Framework and Standards

Between the Foreign Language Framework for California Public Schools and the CSET overview for Languages other than English, I definitely see discrepancies. The framework focuses more on what the students are able to do across five stages in language that increase in intensity. Stage 1 is at the most basic level, and really encompasses the first two years of study of a foreign language. In stage 1 students are able to have simple formulaic conversations, identify and use simple vocabulary words, and have some basic knowledge of grammar. If they have taken all four years of Spanish by the time students gradate high school, they are at best in level 2 perhaps even beginning stages of level 3. During their time in high school, students spend a large chunk of their time learning vocabulary, grammar rules, various tenses and how to construct sentences. History, culture, literature, and linguistics are sprinkled throughout the course of the year(s), but definitely take a back seat to the things aforementioned. The CSET focuses more on the history, culture, literature, and linguistics of the Spanish language and Spanish speaking countries as a whole. The overview of the CSET includes topics that my students rarely see or are exposed to during high school; topics that I did not see until college. The CSET focuses primarily what I, as the teacher, am expected to know but not necessarily what will be taught in the classroom. However, I know that to be able to meet the standards and move students through the framework stages, I need to be well rounded.

The world languages standards are present in all my lessons. Our standards are broad and can encompass many things.  For example; Content 1.0 Students acquire information, recognize distinctive viewpoints, and further their knowledge of other disciplines. If I am teaching a grammar topic it furthers their knowledge of that grammar topic in English or if I am teaching about a specific country I can include history, music, art, etc. I have a pacing guide at Pittsburg High School, but I can go about teaching those topics however I please. I have deviated from the pacing guide, but not so much the standards.

I find it difficult to dissect the framework and CSET overview into specific years of foreign language study, so instead I will examine stages 2 and 3. In stage 2 students are expected to go from formulaic language to created language. Here students are expected to have more original thought and are able to produce strings of sentences. One area that I focused a lot on this year was writing. I used activities in the textbooks, open ended questions and writing workshops. In the workshop the students write, edit, and peer edit before I see the writing. Then I read their writing and highlight all things that they did correctly.. I give it back, they edit again, I read it again and highlight in a different color and finally give them a score. They have the option to edit a third time for a better score.  For next year, I want to continue helping my student become more proficient writers so that they can easily transition through the stages. A few things I thought of are to play “live sentences” games. Each student is given a sheet of paper with a word on it and I ask them to create a sentence about a topic and they go up if it applies to them and try to create a correct sentence. I also want the students to create a book over the course of the year. Each chapter in their book will correlate, but it not limited to, the current chapter in the textbook. They will be expected to write a few sentences that include new vocabulary and new grammar structures. I am on the hunt for even more ideas. For stage 3 students are expected to produce paragraphs and have a stronger command of the language so they can plan out those paragraphs. This stage is reached in Spanish 4, AP Language and AP Literature. I think that to get to this stage students need to read, write and speak in equal amounts. I would like to find simple short stories to have students read starting from Spanish 1 and 2. I think it would be interesting to find many versions of one story that increase in rigor and read a different version each year. Since students read it in year 1, they have a basic understanding of the story, but would learn more vocabulary, grammar styles and culture as the story gets more complex. In general, I am looking for more ways to become a more effective instructor so the students can move through the stages as an appropriate pace.