Attachment_6,_AP_German_Guidance.pdf

AP® GERMAN LANGUAGE

AND CULTURE

Course and Exam Description Effective Fall 2011

Revised Edition

AP® GERMAN LANGUAGE

AND CULTURE

Course and Exam Description

Effective Fall 2011 Revised Edition

The College Board New York, NY

The College Board

The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board was created to expand access to higher education.

Today, the membership association is made up of over 6,000 of the world's leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success — including the SAT® and the Advanced Placement Program®. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators and schools.

For further information, visit www.collegeboard.org.

AP® Equity and Access Policy

The College Board strongly encourages educators to make equitable access a guiding principle for their AP programs by giving all willing and academically prepared students the opportunity to participate in AP. We encourage the elimination of barriers that restrict access to AP for students from ethnic, racial and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underserved. Schools should make every effort to ensure their AP classes reflect the diversity of their student population. The College Board also believes that all students should have access to academically challenging course work before they enroll in AP classes, which can prepare them for AP success. It is only through a commitment to equitable preparation and access that true equity and excellence can be achieved.

AP Course and Exam Descriptions

AP Course and Exam Descriptions are updated regularly. Please visit AP Central® (apcentral.collegeboard.com) to determine whether a more recent Course and Exam Description PDF is available.

Second Reprint

© 2011, 2013 The College Board. College Board, Advanced Placement Program, AP, AP Central, SAT and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. All other products and services may be trademarks of their respective owners. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org.

ii Return to the Table of Contents © 2011 The College Board.

iii

Contents About AP®

Offering AP Courses and Enrolling Students

How AP Courses and Exams Are Developed

How AP Exams Are Scored

Using and Interpreting AP Scores

Additional Resources

Curriculum Framework

Structure of the Curriculum Framework

Learning Objectives and Achievement Level Descriptions

Overarching Premise

Interpersonal Communication

Learning Objectives for Spoken Interpersonal Communication ...8

Achievement Level Descriptions for Spoken Interpersonal Communication

Learning Objectives for Written Interpersonal Communication

Achievement Level Descriptions for Written Interpersonal Communication

Interpretive Communication

Learning Objectives for Audio, Visual, and Audiovisual Interpretive Communication

Achievement Level Descriptions for Audio, Visual, and Audiovisual Interpretive Communication

Learning Objectives for Written and Print Interpretive Communication

Achievement Level Descriptions for Written and Print Interpretive Communication

Presentational Communication

Learning Objectives for Spoken Presentational Communication

Achievement Level Descriptions for Spoken Presentational Communication

Learning Objectives for Written Presentational Communication

Achievement Level Descriptions for Written Presentational Communication

Course Themes

Recommended Contexts and Essential Questions

Integrating Themes, Recommended Contexts, and Essential Questions

Themes, Recommended Contexts, and Overarching Essential Questions

Glossary of Key Terms

Return to the Table of Contents iv

Participating in the AP Course Audit

Curricular Requirements

Resource Requirements

Exam Information

Sample Multiple-Choice Questions with Targeted Learning Objectives

Interpretive Communication: Print Texts

Interpretive Communication: Print and Audio Texts (combined)

Interpretive Communication: Audio Texts

Answers to Multiple-Choice Questions

Sample Free-Response Questions with Targeted Learning Objectives

Interpersonal Writing: E-mail Reply

Presentational Writing: Persuasive Essay

Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation

Presentational Speaking: Cultural Comparison

Scoring Guidelines

Credits

About AP

About AP®

AP® enables students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. Through more than 30 courses, each culminating in a rigorous exam, AP provides willing and academically prepared students with the opportunity to earn college credit and/or advanced placement. Taking AP courses also demonstrates to college admission officers that students have sought out the most rigorous course work available to them.

Each AP course is modeled upon a comparable college course, and college and university faculty play a vital role in ensuring that AP courses align with college-level standards. Talented and dedicated AP teachers help AP students in classrooms around the world develop and apply the content knowledge and skills they will need later in college.

Each AP course concludes with a college-level assessment developed and scored by college and university faculty as well as experienced AP teachers.

AP Exams are an essential part of the AP experience, enabling students to demonstrate their mastery of college-level course work. More than 90 percent of four-year colleges and universities in the United States grant students credit, placement, or both on the basis of successful AP Exam scores. Universities in more than 60 countries recognize AP Exam scores in the admission process and/or award credit and placement for qualifying scores. Visit www.collegeboard.com/ap/creditpolicy to view AP credit and placement policies at more than 1,000 colleges and universities.

Performing well on an AP Exam means more than just the successful completion of a course; it is a gateway to success in college. Research consistently shows that students who score a 3 or higher on AP Exams typically experience greater academic success in college and have higher graduation rates than otherwise comparable non-AP peers.* Additional AP studies are available at www.collegeboard.com/research.

Offering AP Courses and Enrolling Students

This AP Course and Exam Description details the essential information required to understand the objectives and expectations of an AP course.

The AP Program unequivocally supports the principle that each school develops and implements its own curriculum that will enable students to develop the content knowledge and skills described here.

* See the following research studies for more details:

Linda Hargrove, Donn Godin, and Barbara Dodd, College Outcomes Comparisons by AP and Non-AP High School Experiences (College Board, 2008).

Chrys Dougherty, Lynn Mellor, and Shuling Jian, The Relationship Between Advanced Placement and College Graduation (Austin, Texas: National Center for Educational Accountability, 2006).

Schools wishing to offer AP courses must participate in the AP Course Audit, a process through which AP teachers’ syllabi are reviewed by college faculty. The AP Course Audit was created at the request of College Board members who sought a means for the College Board to provide teachers and administrators with clear guidelines on curricular and resource requirements for AP courses and to help colleges and universities validate courses marked “AP” on students’ transcripts. This process ensures that AP teachers’ syllabi meet or exceed the curricular and resource expectations that college and secondary school faculty have established for college-level courses. For more information on the AP Course Audit, visit www.collegeboard.com/apcourseaudit.

The College Board strongly encourages educators to make equitable access a guiding principle for their AP programs by giving all willing and academically prepared students the opportunity to participate in AP. We encourage the elimination of barriers that restrict access to AP for students from ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underserved. Schools should make every effort to ensure that their AP classes reflect the diversity of their student population. The College Board also believes that all students should have access to academically challenging course work before they enroll in AP classes, which can prepare them for AP success. It is only through a commitment to equitable preparation and access that true equity and excellence can be achieved.

How AP Courses and Exams Are Developed

AP courses and exams are designed by committees of college faculty and expert AP teachers who ensure that each AP subject reflects and assesses college-level expectations. To find a list of each subject’s current AP Development Committee members, please visit apcentral.collegeboard.com/developmentcommittees. AP Development Committees define the scope and expectations of the course, articulating through a curriculum framework what students should know and be able to do upon completion of the AP course. Their work is informed by data collected from a range of colleges and universities to ensure that AP course work reflects current scholarship and advances in the discipline.

The AP Development Committees are also responsible for drawing clear and well-articulated connections between the AP course and AP Exam — work that includes designing and approving exam specifications and exam questions. The AP Exam development process is a multiyear endeavor;

all AP Exams undergo extensive review, revision, piloting, and analysis to ensure that questions are high quality and fair and that there is an appropriate spread of difficulty across the questions.

Throughout AP course and exam development, the College Board gathers feedback from various stakeholders in both secondary schools and higher education institutions. This feedback is carefully considered to ensure that AP courses and exams are able to provide students with a college-level learning experience and the opportunity to demonstrate their qualifications for advanced placement upon college entrance.

How AP Exams Are Scored

The exam scoring process, like the course and exam development process, relies on the expertise of both AP teachers and college faculty. While multiple-choice questions are scored by machine, the free-response questions are scored by thousands of college faculty and expert AP teachers at the annual AP Reading. AP Exam Readers are thoroughly trained, and their work is monitored throughout the Reading for fairness and consistency. In each subject, a highly respected college faculty member fills the role of Chief Reader, who, with the help of AP Readers in leadership positions, maintains the accuracy of the scoring standards. Scores on the free-response questions are weighted and combined with the results of the computer-scored multiple-choice questions, and this raw score is converted into a composite AP score of 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1.

The score-setting process is both precise and labor intensive, involving numerous psychometric analyses of the results of a specific AP Exam in a specific year and of the particular group of students who took that exam.

Additionally, to ensure alignment with college-level standards, part of the score-setting process involves comparing the performance of AP students with the performance of students enrolled in comparable courses in colleges throughout the United States. In general, the AP composite score points are set so that the lowest raw score needed to earn an AP score of 5 is equivalent to the average score among college students earning grades of A in the college course. Similarly, AP Exam scores of 4 are equivalent to college grades of A-, B+, and B. AP Exam scores of 3 are equivalent to college grades of B-, C+, and C.

Using and Interpreting AP Scores

The extensive work done by college faculty and AP teachers in the development of the course and the exam and throughout the scoring process ensures that AP Exam scores accurately represent students’ achievement in the equivalent college course. While colleges and universities are responsible for setting their own credit and placement policies, AP scores signify how qualified students are to receive college credit and placement:

AP Score Qualification 5 Extremely well qualified

4 Well qualified

3 Qualified

2 Possibly qualified

1 No recommendation

Additional Resources

Visit apcentral.collegeboard.com for more information about the AP Program.

AP German Language and Culture Curriculum Framework

Curriculum Framework In today’s global community, competence in more than one language is an essential part of communication and cultural understanding. Study of another language not only provides individuals with the ability to express thoughts and ideas for their own purposes but also provides them with access to perspectives and knowledge that are only available through the language and culture. Advanced language learning offers social, cultural, academic, and workplace benefits that will serve students throughout their lives. The proficiencies acquired through the study of languages and literatures endow language learners with cognitive, analytical, and communication skills that carry over into many other areas of their academic studies.

The three modes of communication (Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational) defined in the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century are foundational to the AP German Language and Culture course. The AP course provides students with opportunities to demonstrate their proficiency in each of the three modes in the Intermediate to Pre- Advanced range as described in the ACTFL Performance Guidelines for K–12 Learners.

The AP German Language and Culture course takes a holistic approach to language proficiency and recognizes the complex interrelatedness of comprehension and comprehensibility, vocabulary usage, language control, communication strategies, and cultural awareness. Students should learn language structures in context and use them to convey meaning. In standards-based world language classrooms, the instructional focus is on function and not the examination of irregularity and complex grammatical paradigms about the target language. Language structures should be addressed inasmuch as they serve the communicative task and not as an end goal unto themselves. The AP German Language and Culture course strives to promote both fluency and accuracy in language use and not to overemphasize grammatical accuracy at the expense of communication.

In order to best facilitate the study of language and culture, the course is taught in the target language.

The AP German Language and Culture course engages students in an exploration of culture in both contemporary and historical contexts. The course develops students’ awareness and appreciation of products, both tangible (e.g., tools, books, music) and intangible (e.g., laws, conventions, institutions); practices (patterns of social interactions within a culture);

and perspectives (values, attitudes, and assumptions that underlie both practices and products).

Structure of the Curriculum Framework

This curriculum framework begins by outlining the learning objectives and the achievement level descriptions that define student performance across five levels.

Tools for instructional design come next: themes to integrate language, content, and culture into an interrelated series of lessons and activities;

recommended contexts for exploring each theme; and overarching essential questions to engage learners and to guide classroom investigations, learning activities, and performance assessments.

The following graphic illustrates how the components of the curriculum framework relate to how a teacher designs and delivers instruction.

Set Goals (Learning

Objectives)

Describe Acceptable

Performance (Achievement

Level Descriptions)

Design Thematic

Instruction (Themes and

Essential Questions)

Redirect Thematic

Instruction as Needed

Assess Progress Toward

Goals

Learning Objectives and Achievement Level Descriptions

At the core of the AP German Language and Culture course are six groups of learning objectives identifying what students should know and be able to do across the three modes of communication. These objectives outline expectations of student abilities in the following areas:

Spoken Interpersonal Communication

Written Interpersonal Communication

Audio, Visual, and Audiovisual Interpretive Communication

Written and Print Interpretive Communication

Spoken Presentational Communication

Written Presentational Communication

The degree to which student performance meets the learning objectives in each area is articulated in the achievement level descriptions, which clearly define how well students at each level perform. Because of the interrelated nature of the modes of communication, all the achievement level descriptions work in concert with one another and should be considered holistically. While references to levels 1–5 cannot precisely predict a student’s ultimate AP Exam score, AP teachers can use this information to develop better insight into individual student performance and adjust curriculum and instruction throughout the course.

Overarching Premise

When communicating, students in the AP German Language and Culture course demonstrate an understanding of the culture(s), incorporate interdisciplinary topics (Connections), make comparisons between the native language and the target language and between cultures (Comparisons), and use the target language in real-life settings (Communities).

Interpersonal Communication

The Interpersonal Mode is characterized by active negotiation of meaning among individuals. Participants observe and monitor one another to see how their meanings and intentions are being communicated. Adjustments and clarifications can be made accordingly.

Learning Objectives for Spoken Interpersonal Communication

Primary Objective: The student engages in spoken interpersonal communications.

▶ The student engages in the oral exchange of information, opinions, and ideas in a variety of time frames in formal situations.

▶ The student engages in the oral exchange of information, opinions, and ideas in a variety of time frames in informal situations.

▶ The student elicits information and clarifies meaning by using a variety of strategies.

▶ The student states and supports opinions in oral interactions.

▶ The student initiates and sustains interaction through the use of various verbal and nonverbal strategies.

▶ The student understands a variety of vocabulary, including idiomatic and culturally appropriate expressions.

▶ The student uses a variety of vocabulary, including idiomatic and culturally appropriate expressions on a variety of topics.

▶ The student self-monitors and adjusts language production.

▶ The student demonstrates an understanding of the features of target culture communities (e.g., geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political).

▶ The student demonstrates knowledge and understanding of content across disciplines.

Achievement Level Descriptions for Spoken Interpersonal Communication

Achievement Level 5

(a) Interaction. Students at Achievement Level 5 initiate, maintain, and close conversations on familiar topics in a culturally appropriate manner most of the time. They understand and usually use culturally appropriate expressions and gestures.

(b) Strategies. Students at this level use a variety of communication strategies as necessary to maintain communication (e.g., circumlocution, paraphrasing, requesting clarification or information).

They often use questions to maintain the conversation and use context to deduce meaning of unfamiliar words. They often recognize errors and self-correct.

(c) Opinions. They state opinions and demonstrate some ability to support opinions on topics of personal interest.

(d) Language structures. These students use a variety of simple and compound sentences and some complex sentences on familiar topics, and they narrate and describe in all time frames, with a few errors that do not impede comprehensibility.

(e) Vocabulary. They understand and use vocabulary on a variety of familiar topics, including some beyond those of personal interest.

(f) Register. Their choice of register is usually appropriate for the audience, and its use is consistent despite occasional errors.

(g) Pronunciation. Their pronunciation and intonation patterns, pacing, and delivery are comprehensible to an audience unaccustomed to interacting with language learners; their pronunciation is consistent, with few errors that do not impede comprehensibility.

(h) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. These students identify the relationships among products, practices, and perspectives in the target culture(s) and compare them with their own culture. They compare and contrast a variety of geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 4

(a) Interaction. Students at Achievement Level 4 initiate, maintain, and close conversations on familiar topics. They usually interact in a culturally appropriate manner and may understand and use culturally appropriate expressions and gestures.

(b) Strategies. These students use some communication strategies to maintain communication (e.g., circumlocution, paraphrasing, restatement, asking for clarification or information). They use context to deduce meaning of unfamiliar words. They recognize some errors and self-correct.

(c) Opinions. They provide opinions on familiar topics with limited ability to provide support.

(d) Language structures. They use simple and compound sentences and a few complex sentences with some accuracy. They narrate and describe in all time frames, demonstrating the most accuracy in present time and some accuracy in the past and future.

(e) Vocabulary. These students understand and use vocabulary on a variety of familiar topics, including some culturally appropriate and idiomatic expressions related to topics of personal interest.

(f) Register. Their choice of register is usually appropriate for the situation, yet some shifts between formal and informal registers occur.

(g) Pronunciation. Their pronunciation and intonation are comprehensible to an audience accustomed to interacting with language learners; errors do not impede comprehensibility.

(h) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. These students describe in some detail products or practices of the target culture(s) and may identify perspectives of the target culture(s) with some inaccuracies.

They compare and contrast some geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 3

(a) Interaction. Students at Achievement Level 3 initiate, maintain, and close conversations on familiar topics and sometimes interact in a culturally appropriate manner.

(b) Strategies. These students occasionally use communication strategies, such as circumlocution and paraphrasing. Students at this level of achievement often seek clarification of meaning by asking for repetition. They use context to deduce meaning of unfamiliar words.

Students may recognize errors; attempts at correction are only occasionally successful.

(c) Opinions. These students state opinions on topics of personal interest, and they understand and respond to questions and statements on familiar topics.

(d) Language structures. Their narrations and descriptions are characterized by strings of simple sentences and a few compound sentences, with the most accuracy in the present time and some accuracy in other time frames.

(e) Vocabulary. They understand and use vocabulary from familiar thematic word groups, including occasionally some culturally appropriate and idiomatic expressions.

(f) Register. Choice of register may be inappropriate for the intended audience, and shifts between formal and informal registers occur.

(g) Pronunciation. Their pronunciation and intonation are comprehensible to an audience accustomed to interacting with language learners, yet errors occasionally impede comprehensibility.

(h) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. They identify some cultural products or practices of the target culture(s) and may identify a few common perspectives. They identify some geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 2

(a) Interaction. Students at Achievement Level 2 initiate and close conversations on topics of personal interest and maintain them by making basic statements. Comprehension of messages on familiar topics is limited, and they have little ability to interact in a culturally appropriate manner. Their communication often requires intervention from others to attain comprehensibility.

(b) Strategies. They may seek clarification by asking for basic information or repetition. They seldom recognize errors, and attempts at self-correction usually fail.

(c) Opinions. When stating opinions, they are limited to expressing likes and dislikes.

(d) Language structures. These students produce simple sentences with some accuracy in the present time.

(e) Vocabulary. They understand and use a limited range of vocabulary from familiar thematic word groups, including memorized phrases and a few idiomatic expressions.

(f) Register. These students communicate mainly using the familiar register.

(g) Pronunciation. Their pronunciation and intonation are mostly comprehensible to an audience accustomed to interacting with language learners; errors impede comprehensibility.

(h) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. These students identify a few common cultural products or practices and a few geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 1

Students at Achievement Level 1 demonstrate performances that are less proficient than those outlined for Level 2.

Learning Objectives for Written Interpersonal Communication

Primary Objective: The student engages in written interpersonal communications.

▶ The student engages in the written exchange of information, opinions, and ideas in a variety of time frames in formal situations.

▶ The student engages in the written exchange of information, opinions, and ideas in a variety of time frames in informal situations.

▶ The student writes formal correspondence in a variety of media using appropriate formats and conventions.

▶ The student writes informal correspondence in a variety of media using appropriate formats and conventions.

▶ The student elicits information and clarifies meaning by using a variety of strategies.

▶ The student states and supports opinions in written interactions.

▶ The student initiates and sustains interaction during written interpersonal communication in a variety of media.

▶ The student understands a variety of vocabulary, including idiomatic and culturally appropriate expressions.

▶ The student uses a variety of vocabulary, including idiomatic and culturally appropriate expressions on a variety of topics.

▶ The student self-monitors and adjusts language production.

▶ The student demonstrates an understanding of the features of target culture communities (e.g., geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political).

▶ The student demonstrates knowledge and understanding of content across disciplines.

Achievement Level Descriptions for Written Interpersonal Communication

Achievement Level 5

(a) Interaction. Students at Achievement Level 5 initiate, maintain, and close written exchanges in formal and informal communications with good control of culturally appropriate conventions. They understand and respond to questions on familiar topics with some elaboration and detail.

(b) Strategies. These students use a variety of communication strategies as necessary in order to maintain communication (e.g., circumlocution, paraphrasing, requesting clarification or information). They use context to deduce meaning of unfamiliar words and often recognize errors and self-correct.

(c) Opinions. They state opinions and demonstrate some ability to support opinions on topics of personal interest.

(d) Language structures. These students use a variety of simple and compound sentences and some complex sentences on familiar topics, and they narrate and describe in all time frames, with a few errors that do not impede comprehensibility. They use transitional phrases and cohesive devices.

(e) Writing conventions. Their writing is marked by consistent use of standard conventions of the written language (e.g., capitalization, orthography) as appropriate for the medium of communication (e.g., online chat, e-mail, letters, blogs, bulletin boards).

(f) Vocabulary. They understand and use vocabulary on a variety of familiar topics, including some beyond those of personal interest.

They understand and use some culturally appropriate vocabulary and idiomatic expressions.

(g) Register. Their choice of register is usually appropriate for the audience, and its use is consistent despite occasional errors.

(h) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. These students identify the relationships among products, practices, and perspectives in the target culture(s) and compare them with their own culture. They compare and contrast a variety of geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 4

(a) Interaction. Students at Achievement Level 4 initiate, maintain, and close written exchanges in formal and informal communications, although control of culturally appropriate conventions is inconsistent.

They understand and respond to questions and statements on familiar topics with some elaboration and detail.

(b) Strategies. These students use communication strategies (e.g., circumlocution, paraphrasing, asking for clarification or information) to maintain communication. They use context to deduce meaning of unfamiliar words. They recognize some errors and self-correct.

(c) Opinions. They provide opinions on familiar topics with limited ability to provide support.

(d) Language structures. They are usually accurate when writing about familiar topics using a variety of simple, compound, and a few complex sentences in all time frames, demonstrating the most accuracy in present time and some accuracy in the past and future. They use some transitional phrases and cohesive devices.

(e) Writing conventions. Their writing is generally consistent in the use of standard conventions of the written language (e.g., capitalization, orthography) as appropriate for the medium of communication (e.g., online chat, e-mail, letters, blogs, bulletin boards).

(f) Vocabulary. These students understand and use vocabulary on a variety of familiar topics, including some culturally appropriate and idiomatic expressions related to topics of personal interest.

(g) Register. Their choice of register is usually appropriate for the situation, yet some shifts between formal and informal registers occur.

(h) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. These students describe in some detail products or practices of the target culture(s) and may identify perspectives of the target culture(s) with some inaccuracies.

They compare and contrast some geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 3

(a) Interaction. Students at Achievement Level 3 initiate, maintain, and close written exchanges on familiar topics. They understand and respond to questions and statements on familiar topics.

(b) Strategies. These students occasionally use communication strategies (e.g., circumlocution, restatement, requesting clarification or information) when interacting on familiar topics, and they occasionally use context to deduce meaning of unfamiliar words. They often seek clarification of meaning by asking for repetition. They may recognize errors; attempts at self-editing are occasionally successful.

(c) Opinions. They state opinions on topics of personal interest.

(d) Language structures. They produce strings of simple sentences and a few compound sentences, with the most accuracy in the present time and some accuracy in other time frames.

(e) Writing conventions. Their writing shows inconsistent use of standard conventions of the written language (e.g., capitalization, orthography) as appropriate for the medium of communication (e.g., online chat, e-mail, letters, blogs, bulletin boards) that sometimes interferes with meaning.

(f) Vocabulary. These students understand and use vocabulary from familiar thematic word groups and occasionally incorporate some culturally appropriate and idiomatic expressions.

(g) Register. Their choice of register may be inappropriate for the intended audience, and shifts between formal and informal registers occur.

(h) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. These students identify some cultural products or practices of the target culture(s) and may identify a few common perspectives. They identify some geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 2

(a) Interaction. Students at Achievement Level 2 respond to questions and statements on topics of personal interest in written exchanges.

(b) Strategies. These students may seek clarification by asking for basic information. They seldom recognize errors, and attempts at self-editing usually fail.

(c) Opinions. When stating opinions, they are limited to expressing likes and dislikes.

(d) Language structures. They produce simple sentences with some accuracy in the present time. There is inconsistent control of basic structures.

(e) Writing conventions. Their writing shows little use of standard conventions of the written language (e.g., capitalization, orthography) as appropriate for the medium of communication (e.g., online chat, e-mail, letters, blogs, bulletin boards).

(f) Vocabulary. They understand and use a limited range of vocabulary from familiar thematic word groups, including memorized phrases and a few idiomatic expressions.

(g) Register. These students communicate mainly using the familiar register.

(h) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. These students identify a few common cultural products or practices and a few geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 1

Students at Achievement Level 1 demonstrate performances that are less proficient than those outlined for Level 2.

Interpretive Communication

The Interpretive Mode is characterized by the appropriate cultural interpretation of meanings that occur in written and spoken form where there is no recourse to the active negotiation of meaning with the writer or speaker.

Learning Objectives for Audio, Visual, and Audiovisual Interpretive Communication

Primary Objective: The student synthesizes information from a variety of authentic audio, visual, and audiovisual resources.

▶ The student demonstrates comprehension of content from authentic audio resources.

▶ The student demonstrates comprehension of content from authentic audiovisual resources.

▶ The student demonstrates comprehension of content from authentic visual resources.

▶ The student demonstrates understanding of a variety of vocabulary, including idiomatic and culturally authentic expressions.

▶ The student understands the purpose of a message and the point of view of its author.

▶ The student identifies the distinguishing features (e.g., type of resource, intended audience, purpose) of authentic audio, visual, and audiovisual resources.

▶ The student demonstrates critical viewing or listening of audio, visual, and audiovisual resources in the target cultural context.

▶ The student monitors comprehension and uses other sources to enhance understanding.

▶ The student examines, compares, and reflects on products, practices, and perspectives of the target culture(s).

▶ The student evaluates similarities and differences in the perspectives of the target culture(s) and his or her own culture(s) as found in audio, visual, and audiovisual resources.

▶ The student demonstrates an understanding of the features of target culture communities (e.g., geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political).

▶ The student demonstrates knowledge and understanding of content across disciplines.

Achievement Level Descriptions for Audio, Visual, and Audiovisual Interpretive Communication

Achievement Level 5

(a) Comprehension of content. When listening to or viewing a variety of authentic audio, visual, and audiovisual resources, students at Achievement Level 5 identify main ideas, some significant details, and the intended audience on a range of topics. These students use context to deduce the meaning of unfamiliar words and usually infer implied meanings.

(b) Critical viewing and listening. These students identify significant distinguishing features (e.g., type of resource, intended audience, purpose) of authentic audio, visual, and audiovisual resources.

(c) Vocabulary. They comprehend a variety of vocabulary, including culturally appropriate vocabulary and some idiomatic expressions related to topics of personal interest and limited unfamiliar topics.

(d) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. These students identify the relationship among products, practices, and perspectives in the target culture(s) and demonstrate understanding of most of the content of familiar interdisciplinary topics presented in the resource material.

They compare and contrast geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 4

(a) Comprehension of content. When listening to or viewing a variety of authentic audio, visual, and audiovisual resources, students at Achievement Level 4 identify most main ideas and some significant details on familiar topics. These students use context to deduce the meaning of unfamiliar words and make some inferences.

(b) Critical viewing and listening. They identify some distinguishing features (e.g., type of resource, intended audience, purpose) of authentic audio, visual, and audiovisual resources.

(c) Vocabulary. These students comprehend most vocabulary, including some culturally appropriate and idiomatic expressions related to topics of personal interest.

(d) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. These students identify the products, practices, and some perspectives of the target culture(s) and demonstrate understanding of some content of familiar interdisciplinary topics presented in the resource material. They compare and contrast some geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 3

(a) Comprehension of content. When listening to or viewing a variety of authentic audio, visual, and audiovisual resources, students at Achievement Level 3 identify some main ideas and details on familiar topics. They respond accurately to basic information questions (e.g., Who? What? When? Where?) and can sometimes use context to deduce meaning of unfamiliar words and make limited inferences.

(b) Critical viewing and listening. They identify a few distinguishing features (e.g., type of resource, intended audience, purpose) of authentic audio, visual, and audiovisual resources.

(c) Vocabulary. They comprehend a variety of vocabulary on topics of personal interest.

(d) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. These students are able to identify the cultural products and practices and demonstrate understanding of basic content of familiar interdisciplinary topics presented in the resource material. They are also able to identify a few geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 2

(a) Comprehension of content. When listening to or viewing a variety of authentic audio, visual, and audiovisual resources, students at Achievement Level 2 identify a few main ideas or details and are sometimes unable to respond to basic information questions.

(b) Critical viewing and listening. These students identify few distinguishing features (e.g., type of resource, intended audience, purpose) of authentic audio, visual, and audiovisual resources.

(c) Vocabulary. They understand a limited range of vocabulary from familiar thematic word groups, including memorized phrases and a few idiomatic expressions.

(d) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. These students identify a few common cultural products or practices of the target culture(s) and demonstrate limited understanding of basic content of familiar interdisciplinary topics presented in the resource material. They are able to identify a few geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 1

Students at Achievement Level 1 demonstrate performances that are less proficient than those outlined for Level 2.

Learning Objectives for Written and Print Interpretive Communication

Primary Objective: The student synthesizes information from a variety of authentic written and print resources.

▶ The student demonstrates comprehension of content from authentic written and print resources.

▶ The student demonstrates understanding of a variety of vocabulary, including idiomatic and culturally authentic expressions.

▶ The student understands the purpose of a message and the point of view of its author.

▶ The student identifies the distinguishing features (e.g., type of resource, intended audience, purpose) of authentic written and print resources.

▶ The student demonstrates critical reading of written and print resources in the target cultural context.

▶ The student monitors comprehension and uses other sources to enhance understanding.

▶ The student examines, compares, and reflects on products, practices, and perspectives of the target culture(s).

▶ The student evaluates similarities and differences in the perspectives of the target culture(s) and his or her own culture(s) as found in written and print resources.

▶ The student demonstrates an understanding of the features of target culture communities (e.g., geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political).

▶ The student demonstrates knowledge and understanding of content across disciplines.

Achievement Level Descriptions for Written and Print Interpretive Communication

Achievement Level 5

(a) Comprehension of content. When reading a variety of authentic written and print resources, students at Achievement Level 5 identify main ideas and supporting details on a range of topics. They use context to deduce the meaning of unfamiliar words and usually infer implied meanings.

(b) Critical reading. They demonstrate critical reading skills and usually differentiate facts from opinions. These students identify the intended audience, source, and purpose and describe the basic context of the resource material.

(c) Vocabulary. These students comprehend a variety of vocabulary, including culturally appropriate vocabulary and some idiomatic expressions related to topics of personal interest and limited unfamiliar topics.

(d) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. These students identify the relationship among products, practices, and perspectives in the target culture(s) and demonstrate understanding of most of the content of the interdisciplinary topics presented in the resource material. They also compare and contrast geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 4

(a) Comprehension of content. When reading a variety of authentic written and print resources, students at Achievement Level 4 identify most main ideas and some supporting details on familiar topics. They use various reading strategies to aid in the literal comprehension of the text. These students make some inferences and use context to deduce the meaning of unfamiliar words.

(b) Critical reading. These students identify the intended audience, source, and purpose of the resource.

(c) Vocabulary. They comprehend most vocabulary, including some culturally appropriate and idiomatic expressions related to topics of personal interest.

(d) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. These students identify the products, practices, and some perspectives of the target culture(s) and demonstrate understanding of some content of the interdisciplinary topics presented in the resources. They compare and contrast some geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 3

(a) Comprehension of content. When reading a variety of authentic written and print resources, students at Achievement Level 3 identify some main ideas and supporting details on familiar topics. They respond accurately to basic information questions (e.g., Who? What?

When? Where?), make limited inferences, and use contextual clues to assist in the literal comprehension. They can sometimes use context to deduce meaning of unfamiliar words.

(b) Critical reading. These students identify the source and purpose of the resource.

(c) Vocabulary. They comprehend a variety of vocabulary on topics of personal interest.

(d) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. They are able to identify the products and practices of the target culture(s) and demonstrate understanding of basic content of familiar interdisciplinary topics presented in the resource material. They are also able to identify a few geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 2

(a) Comprehension of content. When reading a variety of authentic written and print resources, students at Achievement Level 2 identify some main ideas and details, but they are sometimes unable to respond to basic information questions. They occasionally use contextual clues for basic comprehension.

(b) Critical reading. They identify the source of the resource.

(c) Vocabulary. They understand a limited range of vocabulary from familiar thematic word groups, including memorized phrases and a few idiomatic expressions.

(d) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. These students identify a few common cultural products or practices of the target culture(s) and demonstrate limited understanding of basic content of familiar interdisciplinary topics presented in the resource material. They are able to identify a few geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 1

Students at Achievement Level 1 demonstrate performances that are less proficient than those outlined for Level 2.

Presentational Communication

The Presentational Mode is characterized by the creation of messages in a manner that facilitates interpretation by members of the target culture where no direct opportunity for the active negotiation of meaning exists.

Learning Objectives for Spoken Presentational Communication

Primary Objective: The student plans, produces, and presents spoken presentational communications.

▶ The student produces a variety of creative oral presentations (e.g., original story, personal narrative, speech, performance).

▶ The student retells or summarizes information in narrative form, demonstrating a consideration of audience.

▶ The student creates and gives persuasive speeches.

▶ The student expounds on familiar topics and those requiring research.

▶ The student uses reference tools, acknowledges sources, and cites them appropriately.

▶ The student self-monitors and adjusts language production.

▶ The student demonstrates an understanding of the features of target culture communities (e.g., geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political).

▶ The student demonstrates knowledge and understanding of content across disciplines.

Achievement Level Descriptions for Spoken Presentational Communication

Achievement Level 5

(a) Discourse and development. When planning, producing, and presenting spoken presentational communications, students at Achievement Level 5 use paragraph-length discourse with mostly appropriate use of cohesive devices to report, explain, and narrate on a range of familiar topics. They develop ideas by showing evidence of synthesis and interpretation of background information.

(b) Strategies. These students employ a variety of strategies to clarify and elaborate content of presentation; self-correction is mostly successful.

(c) Language structures. These students use a variety of simple and compound sentences and some complex sentences in major time frames. Errors do not impede comprehensibility.

(d) Vocabulary. These students use vocabulary on a variety of familiar topics, including some beyond those of personal interest. They use some culturally appropriate vocabulary and idiomatic expressions.

(e) Pronunciation. Their pronunciation and intonation patterns, pacing, and delivery are comprehensible to an audience unaccustomed to interacting with language learners.

(f) Register. Their choice of register is usually appropriate for the audience, and its use is consistent despite occasional errors.

(g) Cultures, connections, and comparisons. These students identify the relationship among products, practices, and perspectives in the target culture(s) and demonstrate understanding of most of the content of the interdisciplinary topics presented in the resource material. They also compare and contrast geographic, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Achievement Level 4

(a) Discourse and development. When planning, producing, and presenting spoken presentational communications, students at Achievement Level 4 use mostly paragraph-length discourse with appropriate use of some cohesive devices to explain, express opinions, describe, and narrate on familiar topics. Their work shows some evidence of ideas that are developed and supported with examples.

(b) Strategies. These students may employ some communication strategies…