The Standards for Foreign Language Learning: Preparing for the 21st Century offers a vision of foreign language instruction that links five goal areas: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities. All of these areas are woven into the two New York State Standards for Languages Other Than English.

Communication is the heart of second language study, whether the communication takes place face-to-face, in writing, or across centuries through the reading of literature.     Through the study of other languages, students gain a knowledge and understanding of the cultures that use that language and, in fact, cannot truly master the language until they have also mastered the cultural contexts in which the language occurs.     Learning language provides connections to additional bodies of knowledge that may be unavailable to the monolingual English speaker.     Through comparisons and contrasts with the language being studied, students develop insight into the nature of language and the concept of culture and realize that there are multiple ways of viewing the world.     Together, these elements enable the student of languages to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world in a variety of contexts and in culturally appropriate ways.

    The enduring dimension of cultural study is the actual participation in the exchange of information and ideas among members of various cultures using the foreign language. While a great deal of information about other cultures can be gained through the study of other disciplines, such as the social sciences and the arts, only second language study empowers learners to engage successfully in meaningful, direct interaction, both orally and in writing, with members of other cultures. The perspectives, practices, and products of culture–be they historical or contemporary–can be shared in a special way with members of the culture in which they originated. This new, "insider’s" perspective is the true catalyst for cross-cultural understanding.

• age when students begin study
• frequency and length of lessons
• student’s previous experience with second language learning
• motivation.

The performance indicators which support the standards at each level of proficiency are listed in Part IV of this Resource Guide.

Special Note About Bilingual Students: Programs in a language other than English provide an excellent opportunity for students who are native speakers of another language taught in the school to:

• maintain and enhance proficiency in their native language
• extend the range and control of written and spoken forms of their own language
• reach advanced levels of proficiency in their own languages.

    The total program–articulated at the local level–should demonstrate how the curriculum becomes the link between State learning standards, the classroom teacher, and student language learners. Activities for each level are shown below:

    One of the components of any act of communication is the topic on which the communication occurs. A short letter of Cicero might contain twelve topics, such as names, health, character, family members, geography, topography, weather, calendar, roads, modes of travel, political issues, and sites. Each of these topics is worthy of consideration and discussion in the study of Latin. Topics such as these may be introduced in the Latin classroom in a variety of communicative situations, at various times and levels in the Latin program, and with greater or lesser attention devoted to them at any given time or level. A progressive spiraling or accumulation of knowledge about each of the given topics occurs over the whole course of study.

    The purpose of the following list is to offer common topics of reading in Latin and to suggest a point at which some accumulated knowledge about each can be expected to be demonstrated. Most of the topics will be introduced at the earliest stage of language development (prior to Checkpoint A) and will continue to be presented and expanded at subsequent levels (prior to Checkpoints B and C respectively).

    While the list of topics is meant primarily as an analysis of communication in the reading situation, it also serves as a list of topics of communication in the situations of listening, speaking, and writing, and of situations in which English as well as Latin is the medium of communication.

    The topics have been arranged partly to correspond with the student’s world but, more fundamentally, to correspond to categories of experience in the world of ancient Rome. The topics begin with personal identity and expand into widening spheres of space, time, society, and culture.

    The assignment of topics to specific checkpoints is an indication of when a minimum body of knowledge is to be accumulated; it is not an indication of the entry level for a topic.

Latin is a classical language that was but no longer is generally spoken in everyday situations and one that has exerted a great influence on the Romance languages and English. In teaching and learning Latin, communicative skills of three sorts should be developed:

        1. skills in Latin,

        2. skills involving Latin and English at work together,

        3. skills in English that have been influenced by Latin.

    Communicative skills have been defined as receptive skills (listening and reading) and productive skills (speaking and writing). With Latin, reading takes priority. The listening/speaking skills in Latin will generally be limited to reading aloud, repeating, answering questions, and oral interpretation of texts. Actual interaction on the listening/speaking level will generally be limited to questions, answers, and basic conversations in the classroom, all employed as supports to the reading skill. As study of the language progresses, emphasis will shift to reading of passages aloud and development of skills in oral interpretation of literary texts. Attention needs to be focused on the ways Latin has entered English and influenced English linguistically and culturally. Finally, communicative skills in English as they relate to the language and ideas of the Romans will be developed. Communication in the situations of reading, writing, listening, and speaking will be truly bilingual and cross-cultural.

    In the following table, situations are arranged to illustrate a flow of communication from Latin to English. Each group of situations (reading, listening, speaking, writing) starts with Latin, proceeds to specific situations in which the interrelationship of Latin and English is the main focus, and ends with specific situations in which English has been influenced by the language and culture of the Romans. This flow is shown in the table below with appropriate shading.

    Functions denote the purposes of communication. In the study of Latin, there are two basic functions: to communicate in Latin and to improve communication in English. The communication in Latin will be primarily through reading to obtain information about facts, events, opinions, attitudes, and feelings and to gain access to literary texts. The communication in English may involve any of the four skills (reading, listening, speaking, writing) as well as the element of cultural awareness.

    For example, in order to learn facts and events, a student may read in Latin an adapted version of Livy’s account of how Pyrrhus defeated the Romans. That reading will facilitate communication in English when the student later hears the expression "Pyrrhic victory" used in a history class.

The following functions are basic to Latin for communication:

A suggested scope and sequence that addresses the activities of listening, listening/speaking, and reading follows the sample daily lessons plans. It suggests several activities appropriate for checkpoints A, B, and C.

This sample daily lesson plan was developed by staff members of School 19, Buffalo. The topic is Personal Identification. The focus is on greetings and biographical information.

Getting students to adopt a course of action by socializing; greetings.

Personal Identification

Biographical Information

Greetings, age, Tribal/Nation identification, clan, local community (within reserve), native language spoken, physical characteristics.

Listening and Speaking at Checkpoint A.

When greeted by teacher or peers, the student is able to understand and respond appropriately.

Given oral questions in the target language (Mohawk) about personal identification, the student is able to respond in the target language.

  INVENTORY OF USEFUL GRAMMAR

The following schematic represents one of many possible approaches to developing a unit of instruction.

    Once the initial plan of the unit has been created, it is necessary to specify the instructional content of that unit. In preparing the content, the teacher may wish to do the following:

    As teachers develop scope and sequence materials and classroom strategies which align to the new learning standards, they will address these factors in their work.

Proficiency at an elementary level in speaking, listening, reading, writing, and culture will be developed using the following topics:

A number of courses designed to meet the needs of students with varying needs have been developed. A sample of these offerings follows:

An extended program in second language has been created for those students who would benefit from a slower pace of instruction and individual instruction as well as students who would benefit from an extra year of study before taking the Comprehensive Regents Examination.

An accelerated intensive second language program offers students the opportunity to complete the 14 topics at Checkpoint A in one year. The course is intended for those students who may be interested in language for government, business, international studies, or language as a major field.

A course to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement course in grade 12 draws topics from contemporary problems, the arts, literature, and films. Heavy emphasis is placed on speaking, reading, and writing. The course is intended for gifted language students who have demonstrated superior performance.

Students who wish to continue the study of language courses for travel, business, or professional or vocational needs may take another advanced course. Audio-lingual skills will continue to be developed; writing will be stressed on a more advanced level. Students will read selected materials in the form of short stories or excerpts from authentic documents.

Adelphi University’s High School Program grants college credit to honors students for a course which emphasizes advanced conversation and composition. The problems of contemporary society will be discussed through the study of selected excerpts from well-known writers, sociologists, and journalists.

A measure of the success of this program is that 100 percent of the students taking the Comprehensive Spanish Regents over the past 10 years have passed the exam, including numerous IEP students. To date six students with IEP’s have completed through Level V for college credit. Over the past three years, from 55 percent to 67 percent of the graduating seniors have completed through Level IV or V before graduation. Our Vo-Tech students are barred from taking these courses by scheduling restraints. If it were not for this restraint, the percentage of seniors with the advanced level would be higher.

On a practical level, former students have indicated that their study of Spanish has been a very positive benefit to their careers in the armed services, nursing, environmental sciences, and business. Students have indicated that, even though their job did not depend on the knowledge of Spanish, their knowledge of the language has been of great benefit in their performance of their job.

• Communicator
• Responsible member of society
• Lifelong self-directed learner
• Creative and critical thinker
• Quality producer

FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM STANDARDS

• Communicate effectively in a second language
• Increase native language, vocabulary, and grammar skills through the study of a second language
• Participate in self-evaluation
• Devise creative responses to problems or tasks
• Reflect upon learning experiences
• Develop understanding of culture and cultural differences
• Develop tolerance for ambiguity

COURSE LATIN II STANDARDS

• Comprehend a Latin passage
• Read Latin aloud
• Write Latin passage as read aloud
• Define and analyze English and Latin words
• Analyze grammatical structures in context
• Display task skills and social skills as a responsible group member
• Evaluate progress on a regular basis

ASSESSMENT

TASK: Students, working in collaborative groups, will compete against other groups in a chariot race at the Circus Maximus. The race will consist of seven laps:

CRITERIA:

• There are 29 languages or language groups with 1000 or more speakers.
  
• There are currently 2,851,861 foreign born residents; 19% more than in 1980.
  
• In 1990-91, there were 147,941 limited English proficient children in special LEP programs in New York schools. These children represent 142 world languages.
  
• In the same year, there were 40,558 foreign students in New York colleges and universities, a 5.8% increase over the preceding year.
  
• Foreign direct investment in property, plant, and equipment increased 142.5%, $18.8 billion, between 1984 and 1989, and totaled $32 billion at the end of 1989.
  
• More than three out of every five of the 500 largest foreign-based companies have facilities here.
  
• There are 2,300 foreign affiliates, including banks, which employ 420,900 people in New York State. Estimated annual revenues exceed $90 billion, and salaries and wages paid by these firms are about $12.4 billion.

AND

In the U.S.A., the number of people who do not speak English at home has increased from 28 million in 1976 to 30 million in 1980. By the year 2000, the number is expected to reach 39.5 million residents with a mother tongue other than English.

• Research has shown that students who have studied a foreign language score better than those who have not on standardized tests such as the S.A.T. and similar examinations. The longer a person has studied a foreign language, the greater the positive effect.
  
• Students who become proficient in a second language and have an understanding of another culture will have an edge in the job market of the 21st century. Today’s technological advances have brought us closer to all peoples of the world. Remember, the language of business is the language of the customer.
  
• Learning a second language helps develop thinking skills, builds basic study habits, and gives you a new perspective on your own culture.
  
• Many four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. require foreign languages for entrance and many also require students to demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language for graduation. Some institutions give college credit or exempt students from degree requirements in languages for demonstrated proficiency or college credit earned in high school courses.
  
• One year of college-level study of a language other than English (or the equivalent of one year’s study) is a new requirement in New York State for all individuals applying for certification as a teacher after September 2, 1993.

• "Because our colleges prepare their graduates to live and work in a multicultural society at home and abroad, knowledge of a second language - modern or classical - is an important gateway to understanding peoples and cultures other than their own. . . Convinced that language study can progress naturally from secondary school to college, we expect students to pursue study of a second language through the third or fourth year level in secondary school, and we urge that language study continue through senior year." -WHAT WE EXPECT - A Statement on Preparing for College from the Academic Deans of the Commonwealth Partnership.
  
  "Students entering college must first have completed Checkpoints A and B. . . During the remaining year(s) in high school students should begin work on Checkpoint C without interruption, or work toward and take the AP test or other college credit-granting programs and examinations." - SUNY 2000 - COLLEGE EXPECTATIONS: The Report of the SUNY Task Force on College Entry-Level Knowledge and Skills, October 1992.

    German is the native language of about 100 million people. It is spoken primarily in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.

    English and German are very closely related. They are both Germanic languages that began to appear in written forms as early as the first century B.C. About half the words in English are Germanic in origin and many are cognates. German and English are also related to Dutch, Flemish, Afrikaans, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish. Many English words have been incorporated into modern German.

    Proficiency in German is useful to those seeking careers in foreign trade, banking, education, science, space, medicine, engineering, import-export, transportation, interpreting, and many other fields. Of particular importance to those interested in German are the business implications of the European unification. All trade barriers in Europe are in the process of being dropped, and Germany is becoming the largest economic power in a market of 324 million European consumers.

• enhance vocabulary and develop skills and habits essential to communicating effectively in the target language
• develop an understanding of and an appreciation for other cultures and their influence on our culture
• respond to and interact in everyday life problem-solving situations in creative and diverse ways in the target language
• develop a sense of humanity, camaraderie, and respect for self and others by understanding and accepting variations of values, customs, traditions, and language
• appreciate his/her role as a citizen in an increasingly interdependent world community
• use the target language in a variety of creative formats
• focus on maximum individual effort and achievement, while acting as a responsible group member.

    The Longitudinal Foreign Language Development Scale is a standard by which teachers can identify, over time, an individual student’s movement through determined stages of proficiency. A copy is kept on file and updated annually for each student throughout his/her years in the program.

    Standards are represented as proficiency rubrics. The rubrics can be subdivided into categories of Novice (1-3), Intermediate (4-6), and Advanced (7-9). Our expectation is that Checkpoint A students perform within the Novice level, Checkpoint B students within the Intermediate level, and Checkpoint C students within the Advanced level. The rubrics are an adapted version of the 1986 ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Guidelines. The complete and more detailed rubrics are available to teachers for reference.

    The rubrics identify stages of linguistic proficiency as opposed to achievement. They are independent of course grades or academic success. Some students, e.g., some native speakers, may score fairly well regardless of course level or course grades. Each rubric identifies proficiency in the four combined language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Although there are exceptions, we assume that growth in one skill is typically parallel to growth in other skills. Provision is made for special circumstances in the "Special Notes" section.

    The scale requires a brief annual determination of a student’s language proficiency. This is a global appraisal and is not based on performance on any given task or test. Teachers will be familiar with the rubrics and identifying each student’s place on his/her scale will not be time consuming. A growth curve will result after two or three years.

    This approach will provide a consistent linguistic standard of proficiency for students and the Foreign Language Program. The same scale will apply to all students at all levels during their years in the program. The scale will be a means to encourage both individual and group goal setting. It will clarify our program’s focus and verify the success of many of our students.

Click to enlarge.

9. Superior

8. Advanced Plus

7. Advanced