Monday, September 25, 2017

Proficiency and Families: Parent Night






I've written on Path2Proficiency about bringing parents in on the path to proficiency, since so many of us learned a language, well, not with a proficiency focus.  Because so many of my students' parents had the experience of "studying a language for four years, but can't speak it,"(we've all heard it), I thought I'd share what I send out to parents on our annual fall parent night, to communicate what working toward proficiency looks like.  

For the 6-9 year olds:


¡Español! 
 septiembre 2017
Teachers: Siobhan(Ext Day/6-9)       Valerie Shull (9-12/middle school, Program Director) class blog: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

¡ Muy bienvenido al nuevo año escolar! When it comes to language acquisition, long term thinking is required. Starting in Extended Day and 6-9, we envision what the 8th grade graduate will look like, and beyond that- the young adult speaker of Spanish. So, let’s start with that vision and program goals:
What are the goals?
Language development happens over time-much longer than just one or two school years. By
the time the children graduate 8th grade, the goal is for them to function at the Novice High-Intermediate Low speaking levels in class. What does that mean?
  • ○  Intermediate speakers of a language are know as survivors-they can survive in the target culture.
  • ○  The Intermediate level is characterized by the ability to combine learned elements of language creatively, though primarily in a reactive mode.
  • ○  The Intermediate level speaker can initiate, minimally sustain, and close basic communicative tasks.
  • ○  The speaker can ask and answer questions and can speak in discrete sentences and strings of sentences on topics that are either autobiographical or related primarily to his or her immediate environment.
  • ○  Novice High speakers are on the cusp of being able to perform Intermediate tasks in a sustained and consistent manner.
    Remember- Novice High/Intermediate Low is the goal of our graduates . What that means is that in 6-9, the children are interacting and having fun using the language to explore different topics. While the priority is interpersonal communication, we start some reading during the second and third years and introduce writing-all of which support oral communication. The children in 6-9 navigate real life situations encountered in childhood using Spanish-play, asking questions, grace and courtesy, talking about themselves and exploring culture through the language.
    We hope that you will sign up to follow the Spanish class blog where we post information on language learning, news on what’s happening in class and practical ways you can support Spanish language learning outside of school. Please contact us with any questions you have. We love talking world languages! 

    And for the 9-12 year old families:
    septiembre 2017

    Teacher:  Valerie Shull(9-12/middle school, Program Director)    
       

        class blog:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
            ¡Muy bienvenido al nuevo año escolar!  I am so happy to welcome you back.

    In 9-12 we use a  teacher created Spanish curriculum developed based on current research and best practices in the field. This curriculum has been under development over the several years and supports  further Spanish language acquisition, aligns to the ACTFL World Readiness Standards,  and encourages critical thinking by our young global citizens.  

    About the program:
  • The program is centered around themes that both support the children in acquiring Spanish language and encourage critical thinking about the world and the perspectives of its cultures. Some example units include:
    • Global Challenges in the Natural World(biodiversity and the environment)
    • Belonging: What Makes A family?
    • Identity: Who Am I?
    • Well-being: A healthy lifestyle
    • Exploring: Where  I live and my Place in the World
    • Challenges: What the World Eats

  • This way of learning is very different than the way most of us experienced a language class in middle school or high school. You will not see textbook conjugation charts or workbook pages with grammar drills.  The children are learning language in context of authentic texts, audio and video and activities in which they use the language as the vehicle for communication. Communication and global competency are the focus; this approach to language teaching is based on the most current acquisition and teaching research.

What are the goals?
  • Language development happens over time-much longer than just one or two school years.  By the time the children graduate 8th grade, the goal is for them to function at the Novice High-Intermediate Low speaking levels in class. What does that mean?  

    • Intermediate speakers of a language are know as survivors-they can survive in the target culture.  
    • The Intermediate level is characterized by the ability to combine learned elements of language creatively, though primarily in a reactive mode.
    • The Intermediate level speaker can initiate, minimally sustain, and close basic communicative tasks.
    • The speaker can ask and answer questions and can speak in discrete sentences and strings of sentences on topics that are either autobiographical or related primarily to his or her immediate environment.
    • Novice High speakers are on the cusp of being able to perform Intermediate tasks in a sustained and consistent manner.

Remember-Novice High/Intermediate Low is the goal of our graduates. Children in 9-12 operate at the novice level-living primarily in the world of the concrete and predictable,  answering in words, utterances and sentence fragments. That’s right on track.

I hope that you will sign up to follow the Spanish class blog, where I post information on language learning, news on what’s happening in class and samples of the children’s work.  Please contact me with any questions you have. I love talking world language!

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