Revising the Colorado Academic World Language Standards:

The Process is the Power of the Product

Co-chairs

  • Janine Erickson, Trainer and Retired Educator
  • Kelley Parkhurst, Trainer and Retired Educator

CDE WL Content Specialist:

  • Lourdes Buck, ELD Specialist and World Language Content Specialist, or 303-866-6198

CDE World Languages Standards Task Force Committee Members:

  • Stefan Betley, Spanish Education Distance Learning Specialist, Holyoke School District
  • Andrea Boyd, First Grade Dual Language Immersion Teacher, Thompson School District
  • Melissa Duplechin, World Language Teacher Leader and Spanish Teacher, Boulder Valley School District
  • Amy Mark, Middle School French Teacher, Cheery Creek School District
  • Molly Murphy, Middle School Spanish Teacher, Poudre School District
  • Connie Navarro, Peer Observer for World Languages, Denver Public Schools
  • Diana Noonan, World Languages Curriculum Specialist/Coordinator, Denver Public Schools
  • Huey-Jen Pan, Chinese language teacher, Academy District 20
  • Lyanne Terada, Spanish Teacher, Adams 12 School District
  • Toni Theisen, District K-12 World Language Curriculum Specialist and DLI TOSA, Thompson School District

CDE World Languages Standards Revision Website:
CCFLT World Languages Standards Page-Find the PowerPoint, handout and other information. Look at the menu on the left:

Revised Colorado World Languages Academic Standards-2018

NCSSFL-ACTFL New “Can-do” Statements:

Instructional Shifts in World Languages
Moving from ……. / Moving to …….
Learning about the language / Acquiring the language
Professional learning in isolation / To professional learning through a PLN, Professional Learning Networks
Speaking English in class / Doing most routines and instruction in the target language-Strive for 90% TL
Students memorizing language via skit or dialog / Teaching language in context with spontaneity and student ownership
Explicit grammar instruction / Embedding and using grammar in context
Detailed error correction / Teaching language in context with additional repetition
Vocabulary lists and categories / Targeted high frequency structures
Text book excerpts with questions answer / Students reading for their own enjoyment
Forced oral output, “Repeat after me”. / Allowing language to develop naturally
Final grades / On-going evaluation of student progress
Teacher-centered classrooms / Learner-centered, personalization and cooperative learning structures
Teaching culture in isolation / Embedding culture through communicative tasks during all lessons
Homework / Seeking authentic opportunities for using language beyond the classroom
Focusing on what students don’t know / Focusing on what students can do. Using Can Do Statements for goal-setting
Following a grammar-based curriculum / Developing rich thematic units with real world relevancy
Using technology only as a tool for instruction / Using technology to transform learning for: connecting, discovering, creativity and critical thinking
Practicing language / Using language for communication*.

Revised Colorado World Languages Academic Standards-2018-*Draft*

  1. Communication: Communicate effectively in more than one language in order to function in a variety of situations and for multiple purposes.
  • 1.1: Learners interact and negotiate meaning in spoken, signed, or written conversations to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions. (Interpersonal)
  • 1.2: Learners understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics. (Interpretive)
  • 1.3: 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. (Presentational)
  1. Cultures: Interact with cultural competence and understanding.
  • 2.1: Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the cultures studied.
  • 2:2: Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between the products and perspectives of the cultures studied.
  1. Connections: Connect with other disciplines and acquire information and diverse perspectives in order to use the language to function in academic and career-related situations.
  • 3.1: Learners build, reinforce, and expand their knowledge of other disciplines while using the language to develop critical thinking and to solve problems creatively.
  • 3.2: Learners access and evaluate information and diverse perspectives that are available through the language and its cultures.
  1. Comparisons: Develop insight into the nature of language and culture in order to interact with cultural competence
  • 4.1: Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the nature of language through comparisons of the language studied and their own.
  • 4.2: Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.
    .

Prepared graduates in World Languages

The prepared graduated statements are the PK-12 concepts and skills that all students who complete the Colorado education systems must master to ensure their success in a post-secondary and workforce setting in an ever expanding global community.

Prepared graduates in World Languages:

●Interact and negotiate meaning in spoken, signed, or written conversations to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions. (Interpersonal mode)

●Understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics. (Interpretive mode)

●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. (Presentational mode)

●Use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the cultures studied.

●Use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between the products and perspectives of the cultures studied.

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

●Access and evaluate information and diverse perspectives that are available through the language and its cultures.

●Use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the nature of language through comparisons of the language studied and their own.

●Use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.

Standard 2 Cultures: Interact with cultural competence and understanding.

The study of other cultures is deeply intertwined with the acquisition of other languages. One learns to understand another culture and interact appropriately within it through the acquisition of its language for purposes of communication in the Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational Modes. Learning about and experiencing another culture in both simulated and authentic situations, either real or virtual, enable students to understand that particular culture on its own terms. Developing an understanding and awareness of other cultures’ perspectives is critical in the development of global competence, an essential “theme in preparing learners for life and work in the world”. All students need to understand diverse cultural perspectives that exist both within the United States and other countries in order to function appropriately in varied cultural and linguistic contexts that they may encounter in their future. It is fundamental to develop an awareness of other people’s worldviews and patterns of behavior that characterize their world, as well as the products that the culture has created and the reasons for their existence.

Because language is the primary vehicle for expressing cultural perspectives and participating in social practices, the acquisition of a language provides multiple opportunities for learners to investigate the relationships between the perspectives and the practices and products of a particular culture, as well as to develop insights about a culture that are available in no other way. In reality, the true content of a language course or program is not discrete elements of grammar and vocabulary, but rather the cultures expressed through the language.

A significant shift in how culture is taught in the language classroom is the move away from teaching isolated facts to integrating culture with language. At the heart of the Colorado Academic Standards for World Languages is the attitude of being an explorer, using language to investigate, explain, and reflect on how perspectives are exhibited in the practices and products of a culture. Through language acquisition experiences, learners increase their background knowledge of the cultures that speak the language being acquired and also develop the skills of observing and researching questions that surface around cultural perspectives, practices, and products.

Standards 1-3

World Languages Competencies-“Knowing how, when, and why to say what to whom.”

Unlike other Colorado Academic Content Standards areas, proficiency levels, rather than grade levels, benchmark the world language standards. The following resources informed the development of these proficiency levels: ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements and the ACTFL Performance Descriptors. There are about multiple entry points, including the availability of languages at all levels K-12.

Learning languages prepares students to connect to the multilingual world we share. These Colorado World Language standards and competencies provide a roadmap to guide students to communicate effectively and interact with global competence while participating in communities locally and globally. These standards focus on communication, literacy, real-world application and 21st century skills of critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving. “Knowing how, when, and why to say what to whom.” is the essence for language learning and communication.

As students move across the proficiency continuum with supporting learner targets through the proficiency ranges, the content and context becomes more complex in the domains of: language functions, vocabulary, text type, language control, communication strategies and cultural competence. Students demonstrate what they know, understand and can do by performing in the three modes at the targeted proficiency ranges indicated for each class or level.

*Therefore, the competencies are the three modes (interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational) Grades and competencies use these three modes, because they represent what a learner and can with the language.

Standards 2, 3 and 4 are the content and context for the three modes. They are not the categories for grades, but rather the contextual support.

EXAMPLE:Competencies and grading category possibilities

Interpersonal / Interpretive / Presentational
Interpersonal Speaking / Interpretive Reading / Presentational Speaking
Interpersonal Writing / Interpretive Listening and Viewing / Presentational Writing

Standard 1- Communication: Communicate effectively in more than one language in order to function in a variety of situations and for multiple purposes.

1.1: Learners interact and negotiate meaning in spoken, signed, or written conversations to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions. (Interpersonal)

1.2: Learners understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics. (Interpretive)

1.3: 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. (Presentational

Inquiry Questions-1.1-Interpersonal

  1. How can I exchange information and ideas in conversations?
  2. How can I meet my needs or address situations in conversations?
  3. How can I express, react to, and support preferences and opinions in conversations?

(E.O.) Evidence outcomes-1.1-Interpersonal: Students can..

Novice-low / Novice-mid / Novice-high / Intermediate-low / Intermediate-mid / Intermediate-high / Advanced-low
Provide information by answering simple questions on very familiar topics using practiced or memorized words and phrases, with the help of gestures or visuals / Request and provide information by asking and answering a few simple questions on very familiar and everyday topics, using a mixture of practiced or memorized words and phrases, and simple sentences / Request and provide information by asking and answering practiced and some original questions on familiar and everyday topics, using simple sentences most of the time / Request and provide information in conversations on familiar topics by creating questions and simple sentences and asking appropriate follow-up questions / Exchange information in conversations on familiar topics and some researched topics, creating sentences and series of sentences, and asking a variety of follow-up questions / Exchange information in conversations and some discussions on a variety of familiar and some concrete topics that have researched, using connected sentences that may combine to form paragraphs and asking a variety of questions, often across various time frames / Exchangeinformation and ideas on a variety of familiar and concrete academic, and social topics,using a few simple paragraphs across major time frames
Express some basic needs using practiced or memorized words and phrases, with the help of gestures and visuals / Express basic needs related to familiar and everyday activities, using a mixture of practiced or memorized words, phrases, and questions / Interact with others to meet basic needs related to routine everyday activities using simple sentences most of the time / Interact with others to meet basic needs in familiar situations by creating simple sentences and asking appropriate follow-up questions / Interact with others to meet personal needs in a variety of familiar situations creating sentences and series of sentences and asking a variety of follow-up questions / Interact with others to meet needs in a variety of situations, sometimes including a complication, using connected sentences that may combine to form paragraphs and asking a variety of questions, often across various time frames. / Interact and negotiate to resolve an unexpected complication that arises in a familiar situation, using a few simple paragraphsacross major time frames
Express basic preferences or feelings using practiced or memorized words and phrases, with the help of gestures and visuals / Express preferences or feelings and react to those of others using a mixture of practiced or memorized words, phrases, and questions / Express, ask about, and react to preferences, opinions, or feelings using simple sentences most of the time and asking questions to keep the conversation on topic / Express, ask about, and react with some details to preferences, feelings, or opinions on familiar topics by creating simple sentences and asking appropriate follow-up questions / Exchange preferences, feelings, or opinions and provide basic advice on a variety of familiar topics, creating sentences and series of sentences and asking a variety of follow-up questions / Explain preferences, opinions, and emotions and provide advice on a variety of familiar and some concrete researched topics, using connected sentences that may combine to form paragraphs and asking a variety of questions, often across various time frames / Maintain conversations by providing explanations and comparisons of preferences, opinions, and advice, on familiar and concrete academic and social topicsusing a few simple paragraphs across major time frames

Inquiry Questions-1.2-Interpretive

  1. What can I understand, interpret, or analyze in authentic informational texts?
  2. What can I understand, interpret, or analyze in authentic fictional texts?
  3. What can I understand, interpret, or analyze in conversations and discussions?

(E.O.) Evidence outcomes-1.2-Interpretive: Students can..

Novice-low / Novice-mid / Novice-high / Intermediate-low / Intermediate-mid / Intermediate-high / Advanced-low
Identify memorized or familiar words when they are supported by gestures or visuals in informational texts / Identify some basic facts from memorized words and phrases, when supported by gestures or visuals in informational texts / Identify the topic and some isolated facts from simple sentences in informational texts / Identify the topic and related information from simple sentences in short informational texts / Understand the main idea and key information in short straightforward informational texts / Usually follow the main message in various time frames in straightforward, and sometimes descriptive, paragraph-length informational texts / Identify the underlying message and some supporting details in descriptive informational texts across time frames
Identify memorized or familiar words when they are supported by gestures or visuals in fictional texts / Identify some basic facts from memorized words and phrases, when supported by gestures or visuals in fictional texts / Identify the topic and some isolated elements from simple sentences in short fictional texts / Identify the topic and related information from simple sentences in short fictional texts / Understand the main idea and key information in short straightforward fictional texts / Usually follow the main story and actions expressed in various time frames in paragraph-length fictional texts. / Identify the underlying message and some supporting details in fictional texts across time frames
Understand memorized or familiar words when they are supported by gestures or visuals in conversations / Identify some basic facts from memorized words and phrases, when supported by gestures or visuals in conversations / Understand familiar questions and statements from simple sentences in conversations / Identify the main idea and related information in short conversations / Identify the main idea and key information in short straightforward conversations / Usually understand the main idea and flow of events expressed in various time frames in conversations and discussions / Identify the underlying message and some supporting details in conversations and discussions across time frames

Inquiry Questions-1.3-Presentational

  1. How can I present information to narrate about my life, experiences, and events?
  2. How can I present information to give a preference, opinion, or persuasive argument?
  3. How can I present information to inform, describe, or explain?

(E.O.) Evidence outcomes-1.3-Presentational: Students can..

Novice-low / Novice-mid / Novice-high / Intermediate-low / Intermediate-mid / Intermediate-high / Advanced-low
Introduce self, using practiced or memorized words and phrases with the help of gestures or visuals / Present information about self, interests, and activities using a mixture of practiced or memorized words, phrases, and simple sentences / Present personal information about lives and activities using simple sentences most of the time / Present personal information about life, activities, and events, using simple sentences / Tell a story about life, activities, events, and other social experiences, using sentences and series of connected sentences / Tell stories about school and community events and personal experiences, using a few short paragraphs, often across various time frames. / Tell stories about school and community events and personal experiences using paragraphs across time frames
Express likes and dislikes using practiced or memorized words and phrases with the help of gestures or visuals / Express likes and dislikes on very familiar and everyday topics of interest, using a mixture of practiced or memorized words, phrases, and simple sentences / Express preferences on familiar and everyday topics of interest using simple sentences most of the time / Express preferences on familiar and everyday topics of interest and explain why one feels that way, using simple sentences / State viewpoints about familiar topics and give some reasons to support it, using sentences and series of connected sentences / State viewpoints on familiar or researched topics and provide reasons to support it, using a few short paragraphs, often across various time frames. / State viewpoints with supporting evidence on some concrete academic, social and professional topics of interest using paragraphs across time frames
Name very familiar people, places, and objectsusing practiced or memorized words and phrases with the help of gestures or visuals / Present on very familiar and everyday topics using a mixture of practiced or memorized words, phrases, and simple sentences / Present on familiar and everyday topics using simple sentences most of the time / Present on familiar and everyday topics, using simple sentences / Give straightforward presentations on a variety of familiar topics and some concreteresearched topics, using sentences and series of connected sentences / Give detailed presentations on a variety of familiar topics and some concrete researched topics, using a few short paragraphs, often across various time frames. / Deliver presentations on some concrete academic, social, and professional topics of interest using paragraphs across time frames

Standard 2-Culture-Intercultural Competency: Interact with cultural competence and understanding.