By Kathleen Kosobud,
past president, LDA of Michigan
Many education leaders and policy-makers agree that
competency in at least one World Language other than English is important if
U.S. citizens are going to compete in a world-wide economy, and promote global
understanding. Multiple language
policy has been a hot topic for a variety of reasons. Should we provide
bilingual instruction to students who are immigrants? Should we teach World
Languages to preschoolers and elementary students, at a time when their brains
may be more receptive? What
languages should we be teaching, and why?
Should we shift our emphasis away from French and German in favor of
Arabic and Chinese? Can students
with disabilities be expected to learn foreign languages? Are students with
disabilities less disadvantaged because all students enter on an equal footing
as beginners?
The American Council on the
Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) has been an active partner in the
development of curriculum for World Language instruction, and has been a strong
advocate for increasing participation of all students in learning World
Languages. In 1995, as part of a move to develop national standards for
schools, ACTFL identified five aspects of World Language that are essential to
a balanced World Language curriculum: “The Five Cs”—Communication, Cultures,
Connections, Comparisons, and Communities. (With Nod to
History, Foreign-Language Standards Unveiled). “The Five Cs” offer guidance for instructional planning, as
well as setting the foundation for assessing accomplished teaching, through the
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) (go to NBPTS and search for World Languages
Standards). [see endnote 1]
Picture source: http://monsieurdoehla.wikispaces.com
By 2000, developers of the
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) announced their intention
to develop assessments for graduating HS seniors in their grasp of Spanish as a
foreign language. However, by
2004, the effort was tabled: there was insufficient participation in the
assessment for the developers to establish test validity (National
Foreign-Language Assessment Delayed Indefinitely). Foreign Language
instruction remained the only subject identified as a core area in national
legislation that was not assessed in the NAEP. In 2005, despite legislative
cuts to foreign language instruction budgets, the U. S. Department of Defense
intensified its efforts to expand instruction in foreign languages and culture,
particularly in Chinese and Arabic (Defense
Department Takes the Offense on Languages). As national, state and local funding of education has
continued to focus in on reading and mathematics under No Child Left Behind
many efforts to maintain or expand World Language instruction have been
curtailed. Yet, in the global education arena, many policy analysts and
educational researchers argue that U.S. education suffers from a lack of
breadth and rigor, including instruction in foreign languages and culture. In
many other countries students graduate from the equivalent of high school
speaking two or more languages.
This brings us to the Michigan Merit Curriculum
requirement for knowledge of a World Language other than English for all high
school students expecting to graduate with a diploma. Here’s my disclaimer: I
am not a Personal Curriculum (PC) Liaison, but I am interested in ensuring that
students with disabilities do not lose ground under the new Michigan Merit
Curriculum (MMC). If you’re not already familiar with the term, PC Liaisons are
district employees to whom you can turn with questions about local district
practices involving the MMC. They
are the ones who have information about accommodations and modifications for
accelerated students, struggling students, transfer students, and students with
disabilities. Contact Mary Head for
permission to join the Personal
Curriculum Ning, a place where PC Liaisons can share what their districts
are doing to adjust the MMC for various kinds of students.
I recently participated in a
webinar on the World Language requirement for PC Liaisons hosted by Michigan
Department of Education staff and local district consultants (view here: World Languages PC
Webinar, January 19, 2012). Under
the MMC, the graduating class of 2016 (this year’s 8th graders) will
need to complete two years of World Language instruction, or demonstrate a Novice-High
proficiency in a World Language other than English (through an assessment based
on the ACTFL standards for World Languages).
Picture source:
http://www.languagetesting.com/scale.htm
This rating covers students’
skills in speaking, writing, listening, and reading a World Language. In order for students to achieve this
level of proficiency, instruction may be at a higher level—Intermediate—so that
students’ performances average out to Novice High levels. There is no state assessment; this is
left for local districts to manage, either through assessment of the Michigan
benchmarks for World Languages as students progress through World Language
courses, or through assessments purchased or created by the district that align
with the ACTFL standards. Formal testing is only necessary for students who
wish to demonstrate mastery, either because they elect to get credit by
“testing out”, or because they want to enter more advanced coursework.
Presenters in this webinar noted
that a variety of strategies improve the performance of all students in World
Language courses, including students with disabilities: team teaching with a
special educators who have a world language background, peer mentors, National
Honor Society tutors, test readers, and block scheduling all seemed to be
helpful for students who might struggle without additional support. In addition, for students with IEPs,
presenters reported that the same accommodations and supports identified in an
IEP for Language Arts or English instruction may be used to promote success in
World Language classes.
For students with IEPs, it is
also possible to write a Personal Curriculum, identifying portions of the
curriculum that they can be expected to achieve, applying the term “as much as
is practicable” as guidance, and individualizing based on a student’s
needs. Personal Curriculum plans
are only considered after other interventions have been exhausted, according to the speakers. This means that your high schooler may be working on
“exhausting interventions” until the junior and senior year of high
school. In the process of
exhausting interventions, there is also the distinct possibility that your
student will be behind in credit.
If at all possible, parents need to make their Personal Curriculum
requests early, and make sure that interventions are not used as excuses to
delay consideration of a Personal Curriculum plan.
I have some thoughts about
selecting a particular World Language to learn, and some of the ways of
accommodating a student with learning disabilities. The choice of language may
contribute to a student’s success.
Spanish is considered by many to be the easiest of languages to learn
because of its’ simpler grammar.
From a listening and speaking perspective, this may help a student who
has difficulty with vocabulary, since fewer word forms need to be learned.
French, Italian and German may be slightly more complex, grammatically, but may
also have appeal. A note on vocabulary:
if your student has difficulty with new or specialized vocabulary in
English, make sure that this is accommodated in the World Language class.
Reading, writing and spelling may
be problems, especially for a person who is considered to be dyslexic or
dysgraphic. Languages that use a different written system (Arabic, Japanese,
Chinese, Hebrew) than our alphabet may not be as good a choice for those with
dyslexia either. Emphasis on speaking, conversation, and oral translation is
better for students for whom reading and writing in English is already a
problem. (One of these days, I imagine, the same suite of tools that students
use for speech to text in English, word prediction, and contextual spelling
will be as readily available for World Language learners). Closed captioning on
television, either in English or in a World Language allows a learner to listen
to a language and connect meaning to the written or spoken word. Having access to this technology may
influence your high-schooler’s choice of language.
There are other language options
that naturally emphasize one modality over another. Latin is not primarily a spoken language; students with
auditory difficulties may find it more to their liking than learning a language
where their pronunciation of words will be a constant challenge. “Heritage” languages are primarily
spoken and gestural languages. These may be better suited for students who are
interested in Native American culture, and find their greatest difficulties in
reading and writing. American Sign
Language (ASL--the language of the Deaf culture) [see endnote 2] eliminates listening, speaking, reading and writing, and substitutes viewing,
signing, gesture and expression.
Students who are visually oriented may find that ASL meets their needs.
As with all accommodations and
modifications, it takes effort on the part of parents to help bring about
maximum access for a student with a disability. In some districts, schools allow students to use community
resources as alternative classrooms.
If your district is one that will entertain that possibility, you may be
able to connect your student to a member of the community for instruction in a
language that is not offered in school in exchange for some bartered service.
For instance: learn a “heritage”
language from a tribal elder in exchange for doing household chores. Many community colleges offer ASL
courses. Although they may go too
quickly for some students, you may be able to work on an arrangement between
your local district and the ASL instructors to offer a slower version of the
course for a group of high-schoolers.
LDA of Michigan is interested in
hearing from you about your experiences with the new high school diploma
requirement for World Languages. Contact LDA of
Michigan with your stories or questions.
Resources:
Link
to About World Languages
Link
to ACTFL
Proficiency Standards
Link
to Language
Links/Special Needs
Link
to the World Language Requirement Power Point
(for PC Liaisons)
World Languages Consultants:
Dr.
Millie Mellgren: newlanguagepathways@gmail.com
Dr.
Barbara Appold: appoldb@bangorschools.org
Endnotes:
2. Rosen, Russell S. (2008). American Sign Language as a Foreign Language in U.S. High Schools: State of the Art. Modern Languages Journal 92, 10-38.
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Abstract: The last 2 decades witnessed a growth in American Sign Language (ASL) as a foreign language in U.S. secondary schools. This overview of the current state of ASL as a foreign language in the schools consists of a history and a survey. The information on history was drawn from a study conducted by Rosen (2006). This history is followed by a national survey compiled by Rosen (2005) on U.S. secondary schools offering ASL for foreign language credit. The survey provided information on the number and distribution of schools, teachers, classes, students, departments, and the process for program implementation. The information is used to ascertain the current breadth and scope of, and to discern trends in, ASL as a foreign language in public high schools nationwide.
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This study is comprehensive enough to provide some support for offering ASL as a world language, in my opinion.
