Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson has recently endorsed voluntary standards for World Languages in Washington state:
These content standards are based on the National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project, a collaborative effort of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and a variety of language-specific associations (AATF, AATG, AATI, AATSP, ACL/APA, ACTR, CLASS/CLTA, & NCSTJ/ATJ):
- Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (1999) (Executive Summary available on the ACTFL website)
- Order copy of the book:
http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4283
The Washington State Coalition for International Education is working with OSPI (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction) and WAFLT (Washington Association for Language Teaching) to promote the use of the standards, educate teachers and school districts about them, and develop further resources to support them.
Correlating to Washington State EALRs
We have begun correlating the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning with the Washington State Standards (learning goals, components, and essential academic learning requirements). The purpose is to help teachers show how their world language classes can assist students in meeting state EALRs and preparing for the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning):
- First draft correlation:
WL Standards & EALRs (Word)
(By Sue Webber of WAFLT)
- Template for
World
Languages & EALRs (Word)
(It lists the EALRs and provides a place to document how you are meeting EALRs in Reading, Writing, and Communication in the WL classroom)
(English) Language Development Standards
Another direction worth investigating is the work that has been done to identify proficiency standards for English Language Learners.
Identifying a student’s proficiency level is the first step in using the Washington State English Language Development Standards to design effective instruction so that all students can access content. There are five proficiency levels (beginning, advanced beginning, intermediate, advanced, transitional) in each of the four language domains (listening, speaking, reading, writing). A fifth domain, Comprehension, is embedded within the four domains and is part of the Washington Language Proficiency Test.
http://www.k12.wa.us/MigrantBilingual/ELD.aspx 1/2/2006
For more information about Proficiency Standards, see WL Standards Review.
Aligning Curriculum
We will also be collecting examples of curriculum units aligned with the World Language Standards (the "5 C's") and developing templates to use, for example:
-
Unit: Global Art: Images of Caring (Word)
draft
Winter, 2006 Spanish 4 at Coe Elementary
-
World Language Standards Template (Word)
This template provides space for indicating how a unit would meet the various standards.
Preparing for the WASL
Because learning another language engages students in all aspects of communication, reading, writing, and problem solving, it can be a great way to prepare them to do well on our Washington Assessment of Student Learning.
Coming soon... tips for how World Language teachers can help students succeed on the WASL.