Mary Beth mentioned this tonight in a comment and we really need to know it. I think John mentioned it a few months ago. We just really need to know how this thing is just moving faster and faster into our laps every day. I would really like to see how a traditional book/computer based language instructor would react to this new ACTFL position statement of 7/30/12. I mean, what the heck can they say to this? (blue type mine – sorry, couldn’t resist).
Concerning the quip – I am calling it a quip – about classical languages, John actually addressed that here awhile back. I don’t doubt that this will again wake up the ire of a few of the Latinists like Maust or John again, and with very good reason, since they know something that ACTFL doesn’t.
Use of the Target Language in the Classroom
Research indicates that effective language instruction must provide significant levels of meaningful communication* and interactive feedback in the target language in order for students to develop language and cultural proficiency. The pivotal role of target-language interaction in language learning is emphasized in the K-16 Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century. ACTFL therefore recommends that language educators and their students use the target language as exclusively as possible (90% plus) at all levels of instruction during instructional time and, when feasible, beyond the classroom. In classrooms that feature maximum target-language use, instructors use a variety of strategies to facilitate comprehension and support meaning making. For example, they:
- provide comprehensible input that is directed toward communicative goals;
- make meaning clear through body language, gestures, and visual support;
- conduct comprehension checks to ensure understanding;
- negotiate meaning with students and encourage negotiation among students;
- elicit talk that increases in fluency, accuracy, and complexity over time;
- encourage self-expression and spontaneous use of language;
- teach students strategies for requesting clarification and assistance when faced with comprehension difficulties; and
- offer feedback to assist and improve students’ ability to interact orally in the target language.
*Communication for a classical language refers to an emphasis on reading ability and for American Sign Language (ASL) to signed communicative ability.
Here is the link to the above, and thanks again Mary Beth:
http://www.actfl.org/news/position-statements/use-the-target-language-the-classroom
