NEW HAVEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
FOREIGN LANGUAGE VISION STATEMENT

The ability to communicate is of primary importance in the human experience. Students must be prepared to communicate in a pluralistic American society and in a shrinking world. New Haven's Foreign Language Program is committed to the ideal of preparing citizens who are proficient in at least one language besides English. We believe that competence in more than one language and culture will enable people to participate in the global community and marketplace, to communicate with a greater variety of people, and to gain access to new bodies of knowledge. Further, familiarity with another language and culture helps one to re-examine one's own language and culture with new eyes. It makes one focus on language as language, with increased awareness. Students who study languages learn the ways in which language itself is a manifestation of culture.

All students can achieve success and multiple benefits from the study of other languages and cultures, if they are given the opportunity as an integrated part of their school experience. Language and culture education is a central part of the core curriculum, ideally beginning as early as possible, in pre-K or Kindergarten. Students will, however, acquire proficiency at varied rates, and with varied responses to different approaches and settings.

Students who pursue another language gain not only access to the new language and related cultures, but also enhanced basic communication skills in their first language, improved higher-order thinking skills, and the habit of discipline which is necessary for learning. Research studies indicate that the very process of studying another language may give students a cognitive boost which enables them to perform at higher levels in other subjects. Students whose native language is not English deserve to build upon their proficiency in that language, in classes geared to the native speaker. Similarly, a strong English curriculum and program for native speakers of English will enhance their foreign language study. In the brain, there is a strong connection across languages, and between language and thought.

New Haven's Foreign Language Program endorses the "5 C's" of the Major Goals in the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning. They are:

• Communication--Communicate in Languages Other than English
• Cultures--Gain Knowledge and Understanding of Other Cultures
• Connections--Connect with Other Disciplines and Acquire Information
• Comparisons--Develop Insight into the Nature of Language and Culture
• Communities--Participate in Multilingual Communities at Home and Around the World

To achieve these goals, both instruction and assessment in the foreign language classroom should be linked, to the extent possible, to real world meaning and communication. Grammar and textbooks are part of the Foreign Language curriculum, but should not drive the whole program. Students who complete a multi-year sequence of Foreign Language study should graduate from high school with communication skills and cultural attitudes that enhance their personal, academic and professional lives.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE INTRODUCTION

Like the state and national frameworks, the following performance standards are based on an ideal progression of second language learning from preschool through grade 12. However, since language is acquired through experience, the level of language performance for an individual may not always correlate to age or grade level. There are many exceptions. Some students may not begin learning a second language until middle school or high school. Some may enter elementary school as speakers of a language other than English. Others may lack literacy skills in the language, although they speak it fluently. Home experience, travel, cultural exposure, the length and frequency of language classes -- all are variables which influence performance standards at any given level.

For this reason, the New Haven Foreign Language Standards are sequenced not only by grade level, but also by proficiency level. In each section of this document, standards for Pre-K - 4 correspond roughly to a beginning level of second language proficiency; grades 5- 8 correspond roughly to an intermediate level; and grades 9-12 correspond to an advanced or -- ideally--native speaker level. Although grade level and proficiency clearly do not always correlate, the two systems are parallel in this document for the sake of design.

Another modification of the state frameworks made in this document is the regrouping of performance standards according to language skills--listening, speaking, reading and writing. These regrouped standards are listed under subheadings for easy reference, Skills within performance standards may overlap in some instances, as when students work together in groups (listening to each other, responding, writing down ideas), but whenever possible listening and speaking skills are listed first, with reading and writing standards following.

Lastly, the New Haven Foreign Language Standards have sought to minimize areas of duplication by condensing lengthy performance standards and highlighting the key words in each list. (i.e. Standard 1.1 C for grades 5-8: Students will express opinions about people, activities and events in their personal lives or communities.) In other aspects, the New Haven Standards adhere to the general format of goals and standards set forth in the Connecticut World Languages Curriculum Framework.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE STANDARDS

The New Haven Foreign Language Standards are based the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning, and the Connecticut World Languages Curriculum Framework.

Students will engage in conversation, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions and exchange opinions; they will understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics. They will present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.

a. Students will give and follow directions to travel from one location to another and ask questions for clarification.

b. Students will exchange information with peers (both face to face and in writing) and describe details of their everyday lives.

c. Students will express opinions about people, activities and events in their personal lives or communities.

d. Students will work in groups to carry out activities and plan presentations in the target language; they will evaluate their efforts and

e. Students will negotiate to acquire goods and/or services and exchange of moneys.

f. Students will converse to express themselves.

a. Students will understand by listening to authentic sources -- e.g. television, radio or live presentations -- the main ideas, themes,

b. Students will comprehend announcements and messages when listening to peers and adults discuss topics of personal interest (e.g.

c. Students will sustain listening comprehension when confronted with less-familiar topics by relying on verbal cues, non-verbal cues

d. Students will comprehend the main ideas, themes, and significant details, and identify the principal characters when reading

e. Students will work individually to collect data on familiar topics from various print and electronic resources.

f. Students will begin to make informed guesses about the meaning of unknown, more complicated passages in the target language in

FOREIGN LANGUAGE STANDARDS

a. Students will use repetition, rephrasing and gestures to enhance communication.

b. Students will present short plays and skits, recite selected poems and anecdotes and perform songs in the target language.

c. Students will prepare audio or video recorded messages for their peers in the target culture on topics of shared personal interest, in

d. Students will write short notes or letters to peers in the target culture on topics of shared personal interest.

e. Students will prepare a diary of their daily activities and those of their families and friends.

f. Students will summarize the plot and describe characters in selected readings, such as short stories and folk tales.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE STANDARDS

Students will demonstrate an understanding of the traditions, practices and perspectives of the culture studied

and of the relationship between a culture and what it produces.

a. Students will use appropriate verbal and non-verbal behavior for daily activities among peers and for activities in contexts that

b. Students will participate in and react to cultural activities such as indoor and outdoor games, sports, music, and television.

c. Students will observe, identify, and discuss lifestyles and behaviors that are typical in the target culture.

d. Students will observe and discuss expressive art forms in the target culture such as music, dance, literature, media, textile arts,

a. Students will search for, identify and investigate products from the target culture that are found within their own homes and

b. Students will identify, analyze and evaluate functions, themes, ideas and perspectives related to the products being studied (e.g.

c. Students will identify the influence of geography and climate on cultural products.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE STANDARDS

MAKE CONNECTIONS WITH OTHER DISCIPLINES AND ACQUIRE INFORMATION:

Students will integrate foreign language study with other disciplines and will use various sources -- print, technology, audiovisual materials, media, data services, and human resources -- to connect the classroom to the outside world.

a. Students will relate the information that they learn in other subjects to their foreign language study, comparing and assessing the

b. Students will incorporate information from the foreign language classroom into other school subjects, comparing and assessing the

a. Students will use multimedia to find information regarding the cultures being studied and integrate it with their existing knowledge

b. Students will develop the skills necessary to use available computer networks in order to access information and / or

FOREIGN LANGUAGE STANDARDS

Students will demonstrate understanding of the nature of language and the concept of culture through comparisons of the language and cultures studied and their own.

a. Students will give examples of words which are borrowed from one language and used in another.

b. Students will use their awareness of phonetics and writing systems to increase proficiency.

c. Students will begin to understand how idiomatic expressions affect communication and culture.

a. Students will use new information and perspectives gained through foreign language study to expand their personal knowledge of

b. Students will use new information and perspectives to compare and contrast their experiences with those of their peers in the

c. Students will use new information and perspectives to recognize the differences between other cultures and their own and begin

FOREIGN LANGUAGE STANDARDS

Students will use the language both within and beyond the school setting; they will show evidence of becoming

life-long learners by using the language for personal enjoyment and enrichment.

a. Students will communicate with native speakers.

b. Students will interact with members of the community to learn how they might use the target language in their work.

c. Students will use the target language in social, recreational and practical situations through role play or real-life experiences.

a. Students will use various media in the language studied for personal enjoyment and entertainment.

b. Students will consult various sources in the language studied to obtain information on topics of personal interest.