Virginia Department of Education

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Virginia Department of Education

• Foreign Language Standards of Learning Revision
• 1999-2000

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The Mission

• To revise the
• Standards of
• Learning for
• French, German,
• Latin, and Spanish,
• Levels I-IV

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The Development and Approval Process

• Who?
• When?
• Where?
• How?

• Board Review
• Public Hearings
• Final Review

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What are Academic Content Standards?

• They are statements of the knowledge, processes,
  and skills essential to guide teaching and
  learning in Virginia.
• They must identify what students are expected to
  accomplish by the end of a course.
• They must be academic, measurable, rigorous, and
  jargon-free.

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The Foreign Language SOL do not reflect . . .

• teaching methods
• classroom strategies
• specific instructional materials
• a curriculum

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Conscious Decisions

• There is continuity and consistency
• from one language to another
• from one level to the next
• across languages and levels.
• Technology is integrated into the standards
  rather than treated as a stand alone topic.

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Structure of the Foreign Language SOL

• Front Matter includes
• an introduction that describes the document and
  defines some terms
• culturally authentic
• level-appropriate
• 8 goals subdivided into 4 areas
• Effective Communication
• Enhanced Cultural Understanding
• Expanded Access to Information
• Increased Global Perspective

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Organizing Strands for Modern Languages

• Person-to-Person Communication
• Listening and Reading for Understanding
• Oral and Written Communication
• Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products
• Making Connections through Language
• Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons
• Communication across Communities

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Organizing Strands forLatin

• Reading for Understanding
• Using Oral and Written Language for Understanding
• Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products
• Making Connections through Language
• Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons
• Communication across Communitiessame as for
  modern languages

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Sample Content Strand and Standards
Person to Person Communication MFLI.1 The
student will exchange simple spoken and written
information in the foreign language. 1. Use
basic greetings, farewells, and expressions of
courtesy both orally and in writing. 2. Express
likes and dislikes, requests, descriptions, and
directions. 3. Ask questions and provide
responses based on self and familiar material,
such as family members, personal belongings,
school and leisure activities, time, and
weather.
Content Strand Content Standard Required
specifics of content standard that help with
measurability. Material that follows the phrase
such as is offered only as a suggestion and is
not required.
The specifics may be referred to as benchmarks or
progress indicators. The Foreign Language SOL are
numbered rather than bulleted for ease of
reference.
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So where does a teacher start with the FL SOL?

• Read the introductory information.
• Understand the organizing strands.
• Consider how the SOL integrate all four language
  skills (listening, speaking, reading, and
  writing) for natural language use and
  communication.

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• Note that the SOL emphasize the knowledge,
  processes, and skills that students should
  develop, not the content that teachers should
  teach.

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• Use the SOL to develop a local curriculum that
  defines more narrowly the content and structures
  that will enable students to meet the standards.

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What about assessment?

• At this time, there are no plans for statewide
  assessment of the Foreign Language SOL.
• However, school divisions and schools should
  consider ways to effectively assess student
  performance in foreign languages.

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Will teachers be held accountable for the SOL?

• Teacher accountability will be in the hands of
  the local school divisions.
• A local school division should develop a local
  foreign language curriculum that is aligned with
  the state standards.
• Classroom instruction and student learning should
  then reflect this curriculum.

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Resources Provided by the DOE

• Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the
  21st Century
• The ACTFL national standards
  language-specific standards for nine languages
• ACTFL Performance Guidelines for K-12 Learners
• The ACTFL proficiency guidelines in a version
  that is more appropriate for the K-12 Learner

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Additional Resources

• Department of Educations
• Foreign Language/ESL Web Pagehttp//www.pen.k12
  .va.us/VDOE/Instruction/Language

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• This presentation was prepared by
• Dr. Linda Wallinger
• Associate Director, Foreign Languages and ESL
• Virginia Department of Education
• lwalling_at_pen.k12.va.us
• [phone]
• August 2000