1 World Language Initiatives in Minnesota Focus on Critical Languages

2 Minnesota-China Teacher Exchange (1986-present) Established by Minnesota Department of Education China Partner –Hangzhou Foreign Language School USA Partners –Minnetonka Schools –East Central Cooperative

Governor Pawlenty calls for a world language high school requirement in his State of the State Address Legislation –Full-time World Language Coordinator –Five LEA pilot-program grants of $500,000 –Legislative reports on world languages

4 K-12 Mandarin Language Project ( ) Minnesota Department of Education task force 2006 legislative appropriation to MDE Leadership Collaboration –University of Minnesota –Minnesota State Colleges and Universities –Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA), a US Department of Education Language Resource Center) Diverse group of statewide stakeholders

5 K-12 Mandarin Language Project ( ) Three subgroups 1.K-12 Mandarin Curriculum Plan 2.Guide to Mandarin educational materials 3.Recommendations for building Minnesota’s language-learning capacity Copies available in Mandarin and English Teacher Support>Chinese Language Initative

6 Pilot-program Grants (2007) 1.Middle School Arabic (Minneapolis Public Schools) 2.International Baccalaureate Chinese in Middle and High Schools (Fridley Public Schools) 3.Elementary Mandarin Immersion (Yinghua Academy) 4.Full 4-year high school Ojibwe sequence (Cass Lake-Bena) 5.Elementary German immersion (Twin Cities German Immersion School)

7 Legislative Reports (2008) Status of Minnesota World Languages –Annual reports High School Graduation Requirement World Language Proficiency Certificates Teacher Supply and Demand (every two years) Copies available Home>Reports to Legislature

8 Status of World Language Reports Five years of data collection Annual survey of all Minnesota K-12 districts and charter schools Topics –Enrollment trends for languages and levels –Equitable access statewide –Teacher licensure –District/community goals

9 Graduation Requirement Report Challenges –Requirement defined –Multiple pathways to meet requirement –Standards set locally –K-12 programming and K-16 articulation –Teacher supply –School finance

10 World Language Proficiency Certificates (2009) The World Language Proficiency Certificate is an incentive for students and districts to set a language goal of more intense rigor resulting in the attainment of real-world relevant language skills.

11 World Language Proficiency Certificates Key components Statewide standards defined Available for all languages Valid and reliable proficiency assessment

12 World Language Proficiency Certificates Standards for Category IV Languages 1.Minnesota World Language Certificate Intermediate-Low (listening and speaking) Novice-High (reading and writing) 2.Minnesota World Language High Achievement Certificate Pre-Advanced (listening and speaking) Novice-Mid (reading and writing)

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14 Visiting Teacher Program (2009) Minnesota Department of Education Memorandum of Understanding with Hanban –Program initiated in –Collaboration with the Confucius Institute at the University of Minnesota (communication with Hanban, interview process, teacher orientation and professional development)

15 Contact Information Janice Holter Kittok World Languages Coordinator Minnesota Department of Education (612)