OPI Workshop Plenary on Implications and Applications of Oral Proficiency Interviewing

Transcription

1 OPI Workshop Plenary on Implications and Applications of Oral Proficiency Interviewing Part I: The Broader Context of the OPI and its Impact Official Testing through Language Testing International ( Exclusive licensee of ACTFL tests since 1992 Schedules, administers, reports ratings for all ACTFL assessments Member of the Association of Test Publishers Certified OPI Testers Tests available in over 100 languages ACTFL Proficiency Tests are: Measure functional language ability How well an individual can use their language for real world purposes Criterion-based assessment ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines are the basis for rating Adaptive and interactive Fair and non-threatening Not curriculum or text-book dependent Recognize language ability gained in traditional and non-traditional settings Current testing is being done for: A. Commercial hiring decisions Some companies using the OPI: Verizon, Canon, Ebay, LG, Paypal, Liberty Mutual, FedEx, ATT, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Samsung, Comcast. What will the employee be required to do in terms of linguistic tasks? What level of proficiency corresponds to this job description? See attached handout: Oral Proficiency Levels in the Work World Examples: Intermediate: Tour Guide, Sales Clerk, Cashier, Housekeeping Staff Advanced: Doctor, Reporter, Teacher, Customer Service Rep Superior: Lawyer, Financial Advisor, University Professor B. Academic Programs: entry, exit, graduation requirements, etc. Examples: o Universities: BYU, Georgetown, Lauder Institute (UPenn), UCLA, Thunderbird, Univ. of Southern California, Yale, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, Univ. of Chicago, Stanford, Columbia

2 o Scholarship programs, such as those sponsored by the National Security Education Program ( C. College Credit Recommendations by American Council on Education ( ACTFL Rating (Seaking) AH/S AM IH/AL IM NH/IL Credit Recommendation Lower/Upper Division 6 (LD) + 8 (UP) 6 (LD) + 3 (UP) 6 (LD) + 1 (UP) 6 (LD) 3 (LD) D. Teacher Certification through NCATE: National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education Programs. As of 2013, 23 states require demonstration of language proficiency for some aspect of teacher credentialing. Part II: Broader Impact of Proficiency Testing on Teaching and Learning Transforming how we think about language Seeing language as a life-long continuum The role of languages in a global context A. The National Standards: Describe what all students should know and be able to do Language as the 5 C s o Communication o Cultures o Connections o Comparisons o Communities Modes Interpersonal Listening/Speaking Reading/Writing Interpretive Listening Reading Presentational Speaking Writing

3 B. ACTFL Performance Descriptors for Language Learners Focus on language use by students in elementary, middle, and high schools Performance standards that describe the how well of what students should know and be able to do Organized by communication modes Identify anticipated outcomes for students enrolled in wellsequenced, Standards-based programs Website: C. ACTFL Assessment of Performance on the Way to Proficiency (AAPPL) AAPPL ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Language (intended for 6-12 grade learners) How well your students are able to do what has been taught and practiced Based on a Framework developed for the Foreign Language National Assessment for Educational Progress D. LinguaFolio Can-do Statements for Self-Assessment Aligned to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012 Self Assessment Program Benchmarking Global Statements By Mode and by Level Indicators and examples Designed to be personalized E. ACTFL Resources Professional Development Workshops Webinars Annual Convention Assessments Proficiency and Performance Formative and Summative Diagnostic Individual and program Official and certified

4 Part II: Definition of Proficiency: The ability to use a language to communicate meaningful information in a spontaneous interaction, and in a manner acceptable and appropriate to native speakers of the language. A. School-to-work Continuum How do you take what the professional world is asking for in terms of language competence to design curriculum and assess ability? o Backward design model Desired outcomes and how they are measured o Set realistic expectations Students need to know where they are along the continuum and how to progress Articulate across the curriculum o Vertical: from year 1 to graduation o Horizontal: across different related courses B. The entire pyramid is supported by a Novice-level base!

5 B. Phases of the OPI = Phases of the Classroom, course, semester Warm-up Level-checks Probes Wind-down B. Good tester behaviors and good teacher behaviors C. The Assessment Criteria (more than just accuracy )

6 D. Degrees of Control: Learners function most of the time in the realm of PARTIAL CONTROL!! Conceptual Partial Full Knowing the rules Initial presentation Focus on form No experience w/ meaningful use of language Ability to use language in a limited way Accuracy only in highly practiced contexts Focus on form and meaning Ability to use language in a variety of contexts, with variety of topics Extensive experience in meaningful communication Focus on meaning Proficiency does not mean perfection, nor does it imply limitation of instruction to one level at a time. Instruction and assessment at each level should target certain functions for full control, others for partial control, and others simply for conceptual control. 1. Teaching for Conceptual Control Initial presentation and practice Focus on form and accuracy Objective: Understand how it works 2. Teaching for Partial Control Focus on language use in context Greater tolerance for inaccuracies Objective: Use / Recycle / Expand 3. Teaching for Full Control Full Control Focus on functional language use in various contexts Objective: Ability to sustain the function over range of topic areas Automaticity of forms Far transfer of functional ability E. The Role of the Textbook Depends on... Your goals for the quarter/semester/class Level of the students The textbook itsel

7 F. The Role of Grammar Think in terms of a functional grammar Don t treat it totally in isolation (forms + functions) Explicit instruction: When? Why? How? (not an either/or) Recycling of forms inside new content areas and new functions Recycling of forms across the curriculum, horizontally and vertically G. Designing a functional syllabus: From Novice to Intermediate Content/Context Functions Language forms Everyday, familiar Create with the Vocabulary topics (school, home, hometown, free-time activities language to have a simple conversation about Typical expressions Asking questions about Interrogatives your friend s school Intonation Degree of control: Partial or Full? Word order Dealing with simple social interactions or transactions Degree of control: Partial or Full? Vocabulary Any special expressions or forms H. Assessing degrees of control Level of student Novice High/ Intermediate Low Function Asking questions of visiting celebrity for newspaper article Degree of control targeted Partial Implications for grading Stay focused on successful questions despite many errors in structures

8 Intermediate Mid Asking questions of visiting celebrity for newspaper article Full Mistakes in simple forms and structures count; give credit for more complex questions. Intermediate Mid Narrating in the past: a memorable vacation experience Emerging Mistakes in simple forms and structures count; give credit for more complex questions. Level Function Degree of control targeted Implications for grading Intermediate High Narrating in the Past: a memorable vacation experience Partial Make fewer allowances than for IM; look at accuracy and text-type Advanced Low Narrating in the Past Full Stay focused on successful questions despite errors in structures; remember grammatical roughness Advanced Mid Narrating in the past: a memorable vacation experience Full Every mistake in simple past forms counts; give credit for evidence of attempts at extensive elaboration

9 Part III. How can we use the OPI to help us set realistic expectations? Assumed knowledge vs. observable performance Degrees of control (explain to students) Differences in skill development (speaking and other skills may develop at different rates) Use the Guidelines as a stepladder (they do not = a curriculum or methodology; rather they represented proficiency targets) Share realistic proficiency expectations with stakeholders: Students Parents Administrators FSI Case study data: Adult language learners College graduates Highly motivated Previous language study Class sizes of 6 Full-time language study for X weeks Daily 5 hours in-class 4 independent learning (hw) daily

10 anguage Class hours to Intermediate Class hours to Advanced Class hours to Superior Category I: Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, French, Haitian Creole Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, etc Category II: Bulgarian, German, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Urdu, etc Category III : Albanian, Amharic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Bulgarian, Burmese, Czech, Estonian, Finnish, Georgian, Hausa, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Khmer, Lao, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Mongolian, Nepali, Pashto, Persian (Dari, Farsi, Tajik), Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Zulu, etc. ategory IV: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc

11 Useful websites: ACTFL will provide access via Publications tab at the top to the following: 2012 Proficiency Guidelines: Performance Descriptors: Integrated Performance Assessment: ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Language (has demo of the assessment, as well as a suite of professional development materials) American Council on Education (credit recommendations) For ACTFL OPI score credit recommendations see: Interagency Language Roundtable (government testing scale): Linguafolio: National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y): This program provides scholarships for students to study foreign languages abroad. National Security Education Program: Look under the Students link at the top and at the link on the bottom for Initiatives for various scholarships and funding opportunities for students.

12