6-8 World Language
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Did you know that it takes about 14,500 hours for a six year old to master the basics of their first language?* Language acquisition processes are slow and yet they are also rewarding and exciting. In our K-5 and beginning language programs, students progress through the Novice or "word" levels. Learners exhibit strengths in their receptive skills, as we all did when learning our first language; they know and understand a great deal more than they're able to produce, which is normal at this stage of language acquisition. In grades 6-8, learners continue building their language skills to progress into the Intermediate or "sentence" levels.
*VanPatten, Bill. (2017). While We’re On The Topic: BVP on Language, Acquisition and Classroom Practice. Alexandria, VA: American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages.
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THEN AND NOW
The language classroom in the U.S. has been transformed in the last 20 years to reflect an increasing emphasis on developing students’ communicative competence. Unlike the classroom of yesteryear that required students to know a great deal of information about the language but did not have an expectation of language use, today’s classroom is about teaching languages so that students use them to communicate with native speakers of the language. This is what prepares them to use their language learning as a 21st Century Skill. Following is a chart comparing how language classrooms looked in the past compared to today.
IN THE PAST
NOW
Students learned about the language (grammar)
Students learn to use the language
Teacher-centered class
Learner-centered with teacher as facilitator/collaborator
Focused on isolated skills
Backward design focusing on the end goal
Coverage of a textbook
Use of thematic units and authentic resources
Using the textbook as the curriculum
Emphasis on learner as “doer” and “creator”
Emphasis on teacher as presenter/lecturer
Integrating technology into instruction to enhance learning
Isolated cultural “factoids”
Using language as the vehicle to teach academic content
Use of technology as a “cool tool”
Differentiating instruction to meet individual needs
Only teaching language
Personalized real world tasks
Same instruction for all students
Seeking opportunities for learners to use language beyond the classroom
Synthetic situations from textbook
Personalized real world tasks
Confining language learning to the classroom
Seeking opportunities for learners to use language beyond the classroom
Testing to find out what students don’t know
Assessing to find out what students can do
Only the teacher knows criteria for grading
Students know and understand criteria on how they will be assessed by reviewing the task rubric
Students “turn in” work only for the teacher
Learners create to “share and publish” to audiences more than just the teacher
From ACTFL’s 21st Century Skills Map, “Introduction”
