31, no. 2 (Winter 2000): News Notes Winter 2000
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News Notes Winter 2000
National Assessment of Educational Progress in Foreign Languages
Mandated by Congress, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) surveys the educational accomplishments of United States students. Often called the "nation's report card," NAEP has since 1969 been tracking the educational achievements of fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade students over time in selected content areas. For the first time, the National Assessment Governing Board has decided to assess foreign language achievement and has contracted with the Center for Applied Linguistics to develop the test.
The foreign language NAEP will be administered in 2003 and will provide information on how well students in the United States can communicate in languages other than English. The first foreign language NAEP assessment will focus specifically on how well a representative sample of twelfth-grade students can communicate in Spanish. Twelfth graders were chosen as the cohort to be evaluated because more students will have had time to attain recognizable levels of mastery; Spanish was selected because it provides a critical mass of students.
The Spanish assessment will be based on a general framework for assessing communicative ability in languages other than English. In this framework, listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills are assessed within three modes of communication. The interpersonal mode involves a two-way, interactive communication such as conversing face-to-face or exchanging e-mail messages. The interpretive mode relates to a one-way understanding of spoken or written language such as listening to a broadcast or reading a magazine. The presentational mode involves a one-way spoken or written communication such as giving a speech or writing a story.
The framework for the foreign language NAEP calls for communicative ability to be assessed through authentic communication tasks performed in school, work, and daily life. The assessment tasks will reflect four interrelated goals that provide the basis for communication. These goals are
- gaining knowledge of other cultures;
- connecting with other academic subject areas to acquire knowledge;
- using comparisons to develop insights into the nature of language and culture; and
- participating in multilingual communities at home and around the world.
Performances on assessment tasks will be evaluated using three criteria. The first criterion is a demonstration of how well the student understands (comprehension) and can be understood (comprehensibility). The next criterion is how well the student uses communication strategies, such as asking for clarification or inferring the meaning of unknown words from context, to maintain communication. The final criterion is how well the student applies cultural knowledge to achieve successful communication.
For further information, please contact Dorry Kenyonn, NAEP, Center for Applied Linguisitics, 4646 40th St., NW, Washington, DC 20016 (202 362-0700).
National Survey of Second and Foreign Language Instruction in Elementary and Secondary Schools
In 1997 the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), through funding from the United States Department of Education, conducted a survey of second and foreign language instruction in elementary and secondary schools to gather information relating to current patterns and shifts in enrollments, languages and programs offered, curriculum, teaching methodologies, teacher qualifications and training, and reactions to national reform issues. The survey was designed to replicate the 1987 CAL survey so that data would reveal trends in the decade 1987-97.
Data reveal that in the past decade second and foreign language instruction in elementary schools has increased by nearly 10%. In 1987 just over one in five (22%) elementary schools reported teaching second and foreign languages; by 1997 approximately one in three schools reported teaching languages (31%). The percentage of secondary schools teaching languages remained stable during this period: 87% in 1987 and 86% in 1997.
In 1997 over four million elementary school students (out of 27.1 million) were enrolled in second or foreign language classes across the country; comparable data for 1987 were not collected. In the public elementary schools that offered languages other than English, approximately half the students were studying them. At the junior high or middle school level, about three million students (out of 8.2 million) were studying second and foreign languages in 1997, as were over seven million high school students (out of 13.5 million). The percentage of students studying languages in junior, middle, and high schools represented over half (51%) the student population in public schools and over three-quarters (78%) of the students in private schools.
Spanish and French continue to be the most commonly taught languages in elementary schools. Spanish instruction has increased from 68% of all schools in 1987 to 79% in 1997, while French has decreased. Of the elementary schools offering foreign language instruction, 41% taught French in 1987; only 27% offered French in 1997. Except for Spanish for Spanish speakers (which increased from 1% to 8%), Japanese (0% to 1%), Italian (less than 1% to 2%), and Russian (2% to 3%), all other language areas remained stable or decreased during the decade.
At the secondary level, Spanish instruction also increased over the decade, from 86% to 93% of secondary schools with foreign language programs. French instruction remained fairly stable over the period, dropping in schools offering language instruction from 66% in 1987 to 64% in 1997. Availability of Spanish for Spanish speakers programs increased over the decade from 1% to 9%; secondary schools offering Japanese increased from 1% to 7% while schools offering Russian increased from 2% to 3%.
The study also highlighted the following:
Computer-based instructional materials were used by a significantly greater percentage of schools in 1997 than in 1987.
Staff development and in-service training has increased significantly in both elementary and secondary schools.
The amount of time that secondary teachers report using the second language in the classroom has increased slightly.
About half the schools teaching foreign languages said their teachers were aware of national or state standards. Over half of these schools reported that their curricula had changed as a result of this awareness.
Well-articulated K-12 language programs aimed at high levels of proficiency remain uncommon.
For more information about the survey, visit the CAL Web site (http://www.cal.org) or contact Nancy Rhodes, Center for Applied Linguistics, 4646 40th St., NW, Washington, DC 20016 (212 362-0700).
© 2000 by the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages. All Rights Reserved.
ADFL Bulletin 31, no. 2 (Winter 2000): News Notes Winter 2000 |
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