Planning for Success

1
Planning for Success

• What matters in building a successful secondary
  program in Chinese?

2
Effective Programs

• Have clearly stated outcomes for student learning
• Align outcomes with national and/or state
  standards
• Ensure continuous student progress from year to
  year
• Consider their clients and stakeholders
• Consider the relationship between outcomes, time,
  and use of instructional time

3
Time Contact Hours and Language Learning

• DLI
• Spanish 240 hours (8 weeks)
• Chinese 480 hours (16 weeks)

• Secondary School
• 150 contact hours (180 days X 50 minutes)
• 150 days X 50 minutes 125 hours

• Elementary school total immersion dual language
• 180 days X 5 hours
• 900 hours

• Elementary Pullout
• 60 mins. per week X40 weeks 40 hours
• 150 mins. per week X 40 weeks 100 hours

4
Time

• Implication Good curriculum and good use of
  instructional time are critical.

5
Effective Programs

• Regularly measure student learning to determine
  if outcomes are being achieved

6
Assessment Evidence

• Performance data from validated external
  proficiency instruments collected at regular
  intervals throughout the sequence of study that
  demonstrate students make continuous progress.
• Data from other performance measures, such as
• Portfolios
• Internally developed performance assessments
  administered at regular intervals
• Adapted fromA Guide for Action in Planning
  Language Programs Ruta Couet, Gregory Duncan,
  Jennifer Eddy, Myriam Met, Martin Smith, Maria
  Still, Ann Tollefson.

7
Effective Programs

• Conduct systematic review of assessment evidence
  to inform and adjust the instructional program
  from day-to-day and year-to-year
• Ensure that curriculum, instruction and
  assessment are integrally linked and are designed
  to achieve the stated performance goals.
• Adapted fromA Guide for Action in Planning
  Language Programs Ruta Couet, Gregory Duncan,
  Jennifer Eddy, Myriam Met, Martin Smith, Maria
  Still, Ann Tollefson.

8
Effective Programs

• Ensure high quality instruction delivered through
  technology and/or classroom teachers
• GOOD TEACHING IS THE KEY VARIABLE IN
  PROGRAM SUCCESS

9
Effective teachers

• have clearly defined expectations for what
  students should know and be able to do.
• understand the relationships among national
  standards, state standards, local curriculum, and
  the his/her long range and short range objectives
  for student learning.
• can identify student performance in light of
  objectives.
• have a repertoire of instructional approaches
  that enable students to move toward learning
  goals.
• Know how to choose wisely within their
  repertoire.
• engage in professional dialogue and reflective
  practice

10
Effective Teachers

• plan and facilitate classroom instruction to
  actively engage and motivate learners.
• conduct the class in the target language without
  needing to resort to English at least 80 of the
  class period.
• know when to use English for instructional
  purposes and when it is not necessary or
  appropriate.

11
Effective Teachers

• plan and carry out real-world tasks in real-world
  settings in culturally appropriate ways.
• design activities so that all learners are
  involved and engaged.
• design classroom activities so that
  student/teacher and student/student interactions
  are meaningful and functional.
• use an effective approach to developing literacy
  for foreign language learners.
• use a variety of structured and balanced
  activities (pair, group, full-class)

12
Effective Teachers

• align assessments with standards
• develop assessments that reflect ALL their
  teaching goals, materials, that occur in class,
  encompassing all skills including intercultural
  competence/awareness.
• collect evidence of student learning beyond
  pencil and paper tests, designing tasks that
  simulate real-life use of language.
• use multiple ways to collect information on
  student progress

13
What matters in language learning?

• Intensity
• Interaction
• Authentic Tasks
• Cross cultural interaction

14
Intensity

• Effort and persistence required for challenging
  learning.
• The basics of language may be boring to students.
• Intensity is increased by engaging tasks that
  motivate learners to expend effort and persist in
  challenging tasks.

15
Intensity

• Implications for the classroom
• Good language instruction requires active
  cognitive engagement in learning tasks that are
  interesting to students.

16
Authentic Tasks

• Students need real-life reasons to use language
  as a tool for communication.
• Students need to have real-life reasons to want
  to understand what is being said to them and to
  make themselves understood.
• Students need to use language to communicate
  about topics that are engaging and motivating.
• Students need to use language with meaning and
  for a purpose.

17
Interaction

• Students need extensive opportunities to hear (or
  read) language used by others, and to use
  language with others in meaningful and purposeful
  ways.
• Students need to be engaged in understanding
  others and making themselves understood.

18
The Educators 11th Commandment

• THOU SHALT
• DO IT WELL