Executive Summary

Executive Summary for World Languages

Purpose Statement

The K-12 World Language Curriculum is Easton, Redding, and Region 9's (ER9) plan for instruction. It provides the framework for what students need to know and be able to do in order to apply world languages in a real world environment.

Guiding Principles

The World Language curriculum is framed by a set of guiding principles taken directly from Standards for Foreign Language Learning: Preparing for the 21^st Century which ensures that all students will develop proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in at least one language other than English, and will understand the cultures) of that language. This expectation includes the following program goals:

Communicate in at least one language other than English
Gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures
Make connections with other areas of study and acquire information
Understand the nature of language and cultures through comparisons
Participate in multilingual communities within a variety of contexts

Standards

The World Language Committee has adopted the content standards from the Connecticut Framework for World Languages that are developmentally sequenced. Performance standards, against which students are measured, are listed under the content standards. The curriculum is presented at each grade level using the content and skills that are developmentally appropriate. These are laid out in the World Language Competency Grid that can be accessed by clicking on the up button at the top of this page. Each grade level curriculum contains communication activities, cultural exposure and linguistic development as well as common assessments that are directly aligned to state standards.

The Curriculum

The World Language Committee designed the curriculum around the concept of a Learning Spiral. Within the framework of the 5-12 structure, World Language concepts and skills are introduced and reinforced at specific grade levels. Students have many opportunities to raise their level of proficiency within increasingly challenging learning environments.

The World Language Curriculum is designed to use grades 5-8 as the introductory phase of learning where world language and skills are introduced and reinforced. As students move through grades 7 and 8, they begin to demonstrate mastery of basic communication skills and an appreciation of other cultures. In this developmental phase, students complete common locally developed assessments aligned closely to the world language standards designated for these initial years.

When students enter the high school, previously introduced concepts and skills are reinforced. As students continue their world language study, they demonstrate higher levels of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Beginning in the 10th grade, students may be recommended for Honors level classes. Advanced placement and UCONN Cooperative programs are offered to upper level students.

Types of Instruction

Teachers use a variety of instructional strategies to deliver and build World Language concepts and skills with students. These include directed instruction with the teacher working with the whole class to introduce a concept or skill, guided practice using auditory, visual and technological aids, and various cooperative learning strategies. At the High School level, a multimedia lab further develops listening and speaking skills. Students will do independent work by completing homework and by completing performance-based tasks applying the appropriate world language concepts and skills to authentic situations. The World Language Committee has developed "Performance Assessments" aligned to the standards for all levels. By linking to your son or daughter's school and the appropriate grade or courses, you can find descriptions of learning activities that are generally used by World Language teachers. You can link there now by clicking on one of the hyper links below. At the school's Web page, click on curriculum and follow the path to the appropriate grade level.

HKMS, JRMS, JBHS

Types of Assessment Directly Aligned to the World Language Curriculum

Common Assessments

Teachers in ER9 have developed common assessments for each grade level to evaluate each student's progress with respect to the specific standards listed for the grade level or in the course of study. These assessments can appear in a variety of formats, i.e. quizzes, exams and performance-based assessments. There is a variety of scoring rubrics that are used:

Analytical rubrics-where the task or assessment is broken down into several elements and the students are assessed on each element.
Holistic rubrics-where the students are measured against a series of descriptive statements that say at what level the student is at in meeting the standards assessed by the task.

Recording Student Performance

Since the curriculum activities and assessments are closely aligned to specific world language concepts and standards, the teachers use a variety of recording devices to track each student's progress as measured against the standards. These devices include:

Evaluation of common assessments at each grade level
Report cards
Assessments of Portfolios/Folders

Summary

The 5-12 World Language Curriculum is consistently delivered in all grade levels and at each school. It is aligned closely to state and national standards. Teachers have developed common approaches to instruction that are represented in performance-based assessments located at the school level of the Web site. Students are assessed using an agreed upon set of assessments directly aligned to the content and skill standards appropriate to the grade level. As you explore different facets of the World Language curriculum you may generate questions or feed back. Please click in the envelope below to communicate with us.

[ ER9-Central Office ] [ HKMS ] [ JBHS ] [ JRMS ] [ RES ] [ SSES ] [ Table of Contents ]

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Revised: October 17, 2005 .

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