U.S. Government ILR Summits on Listening Sponsored by DLIFLC

1. U.S. Government ILR Summits on Listening Sponsored by DLIFLC An Interagency Effort to Expand, Supplement, Define and Revise the ILR Listening Proficiency Guidelines James Dirgin Director, Test Review and Education ES/DLIFLC/DoD

2. Background • Purpose and Goal • Process, Results, and Outcomes • Future Developments

3. Background • DLIFLC sponsored and organized three US Government Listening Summits in the last two years in collaboration with ACTFL. • Necessitated by the growing consensus among the major users of the ILR, the Interagency Language Roundtable proficiency guidelines, for the need to ensure norming and standardization for the interpretation and implementation of the ILR.

4. Background • Over 300 participants in three summits representing most major stakeholders in USG, academia, and commercial partners met to identify the salient core features in each ILR level. • The event was organized in the form of presentations, small group sessions, plenary presentations, and panel discussions.

5. Background • The ILR Listening Skill Descriptions were created in the late 1960s. • Changes occurred in the scope, definition and use of listening comprehension in the last few decades, especially in the last 10 years. • Changes in technology have created various types of media that are not addressed in the current descriptions –such new types of medium need to be incorporated into the ILR.

6. Background • Changes in the international geopolitical arena require to focus on “new” and “less commonly spoken” languages (Hindi, Arabic, Indonesian, Dari, Pashto, Amharic, Punjabi, Baluchi, Swahili, Turkic languages). Some Issues: - Defining “Dialect” - Non-western languages and the ILR - Linguistic variations - Non-native speech

7. Purpose and Goal Purpose of the USG ILR Listening Summits • Ensure norming among and within the US government agencies for interpreting and implementing the ILR listening skill descriptions. • Expand, explain, define, and supplement the existing ILR Listening Skill Level Descriptions with examples. • Build sufficient consensus and understanding the “gaps” in defining the core competencies per level, and use this information to revise the existing ILR descriptors.

8. Purpose and Goal Goal of the Summits • Establish the “core salient features” for each ILR Skill Level for Listening. • Define, expand, and incorporate linguistic abilities, properties, conditions, settings, and/or factors that influence listening comprehension in all levels. • Provide examples of how the features, conditions, and factors influence listening comprehension at each level.

9. Process & Results - Levels Approach 1- Small Group Sessions 4 Groups / with 20 participants each Two Rounds of Discussion a) Each group assigned an ILR Level Discussed “Core Salient Features” for that Level b) Each group assigned a “Core Salient Feature” Discussed such feature for all ILR levels 2- Plenary Presentations for General Discussion 3- Panel Discussion

10. Process & Results - Levels

11. Process - Level 2

12. Process – Level 2 Some L2 Listening Features (NOT in the ILR Descriptions) • Sustained ability to follow a thread (sequencing, causality and coherence) of events. • Sustained ability to collectively understand the essential elements of information form the core. • Able to “get the relationship” all the time.

13. Process – Level 2 ….. • Core Cohesion at L2 is linguistic (whereas at L1 is topical, and L3 conceptual) and the L2 listener should be held accountable for multi-word expressions. • Can deal with overlapping speakers • Trouble with “marked” forms and details at L2 • Dialect...(Or is it regionalism, accent, non-standard language, colloquialism, diglossia, or pronunciation?

14. Process - Level 3

15. Process – Level 3 Some L3 Listening Features (NOT in the ILR Descriptions) • Performs not only linguistic but also operational tasks. • In the contexts of professional settings, an L3 “gets it.” Not so much in informal, interpersonal, or controversial settings. • Able to handle both participative and non-participative interactions – comprehend professional transactions (discussions, debates, political talk shows, forums…)

16. Process – Level 3 …. • Can handle commonly used idiomatic expressions and slang. The lack of understanding such input does not prevent from performing at L3. • Has a level of automaticity due to a broad ability to understand linguistic features such as abstract linguistic formulations, vocabulary, layers of meaning.

17. Process – Level 3 …. • Has sufficient knowledge about the contexts and culture so as not to be impeded by gaps. • May not understand an exact cultural reference or the implications, but does recognize the language as a cultural reference and gets the general idea. • L3 listener has “compensatory strategies” for what is not understood.

18. Results – Listening Factors

19. The Next Step The data collected during the three ILR summits will be collated, analyzed, and published by DLIFLC and ACTFL by the end of the year. The “Guidelines” will include information that might be used to expand, supplement, annotate, define, and possibly revise the current ILR listening guidelines. If possible, an interagency working group may be formed to collaborate and work on the results and present suggestions to the ILR Committees.

20. In Summary… DLIFLC has sponsored and organized a series of ILR listening summits in collaboration with ACTFL, held in Washington DC. More than 300 participants representing major stakeholders and user agencies academic organizations, and commercial partners met and discussed the ILR listening guidelines.

21. In Summary… The participants discussed, elaborated, and identified the salient features for ILR levels by sharing their expertise and experience as users of the ILR listening guidelines. The sessions that were held resulted in creating and collecting information about the linguistic and non-linguistic features and factors that impact the listening skill.

22. In Summary… The outcomes and the information will be published in a document “Supplementary Guidelines for Listening Comprehension”, available to the ILR community.

23. Thank you.