Overview

1. Assessing and Reporting Student Progress in Heritage Language SchoolsSOHL Annual Conference October 2012Presenter: Nadia Prokopchuk

2. Overview Part A • Ministry Directions • Language Literacy • Language Proficiency • Common Framework of Reference (CFR) • Charting Language Skills: Group Activity Part B • Assessment - General Information • Assessment in Heritage Language Programs • Reporting Progress • Group Decisions

3. Ministry Directions • A province-wide focus on student assessment begins in 2012-2013 What is the purpose? • To increase provincial graduation rates and to ensure smooth transitions within and beyond schooling. • To inform parents about their child’s progress on a regular basis

4. Focus on Student Success • We want students to achieve and succeed in school so that they can pursue career goals. • The ministry is responsible for: Curriculum: what students are learning; Instruction: how they are learning it; Assessment: where progress is made.

5. Focus on Family Engagement • Research shows that family support is important for student learning. • Parents have a role to play by: • becoming involved in school activities • supporting learning in school and after school hours • being a role model for lifelong learning

6. Support for Literacy • Well-developed literacy skills are the key to student success at school. What are literacy skills? • Literacy skills are the tools that help students to learn new things and to function every day. Without literacy skills, students can’t move forward in life.

7. Overview Part A • Ministry Directions • Language Literacy • Language Proficiency • Common Framework of Reference (CFR) • Charting Language Skills: Group Activity Part B • Assessment - General Information • Assessment in Heritage Language Programs • Reporting Progress • Group Decisions

8. Language Literacy • Language literacy: - is more than just reading and writing - requires the support of everyone in a child’s life - involves the skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, and representing to accomplish a wide range of tasks.

9. Language Literacy • The term applies to language skills in any language. • It is not limited to language use at school. • It includes print and non-print materials, visual, audio, and multimedia sources. • Families have a role to play in building literacy in first or heritage languages.

10. Language Literacy • For students to be literate in any language, they need to work at it. It takes time, motivation, commitment, and support. • The goal is to become more proficient in a language to meet personal, social, and academic needs.

11. Language Literacy • Learning and using more than one language promotes language literacy. How does it work? • The brain can compare and contrast the way each language ‘works’. • Students analyze differences and adjust language to suit their needs.

12. Overview Part A • Ministry Directions • Language Literacy • Language Proficiency • Common Framework of Reference • Charting Language Skills: Group Activity Part B • Assessment - General Information • Assessment in Heritage Language Programs • Reporting Progress • Group Decisions

13. What is Language Proficiency? • When students are proficient in a language, it means that they have the ability to use the language accurately and fluently for various purposes. • Building proficiency takes time and an environment of language support. Proficiency = Fluency + Accuracy

14. Heritage Language Study • Learning a language is cumulative, meaning that proficiency does not happen quickly. • With frequent and intensive instruction, greater progress can be made. • Heritage language progress after school hours should be viewed through the lens of contact hours and frequency of instruction.

15. Is Proficiency Possible? • The aim of most language programs is language proficiency. • Factors such as age, time, prior experience, and motivation are critical to success with language learning. • Heritage language programs can provide students with a good start toward proficiency.

16. Overview Part A • Ministry Directions • Language Literacy • Language Proficiency • Common Framework of Reference (CFR) • Charting Language Skills: Group Activity Part B • Assessment - General Information • Assessment in Heritage Language Programs • Reporting Progress • Group Decisions

17. “CFR” • The CFR, or Common Framework of Reference, is based on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) introduced to SOHL in previous years. • The Ministry of Education has adopted this framework to monitor and assess the progress of English language learners.

18. Heritage Languages and the CFR • The CFR offers a set of internationally recognized language descriptors within five skill areas: Listening, Spoken Production, Spoken Interaction, Reading, and Writing. • The CFR descriptors give observable and attainable evidence of language performance.

19. The Levels • It is common for learners to have different strengths in each of the skill areas.

20. Overview Part A • Ministry Directions • Language Literacy • Language Proficiency • Common Framework of Reference (CFR) • Charting Language Skills: Group Activity Part B • Assessment - General Information • Assessment in Heritage Language Programs • Reporting Progress • Group Decisions

21. Possibilities for Your Class • Take 10 minutes to study the handout with CFR “Can-Do” descriptors. • Focus on Levels A1.1 and A1.2 • Do the skills and descriptors reflect some of the goals of language learning in your class?

22. Group Activity – Charting Language Skills At your tables, decide which of the ‘Can-Do’ skills apply to your heritage language program(s). Record your decisions on the master sheet.

23. Overview Part A • Ministry Directions • Language Literacy • Language Proficiency • Common Framework of Reference (CFR) • Charting Language Skills: Group Activity Part B • Assessment - General Information • Assessment in Heritage Language Programs • Reporting Progress • Group Decisions

24. Assessment – General Information • Refer to the handout • Outcomes: Plan with the end goal in mind. Where do you want the students to be at the end of a lesson, a unit, or at the end of the year? • Assess progress regularly.

25. Overview Part A • Ministry Directions • Language Literacy • Language Proficiency • Common Framework of Reference (CFR) • Charting Language Skills: Group Activity Part B • Assessment - General Information • Assessment in Heritage Language Programs • Reporting Progress • Group Decisions

26. Assessment in HL Programs • Assessment Flow Chart (Handout) • Initial Assessment Samples - helpful for determining what students know or remember from the previous year’s study - can guide program planning for the current year

27. Overview Part A • Ministry Directions • Language Literacy • Language Proficiency • Common Framework of Reference (CFR) • Charting Language Skills: Group Activity Part B • Assessment - General Information • Assessment in Heritage Language Programs • Reporting Progress • Group Decisions

28. Reporting Progress • Ongoing Assessment Charts • Year-end Assessment View the samples provided. Compare these samples to your current assessment practices. Are they similar? Which items would be a useful addition to your program?

29. Thank You • Your participation is valued. • Your dedication is evident. • Your commitment to heritage languages is applauded. Have an excellent year!

30. Questions? • Contact the SOHL office for copies of the handout for Initial Assessment. • Ministry contacts: Corey Hadden, Director, Instruction Unit Corey.Hadden@gov.sk.ca Nadia Prokopchuk, Senior Program Manager Nadia.Prokopchuk@gov.sk.ca