SECTION 114.44. Level VI, Advanced Mid to Advanced High Proficiency (One Credit), Adopted 2014

(a) General requirements.

(1) Level VI can be offered in high school. Students shall be awarded one credit for successful completion of this course. Successful completion of Level V, achieving an Intermediate High to Advanced Mid proficiency level in the four skills of listening, reading, writing, and speaking, or demonstrated equivalent proficiency as determined by the district is a prerequisite for this course.

(2) Students of logographic languages such as Chinese and Japanese and non-Romance and non-Germanic languages such as Arabic and Russian will require more time to achieve proficiency, especially in reading and writing. Initially, the skill focus should be placed on speaking and listening without ignoring reading and writing in the target language's writing system. As the students become more proficient, a balanced emphasis of all four skills becomes more attainable.

(b) Introduction.

(1) The study of world languages is an essential part of education. In the 21st century language classroom, students gain an understanding of two basic aspects of human existence: the nature of communication and the complexity of culture. Students become aware of multiple perspectives and means of expression, which lead to an appreciation of difference and diversity. Further benefits of foreign language study include stronger cognitive development, increased creativity, and divergent thinking. Students who effectively communicate in more than one language, with an appropriate understanding of cultural context, are globally literate and possess the attributes of successful participants in the world community.

(2) Communication is the overarching goal of world language instruction. Students should be provided ample opportunities to engage in conversations, to present information to an audience, and to interpret culturally authentic materials in the language of study. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) identifies three modes of communication: interpersonal, interpretive and presentational.

(A) In the interpersonal mode of communication, students engage in direct oral or written communication with others. Examples of this "two-way" communication include but are not limited to conversing face to face, participating in digital discussions and messaging, and exchanging personal letters.

(B) In the interpretive mode of communication, students demonstrate understanding of spoken and written communication within appropriate cultural contexts. Examples of this type of "one-way" reading or listening include but are not limited to comprehension of digital texts as well as print, audio, and audiovisual materials.

(C) In the presentational mode of communication, students present orally or in writing information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers with whom there is no immediate interaction. Examples of this "one-to-many" mode of communication include but are not limited to presenting to a group; creating and posting digital content; or writing reports, compositions, or articles for a magazine or newspaper.

(3) The use of age-level appropriate and culturally authentic resources is imperative to support the teaching of the essential knowledge and skills for LOTE. The use of culturally authentic resources in world language study enables students to make connections with other content areas, to compare the language and culture studied with their own, and to participate in local and global communities.

(4) The three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational) provide the organizing principles for describing language performance across all ranges of performance: Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Superior, and Distinguished.

(A) The interpersonal mode is characterized by the 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.

(B) The interpretive mode focuses on 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 the speaker.

(C) The presentational mode refers to the creation of oral and written messages in a manner that facilitates interpretation by members of the other culture where no direct opportunity for the active negotiation of meaning between members of the two cultures exists.

(5) All student expectations and modes of communication are aligned with and address the ACTFL National Standards for Foreign Language Education: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities.

(6) Students will perform on an Advanced Mid to Advanced High proficiency level as described by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012.

(A) The Advanced Mid to Advanced High student communicates in a language other than English using all three modes and all four skills.

(B) By the end of Level VI, students of logographic languages should perform on an Intermediate High to Advanced Low proficiency level for reading and writing. In listening and speaking, students of logographic languages should perform on an Advanced Low to Advanced Mid proficiency level.

(7) Statements containing the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.

(c) Knowledge and skills.

(1) Interpersonal Communication: speaking and writing. The student communicates in the interpersonal mode using appropriate and applicable grammatical structures and processes in the target language at the specified proficiency levels. The interpersonal mode is the ability to understand and exchange information in the target language. The student is expected to:

(A) engage in conversations with mostly consistent use of register in all time frames;

(B) verbally exchange information with mostly consistent use of register on a variety of geographic, scientific, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities;

(C) write with mostly consistent use of register in all time frames and with some elaboration items such as correspondence, narratives, descriptions, and summaries of a factual nature; and

(D) produce, with mostly consistent use of register, written exchanges that provide information on a variety of geographic, scientific, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

(2) Interpretive communication: reading and listening. The student uses the interpretive mode in communication using appropriate and applicable grammatical structures and processes in the target language at the specified proficiency levels. The interpretive mode focuses on comprehending main ideas and identifying some supporting details in the target language. The student is expected to:

(A) read and appraise information from a variety of authentic print and electronic resources such as artwork, graphs, media, narratives, and descriptions in various literary genres, including texts about past, present, and future events that communicate information on a variety of geographic, scientific, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities;

(B) compare, contrast, and appraise cultural practices and perspectives from authentic print and electronic resources;

(C) listen to and appraise information from a variety of authentic audio and audiovisual resources from the target culture that communicate information in the past, present, and future on a variety of geographic, scientific, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities; and

(D) compare, contrast, and appraise cultural practices and perspectives from authentic audio and audiovisual resources.

(3) Presentational communication: speaking and writing. The student communicates using appropriate and applicable grammatical structures and processes in the target language at the specified proficiency levels. The presentational mode refers to the creation of oral and written messages in the target language. The student's presentation is comprehensible to an audience unaccustomed to interacting with language learners. The student is expected to:

(A) plan, produce, and present, with mostly consistent ease and clarity of expression, spoken presentational communications that are supported with cited examples in multiple paragraph length discourse to explain, express opinions, describe, and narrate on topics that communicate information on a variety of geographic, scientific, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities; and

(B) plan and produce, with mostly consistent ease and clarity of expression, written presentational communications that are supported with cited examples in multiple paragraph length discourse to explain, express opinions, describe, and narrate on topics that communicate information on a variety of geographic, scientific, historical, artistic, social, or political features of target culture communities.

Source Note: The provisions of this §114.44 adopted to be effective July 15, 2014, 39 TexReg 5385