Making the National Standards Part of Your Language Classes Prof. Guiomar Borrás A. Glendale Community College Dallas, TX. March 4, 2011

1. What are the five National Standards for Foreign Language Learning? 3. What are the three aspects of the second standard? 5. When were they published? 4. Who wrote the standards? 2. What are the three categories of the first standard?

1. COMMUNICATION 2. CULTURES 3. CONNECTIONS4. COMPARISONS 5. COMMUNITIES

 2. The three categories of the first standard (COMMUNICATION) are: Interpersonal communication, interpretive and presentational.  3. The three categories of the second standard (CULTURES) are: Practices, products and perspectives.  4. The National Standards were written by an eleven-member task force, representing a variety of languages, levels of instruction, program models, and geographic regions, who undertook the task of defining content standards -- what students should know and be able to do -- in foreign language education. This group of people received a three- year grant from the US Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Humanities.  5. The final document, Standards for Foreign Language Learning: Preparing for the 21st Century, first published in 1996.

STANDARDS FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING COMMUNICATION Communicate in Languages Other Than English Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions. Standard 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics. Standard 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.

STANDARDS FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING CULTURES Gain Knowledge and Understanding of Other Cultures Standard 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied. Standard 2.2: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied.

CONNECTIONS Connect with Other Disciplines and Acquire Information Standard 3.1: Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language. Standard 3.2: Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the foreign language and its cultures. STANDARDS FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING

COMPARISONS Develop Insight into the Nature of Language and Culture Standard 4.1: Students demonstrate understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of the language studied and their own. Standard 4.2: Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own. STANDARDS FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING

COMMUNITIES Participate in Multilingual Communities at Home & Around the World Standard 5.1: Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting. Standard 5.2: Students show evidence of becoming life-long learners by using the language for personal enjoyment and enrichment. STANDARDS FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING

“Knowing how, when, and why to say what to whom”  Most teaching in foreign language classrooms concentrated on how (grammar) to say what (vocabulary).  The current organizing principle for foreign language study is communication, which also highlights the why, the whom, and the when. So, while grammar and vocabulary are essential tools for communication, it is the acquisition of the ability to communicate in meaningful and appropriate ways with users of other languages that is the ultimate goal of today’s foreign language classroom. 

Communication – All three forms (interpersonal, interpretive, presentational) at all levels of instruction are the heart of second language study. Cultures – Through the study of a language, students are able to gain knowledge of the culture. Develop critical thinking, not just learning facts. Connections – Help students find how their passion connects to foreign languages and cultures. Comparisons – Students compare and contrast their own language with the language studied realizing that there are more than one way to view and deal with the rest of the world. Communities – Getting to know people and cultures brings language and culture alive, can last a lifetime.

 Cultural objects  Communication: Interpersonal, Interpretive, Presentational  Culture Through Art  Art Auction  Mix & Mingle Activities  Interviews / Role Play

 Can work in all levels, from low to high  Includes practice with numbers  Students put a price on their works of art (a price they can express in the L2)  Students have certain amount of money  Students can work in groups or as a class  They bid or works of art  Students describe the works of art in lower or higher levels  If study of art is part of curriculum, works can be classified by artist, by period, medium, etc.

Frida y Diego Rivera Museo de Guggenheim Bilbao La pareja de Alejandro Xul Solar Autoretrato de Oswaldo Guayasamín

 Interpersonal communication  Students speak with many, perhaps all, classmates  Instructor monitors and assists as needed but often speaks little  More like real live interaction  Often motivating and fun for students  Presentational communication assignment may given as follow-up

 Questions?  Ideas  How have you been using the Standards in your language classes?  What type of activities have been successful in your classes?  What type of activities do you think the students like the most?