SECTION 114.49. Classical Languages, Level III, Novice Mid to Advanced Low Proficiency (One Credit), Adopted 2014

(a) General requirements.

(1) Level III can be offered in middle or high school. At the high school level, students shall be awarded one credit for successful completion of this course. Successful completion of Level II or demonstrated equivalent proficiency as determined by the district is a prerequisite for this course.

(2) Students of classical languages such as Latin and Greek read and comprehend proficiency-level appropriate authentic texts of prose or poetry of selected authors. The communicative skills of listening, speaking, and writing are used to enhance the interpretive communication mode of reading.

(3) Districts may offer a level of a language in a variety of scheduling arrangements that may extend or reduce the traditional schedule when careful consideration is given to the instructional time available on a campus and the language ability, access to programs, and motivation of students.

(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) The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) identifies three modes of communication: interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational. Interpretative communication is the overarching goal of classical language instruction. Students of classical languages should be provided ample opportunities to interpret culturally appropriate materials in the language of study, supported by opportunities for interpersonal and presentational communication.

(A) In the interpersonal mode of communication, students engage in direct oral or written communication with others such as 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 such as 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 such as 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 languages other than English. The use of culturally authentic resources in classical 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) Students recognize the importance of acquiring accuracy of expression by knowing the components of language, including grammar, syntax, and genre.

(5) At the end of Level III, students of classical languages should reach an Intermediate High to Advanced Low proficiency level in reading, a Novice High proficiency level in listening, a Novice Mid to Novice High proficiency level in speaking, and a Novice Mid to Novice High proficiency level in writing. Proficiency levels are aligned with the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012 and the ACTFL Performance Descriptors for Language Learners.

(A) Students at the Novice Mid proficiency level express meaning in highly predictable contexts through the use of memorized and recalled words and phrases. They are best able to understand aural cognates, borrowed words, and high-frequency, highly contextualized words and phrases with repetition. Novice Mid students may be difficult to understand by the most sympathetic listeners and readers accustomed to dealing with language learners. Novice Mid students are inconsistently successful when performing Novice-level tasks.

(B) Students at the Novice High proficiency level express meaning in simple, predictable contexts through the use of learned and recombined phrases and short sentences. Novice High students are best able to understand sentence-length information within highly contextualized situations and sources. Novice High students may generally be understood by sympathetic listeners and readers accustomed to dealing with language learners. Novice High students are consistently successful when performing Novice-level tasks. Novice High students show evidence of Intermediate Low proficiency but lack consistency.

(C) Students at the Intermediate High proficiency level express meaning in a variety of contexts by creating with the language, easily combining and recombining what they know, what they read, and what they hear in a mixture of sentences and connected discourse. Intermediate High students are able to understand information from connected statements in oral or written sources. Intermediate High students are generally understood by listeners and readers unaccustomed to dealing with language learners. Intermediate High students are consistently successful when performing Intermediate-level tasks. Intermediate High students show evidence of Advanced Low proficiency but lack consistency.

(D) Students at the Advanced Low proficiency level are able to understand conventional narrative and descriptive texts with a clear underlying structure though their comprehension may be uneven. These texts predominantly contain high-frequency vocabulary and structures. Readers understand the main ideas and some supporting details. Comprehension may often derive primarily from situational and subject-matter knowledge. Readers at this level will be challenged to comprehend more complex texts.

(6) 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 negotiates meaning through the spoken and written exchange of information in a variety of contexts. The student uses a mixture of words, phrases, and simple sentences with appropriate and applicable grammar structures and processes at the specified proficiency levels. The student is expected to:

(A) ask and respond to questions with simple elaboration in spoken or written conversation;

(B) express and exchange personal opinions or preferences in spoken or written conversation using simple constructions such as impersonal verbs; and

(C) ask and tell others what they need to, should, or must do in spoken or written conversation using appropriate constructions such as the imperative mood, impersonal verbs, or the subjunctive mood.

(2) Interpretive communication: reading and listening. The student comprehends connected statements from culturally authentic print, digital, audio, and audiovisual materials as appropriate within contextualized situations and sources. The student uses the interpretive mode in communication with appropriate and applicable grammatical structures and processes at the specified proficiency levels. The student is expected to:

(A) demonstrate an understanding of culturally authentic print, digital, audio, or audiovisual materials in a variety of contexts;

(B) paraphrase the main idea, theme, and supporting details from fiction or nonfiction texts or audio or audiovisual materials;

(C) analyze authentic literature with respect to stylistic topics such as elements of genre, literary devices, audience, or metrics;

(D) infer meaning of unfamiliar words or phrases in contextualized texts, audio, or audiovisual materials; and

(E) compare and contrast cultural practices from authentic print, digital, audio, or audiovisual materials.

(3) Presentational communication: speaking and writing. The student presents information orally or in writing using a mixture of phrases and sentences with appropriate and applicable grammar structures and processes at the specified proficiency levels. The student is expected to:

(A) cite the justification for an opinion or preference orally or in writing using textual evidence; and

(B) read prose or poetry aloud with attention to features of declamation such as metrical structure, meaningful phrase grouping, and appropriate voice inflection.

Source Note: The provisions of this §114.49 adopted to be effective November 3, 2014, 39 TexReg 8574