Ghs Foreign Language Program
- 1. Glastonbury High School Foreign Language Program Rita Oleksak, Director
- 2. Program Highlights Grades 1-12 – Intended for all students Russian in grades 7-12 Digital language labs in middle schools and high school Focus on development of speaking skills, use of real-life reading and listening materials, including use of the Internet and international satellite TV broadcasts
- 3. Program Highlights (continued) Reinforcement of CAPT Reading, Response to Literature, and Interdisciplinary Writing Preparation for GHS graduation expectations in speaking, culture, history, and language Interdisciplinary teaching in special education and history/social studies
- 4. Program Highlights (continued) Travel and exchanges abroad Advanced Placement and University of Connecticut Cooperative credit at the sixth-year level in French, Russian, and Spanish, and at the fourth year in Latin
- 5. Program Offerings * * * * Beginning Spanish * * * * * * * * * * * * Spanish * * * * Beginning French * * * * * * Russian * Mandarin Chinese * * * * Latin * * * * Japanese (from K at Magnet School) * * * * * * * French 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
- 6. Program Offerings: Smith Middle School Courses for students in the long foreign language sequence: French 1 & 2 Russian 1 & 2 Spanish 1 & 2 Japanese (tutorial) ESOL
- 7. Program Offerings at GHS Courses for students in the long foreign language sequence: French 3, levels 1 (301) & 2 (331) Russian 3, level 1 (311) Spanish 3, levels 1 (321) & 2 (351)
- 8. Program Offerings at GHS Courses for students new to a foreign language: French I-IV Latin I-IV (AP) Mandarin Chinese I Russian 1-2 Spanish I-IV, 1-2 English as a Foreign Language
- 9. Program Offerings at GHS By teacher recommendation: French II Latin I, level 1 Spanish II or III Spanish 1 or 2 Spanish for Spanish Speakers
- 10. Foreign Language Proficiency Understandable to native speaker not used to dealing with foreigners; sometimes miscommunicates Concrete topics such as own background, family, interests, work, travel, and current events Able to fully participate in casual conversations, express facts, give instructions, describe, report, and provide narration about current, past, and future activities 2 (advanced) Errors never interfere with understanding and rarely disturb the native speaker. Only sporadic errors in basic structure Practical, social, professional and abstract topics, particular interests, and special fields of competence Can converse in formal and informal situations, resolve problems, deal with unfamiliar topics, provide explanations, describe in detail, offer supported opinions, and hypothesize 3 (superior) Nearly equivalent to an ENS. Speech is extensive, precise, appropriate to every occasion with only occasional errors All topics normally pertinent to professional needs Able to tailor language to fit audience, counsel, persuade, negotiate, represent a point of view and interpret for dignitaries 4 (superior) Performance equivalent to an ENS All subjects Functions equivalent to an educated native speaker (ENS) 5 (superior) Accuracy (acceptability, quality and accuracy of message conveyed) Context (topics, subject areas, activities and jobs addressed) Function (tasks accomplished, attitude expressed, tone conveyed) Oral Proficiency Level
- 11. Foreign Language Proficiency Unintelligible None No functional ability 0* *novice level not discussed Intelligible to a native speaker used to dealing with foreigners Everyday survival topics and courtesy requirements Can create with the language, ask and answer questions, participate in short conversations 1 (intermediate) Accuracy (acceptability, quality and accuracy of message conveyed) Context (topics, subject areas, activities and jobs addressed) Function (tasks accomplished, attitudes expressed, tone conveyed) Oral Proficiency Level
- 12. Foreign Language Proficiency Expected levels of speaking proficiency in languages taught at the Foreign Service Institute: Group I: Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, French, Haitian Creole, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish Length of Training Aptitude for Language Learning Minimum Average Superior 8 weeks (240 hours) 1 1/1+ 1+ 16 weeks (480 hours) 1+ 2 2+ 24 weeks (720 hours) 2 2+ 3
- 13. Foreign Language Proficiency Group II: Bulgarian, Dari, Farsi, German, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Urdu Length of Training Aptitude for Language Learning Minimum Average Superior 16 weeks (480 hours) 1 1/2+ 1+/2 24 weeks (720 hours) 1+ 2 2+/3 44 weeks (1320 hours) 2/2+ 2+/3 3/3+
- 14. Foreign Language Proficiency Group III: Amharic, Bengali, Burmese, Czech, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Khmer, Lao, Nepali, Pilipino, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Sinhala, Thai, Tamil, Turkish, Vietnamese Length of Training Aptitude for Language Learning Minimum Average Superior 16 weeks (480 hours) 0+ 1 1/1+ 24 weeks (720 hours) 1+ 2 2/2+ 44 weeks (1320 hours) 2 2+ 3
- 15. Foreign Language Proficiency Group IV: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean Length of Training Aptitude for Language Learning Minimum Average Superior 16 weeks (480 hours) 0+ 1 1 24 weeks (720 hours) 1 1+ 1+ 44 weeks (1320 hours) 1+ 2 2+ 80-92 weeks 2+ 3 3+ (2400-2760 hours)