ACTFL and FL4K Student Learning Standards at a Glance

ACTFL Standards for World Languages

FL4K’s Alignment with ACTFL World Readiness Standards for World Languages

ACTFL World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages:

COMMUNICATION

Communicate effectively in more than one language in order to function in a variety of situations and for multiple purposes

Interpersonal Communication

Learners interact and negotiate meaning in spoken, signed, or written conversations to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions.

Interpretive Communication

Learners understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics.

Presentational Communication

Learners present information, concepts, and ideas to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate on a variety of topics using appropriate media and adapting to various audiences of listeners, readers, or viewers

FL4K provides an engaging and fun language acquisition and intercultural awareness program possible for today’s student so that they can communicate naturally and spontaneously, including Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational skill-building with a complete video program interwoven with an intercultural curriculum, reading program, hands-on activities, online practice questions, and games specifically designed to build oral proficiency.

Students use the target language in conversations to engage with others and build connections through empathy, respect, and understanding.

-Students use the target language to participate and negotiate meaning in conversations to share information.

-Students present information, concepts, ideas, feelings, opinions, and perspectives to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate on a variety of topics using appropriate media and adapting to various audiences of listeners, readers, or viewers.

-In the presentational mode of communication, students employ writing, physical gestures and/or speaking skills to plan and prepare communications for a specific audience. Students employ their knowledge of culture and their audience to communicate messages that will be well-received by their listeners, readers, or viewers.

CULTURE

Communicate effectively in more than one language in order to function in a variety of situations and for multiple purposes

Relating Cultural Products to Perspectives: Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between the products and perspectives of the cultures studied.

Presents products, practices, and perspectives of 11 Hispanic cultures with opportunities for investigation and interaction. The program includes cultural comparisons, reflection questions, polls, and opportunities for critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making with regard to the following topics: geography and climate, citizens, languages, sites of interest, transportation, animals, food, lodging, nature, adventures, contemporary topics, and the arts.

Provides an engaging and fun language acquisition and intercultural awareness program possible for today’s student so that they can communicate naturally and spontaneously, including Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational skill-building with a complete video program interwoven with an intercultural curriculum, authentic resources, reading program, hands-on activities, online practice questions, and games specifically designed to build oral proficiency.

Reflect the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements Proficiency Benchmarks: Learners identify and investigate some typical products related to everyday life in the target culture(s) and in the learners’ own culture. They begin to infer perspectives (attitudes, values, beliefs, the way a native speaker living in the target culture interprets meaning) of the target culture society. Communities, animals and their habitats, technology, geography, climate, fine and performing arts. Learners recognize and identify a few typical practices of the target culture.

Cultivates cultural understanding and awareness of what it means to be a global citizen. Relevant, interesting cultural resources are used to help students embrace diversity and open their eyes to other perspectives

CONNECTIONS

Connect with other disciplines and acquire information and diverse perspectives in order to use the language to function in academic and careerrelated situations

Making Connections:

Acquiring Information and Diverse Perspectives:

FL4K teaches language in context which include many other disciplines as they learn. Students explore habitats, technology, geography, climate and fine and performing arts within the context of the story line and culture being discussed. Cognates, idioms, and language structures are compared in language acquisition.

Learners build, reinforce, and expand their knowledge of other disciplines while using the language to develop critical thinking and to solve problems creatively.

Learners access and evaluate information and diverse perspectives that are available through the language and its cultures.

COMPARISONS

Develop insight into the nature of language and culture in order to interact with cultural competence

Language Comparisons: Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the nature of language through comparisons of the language studied and their own.

Cultural Comparisons: Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own

FL4K includes cultural comparisons, reflection questions, polls, and opportunities for critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making regarding the following topics: geography and climate, citizens, languages, sites of interest, transportation, animals, food, lodging, nature, adventures, contemporary topics, and the arts. Games designed for the WL classroom foster student/peer/class collaboration.

COMMUNITIES

Communicate and interact with cultural competence in order to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world

School and Global Communities: Learners use the language both within and beyond the classroom to interact and collaborate in their community and the globalized world.

Lifelong Learning: Learners set goals and reflect on their progress in using languages for enjoyment, enrichment, and advancement.

FL4K provides opportunities for collaboration, promoting leadership, critical thinking and problem solving, decision-making, developing technology and media literacy skills, encouraging accountability and responsibility, and developing interculturality and global citizenship. Aligns with ACTFL 21st Century World Readiness Standards.

The FL4K culture component is relevant and provides high interest topics that allow students to make comparisons between cultures. Students become aware of global concerns with examples of climate change, lack of resources, changes in habitats and well-being of citizens across the globe.

ACTFL:

Promotes the three modes of communication

  • Interpretive

  • Interpersonal

  • Presentational

FL4K:

Promotes the three modes of communication

  • Learners understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics.

  • Learners interact and negotiate meaning in spoken, signed, or written conversations to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions.

  • Learners present information, concepts, and ideas to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate on a variety of topics using appropriate media and adapting to various audiences of listeners, readers, or viewers.

ACTFL:

World Readiness Standards

The five “C” goal areas (Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities) stress the application of learning a language beyond the instructional setting. The goal is to prepare learners to apply the skills and understandings measured by the Standards, to bring a global competence to their future careers and experiences.

These revised Standards include language to reflect the current educational landscape, including the Common Core State Standards, College and Career Readiness and 21st century skills.

FL4K:

Provides opportunities for collaboration, promoting leadership, critical thinking and problem solving, decision-making, developing technology and media literacy skills, encouraging accountability and responsibility, and developing interculturality and global citizenship. Aligns with ACTFL 21st Century World Readiness Standards.

The FL4K culture component is relevant and provides high interest topics that allow students to make comparisons between cultures. Students

ACTFL:

Uses NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do self-assessment checklists used by language learners to assess what they “can do” with language in the Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational modes of communication.

FL4K:

Offers Can-Do Statements with built-in recording features for students to provide evidence of what they can do as they progress on a continuum of proficiency according to skill in an interwoven language and culture program with a multi-level intercultural curriculum for differentiation including heritage speakers

ACTFL:

World Language Standards encourage the Seal of Biliteracy Achievement. ACTFL outlines Proficiency Assessment and Performance Assessment distinctions.

FL4K:

Mirrors the format for the national tests used for the Seal of Biliteracy to provide a comfort level from the lowest level to the intermediate level. The objective for learning is to scaffold language in context as students achieve higher proficiency levels in each mode. Feedback to students is personalized. Student content can easily be differentiated to meet the learner needs.

ACTFL:

Promotes an acquisition process that is research-based, spiraling and recursive, and aligned to appropriate proficiency targets that are designed to ultimately enable learners to move through Novice Low to Advanced levels. Most states have a 12th grade goal of Intermediate mid/Intermediate high upon graduation in order to achieve the Seal of Biliteracy.

FL4K:

Fosters an acquisition process with proficiency targets that lead to a student feeling comfortable and confident with the target language, with the goal of reaching a Novice-High, or higher, level of proficiency.

ACTFL:

Parameters for the language learner’s performance

Function

Promotes an acquisition process that is research-based, spiraling and recursive, and aligned to appropriate proficiency targets that are designed to ultimately enable learners to move through Novice Low to Advanced levels. Most states have a 12th grade goal of Intermediate mid/Intermediate high upon graduation in order to achieve the Seal of Biliteracy.

Vocabulary

Describes the parameters of vocabulary used to produce or understand language

Text Type

Text type controlled by the learner is that which the learner is able to understand and produce in order to perform the functions of the level

Learners will be able to present information orally and in writing using familiar and new vocabulary, phrases, and patterns in increasingly complex sentences incorporating appropriate and authentic media sources (e.g., film, music, television, web sites, email, text messages) from countries in which the target language is spoken.

FL4K:

By the end of the program students will be able to:

  • Identify main ideas, supporting details and various elements such as point of view, intended audience, and purpose from the authentic cultural themes and topics within the nine levels that include 11 Hispanic countries.

  • Practice and demonstrate proficiency in using language appropriate to the situation.

  • Respond to questions and statements.

  • Respond and produce questions and statements.

  • Paraphrase and summarize information.

  • Utilize appropriate grammar and syntax.

  • Use a variety of vocabulary including idiomatic and culturally appropriate expressions.

  • Demonstrate intermediate-low to intermediate-mid proficiency in interpersonal speaking and writing.

  • Students interpret and present content related to the authentic cultural themes and topics within the nine levels that include 11 Hispanic countries.

World-ReadinessStandardsforLearningLanguages.pdf (actfl.org)ACTFL Performance Descriptors for Language Learners | ACTFL