integrity (similar to a chapter of a book).
The
questions should be realistic given the amount of time allocated for the unit
or course. Units that are shorter in
duration should have a lesser number of questions. 2 – 5 essential questions are sufficient for
a unit of study that ranges from 3 weeks to 12 weeks. Make adjustments based on content of the
question.
There
should be a logical sequence to a set of essential questions. If you are able to explain to students
the rationale behind the sequence of questions, you probably have them in good
order. Without that rationale, learners
will likely have problems focusing on what is important. The order does not have to be rigid, but
should not be arbitrary.
The
questions should be posted in the classroom. Posting questions is not a helpful hint but
is crucial to long-term retention and understanding. Posting essential questions is a public
declaration that theses questions are essential for students to know and to
remember. Posted questions provide a
constant visual organizer and focus for the learner—and for the teacher. Essential questions are points of reference
and indicate common agreement among teachers of a grade and across the grades.
The order does not have to be rigid, but
should not be arbitrary (See on following page).
The
questions should be posted in the classroom. Posting questions is not a helpful hint but
is crucial to long-term retention and understanding. Posting essential questions is a public
declaration that these questions are essential for students to know and to
remember. Posted questions provide a
constant visual organizer and focus for the learner—and for the teacher. Essential questions are points of reference
and indicate common agreement among teachers of a grade and across the grades.
_________________________________
Rubric for the 6 Facets of Understanding according to Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe Understanding by Design
|
Explanation |
Interpretation |
Application |
Perspective |
Empathy |
Self-knowledge |
|
Sophisticated: an unusually thorough, elegant, and inventive account (model, theory, or explanation); fully supported, verified, and justified; deep and broad: goes well beyond the information given. |
Profound: a powerful and illuminating interpretation and analysis of the importance /meaning/ significance; tells a rich and insightful story: provides a rich history or context; sees deeply and incisively any ironies in the different interpretations. |
Masterful: fluent, flexible, and efficient; able to use knowledge and skill and adjust understandings well in novel, diverse, and difficult contexts. |
Insightful: a penetrating and novel viewpoint; effectively critiques and encompasses other plausible perspectives; takes a long and dispassionate view of the issues involved. |
Mature: disposed and able to see and feel what others see and feel; unusually open to and willing to seek out the odd, alien, or different. |
Wise: deeply aware of the boundaries of one's own and others' understanding; able to recognize his prejudice and projections; has integrity=able and willing to act on what one understands. |
|
In-depth: an atypical and revealing account, going beyond what is obvious or what was explicitly taught; makes subtle connections; well supported by argument and evidence; novel thinking displayed. |
Revealing: a nuanced interpretation and analysis of the importance/ meaning/ significance: tells an insightful story; provides a telling history or con text; sees subtle differences, levels, and ironies in diverse interpretations. |
Skilled: competent in using knowledge and skill and adapting understandings in a variety of appropriate and demanding contexts. |
Thorough: a revealing and coordinated critical view; makes own view more plausible by considering the plausibility of other perspectives; makes apt criticisms, discriminations, and qualifications. |
Sensitive: disposed to see and feel what others see and feel; open to the unfamiliar or different. |
Circumspect: aware of one's ignorance and that of others; aware of one's prejudices; knows the strengths and limits of one's understanding. |
|
Developed: an account that reflects some in-depth and personalized ideas; the student is making the work her own, going beyond the given—there is supported theory here, but insufficient or inadequate evidence and argument. |
Perceptive: a helpful interpretation or analysis of the importance/ meaning/ significance; tells a clear and instructive story; provides a useful history or con- text; sees different levels of interpretation. |
Able: able to perform well with knowledge and skill in a few key contexts, with a limited repertoire, flexibility, or adaptability to diverse contexts. |
Considered: a reasonably critical and comprehensive look at all points of in the context of one's own; makes clear that there is plausibility to other points of view. |
Aware: knows and feels that others see and feel differently; somewhat able to empathize with others; has difficulty making sense of odd or alien views. |
Thoughtful: generally aware of what is and is not understood; aware of how prejudice and projection can occur without awareness and shape one's views. |
|
Intuitive: an incomplete account but with apt and insightful ideas; extends and deepens some of what was learned; some "reading between the lines"; account has limited support/ argument/data or sweeping generalizations. There is a theory, but one with limited testing and evidence. |
Interpreted: a plausible interpretation or analysis of the importance/ meaning/ significance; makes sense of a story; provides a history or context. |
Apprentice: relies on a limited repertoire of routines; able to perform well in familiar or simple contexts, with perhaps some needed coaching; limited use of personal judgment and responsiveness to specifics of feedback/situation. |
Aware: knows of different points of view and somewhat able to place own view in perspective, but weakness in considering worth of each perspective or critiquing each perspective, especially one's own; uncritical about tacit assumptions. |
Developing: has some capacity and self-discipline to "walk in another's shoes, but is still primarily limited to one's own reactions and attitudes: puzzled or put off by different feeling. |
Unreflective: generally unaware of one's specific ignorance; generally unaware of how subjective prejudgments color understandings. |
|
Naive: a superficial account; more descriptive than analytical or creative; a fragmentary or sketchy account of facts/ideas or glib generalizations; a black-and-white account less a theory than an unexamined hunch or borrowed idea. |
Literal: a simplistic or superficial reading; mechanical translation; a decoding with little or no interpretation; no sense of wider importance or significance; a restatement of what was taught or read. |
Novice: can perform only with coaching or relies on highly scripted, singular "plug-in" (algorithmic and mechanical) skills, procedures or approaches. |
Uncritical: unaware of differing points view; prone to overlook or ignore other perspectives; has difficulty imagining other ways of seeing things; prone to egocentric argument and personal criticisms. |
Egocentric: has little or no empathy beyond intellectual awareness of others; sees things through own ideas and feelings; ignores or is threatened or puzzled by different feelings, attitudes, or views. |
Innocent: completely unaware of the bounds of one's understanding and of the role of projection and prejudice in opinions and attempts to understand. |
BLOOM’S REVISED TAXONOMY
Creating
Generating
new ideas, products, or ways of viewing things
Designing,
constructing, planning, producing, inventing.
Evaluating
Justifying
a decision or course of action
Checking, hypothesizing, critiquing, experimenting, judging
Analyzing
Breaking information
into parts to explore understandings and relationships
Comparing, organizing, deconstructing, interrogating, finding
Applying
Using
information in another familiar situation
Implementing, carrying out, using, executing
Understanding
Explaining
ideas or concepts
Interpreting,
summarizing, paraphrasing, classifying, explaining
Remembering
Recalling
information
