Buiding Proficient Language Speakers: a K-12 Model

Curriculum Information

	Building Proficient Language Speakers: a K-12 Model
	Curriculum Overview
	Lesson Sample

Building Proficient Language Speakers: a K-12 Model
Margaret Dyer
Japanese Curriculum Coordinator
Clarendon School, Japanese Program

Abstract
Discover how to build proficiency in your students by creating a continuous, sequential, cumulative and standards-based language program. Key elements are inspiring and empowering your students, collaborating with teachers, setting and achieving goals/objectives, evaluating your students and program. Sample curriculum outline, unit and lessons will be provided.

Mission Statement
It is our mission at Clarendon Elementary School to inspire our students to love learning Japanese language and culture and to empower them with confidence in their ability to communicate in Japanese.

One of the most important factors influencing the development of language proficiency is the amount of time spent in working with the language. When language learning begins earlier, it can go on longer and provide more practice and experience, leading ultimately to greater fluency... (Curtain and Pesola)

ACTFL's Performance Guidelines for K-12 Learners clearly shows that our students should be able to reach the intermediate high/preadvanced level when they complete a "sustained sequence of standards-based language instruction." Inherent in this statement is the necessity for teachers to communicate between levels and programs. Yet teachers already have so much on their plates creating their own curriculum and lessons, teaching students, correcting papers, not to mention the hours of additional school paperwork. How can we find time to build an articulated language program?

I will share our program model at Clarendon Elementary School Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program and describe how the K-12 Japanese teachers of San Francisco Unified School District make time to communicate, to share and to create a sequential Japanese program from kindergarten to 12th grade. In addition, I will present our curriculum overview with sample lessons and activities.

Japanese Program History in SFUSD
2002 is the 30th anniversary of the Japanese language program in San Francisco Unified School District. Our program was borne out of a strong desire of Japanese-American parents to keep their heritage language and culture alive for their children. The program has thrived for many years despite cuts in funding and lack of political support. Currently there are two elementary school, two middle school, and eight high school Japanese programs in our district. Altogether we have over 1500 students of Japanese.

Clarendon Japanese Program
Clarendon Elementary School’s Japanese Program is a content-enriched Foreign Language Elementary School (FLES) program. Our 15 classroom teachers are responsible for teaching Japanese and integrating the lessons with the core curriculum of SFUSD. The classroom teachers spend approximately 45 minutes per day, five days a week, giving instruction in Japanese. In addition to standards-based Japanese lessons, our teachers weave Japanese into their instruction of other subjects throughout the day.- The goals of a FLES program are: to acquire proficiency in listening and speaking; to acquire an understanding of and appreciation for another culture; and to aquire some proficiency in reading and writing. In order to be classified as FLES, a program must spend between 5-15% of class time in the foreign language with a minimum of 75 minutes per week. (Rhodes,Center for Applied Linguistics)

About 25% of our students are native speakers of Japanese. For those students, we provide heritage language classes at least once a week. These classes are taught by fully credentialed, native-speaking Japanese teachers. The purpose of the Heritage Language Class is to foster in these students a connection to their native language and culture while developing their linguistic competencies in Japanese. In Critical Issues in Early Second Language Learning: Building for Our Children’s Future, Russell Campbell of UCLA asserts:

It is our premise that [heritage language] students should all be given the opportunity to study their native language in a formal way in school. It is our contention that the competence that heritage language students bring to our schools should be viewed as an enormously valuable personal and national resource. This resource should be … nurtured and developed.

The Japanese Curriculum Office is the hub of resources and curriculum materials. We have three credentialed Japanese teachers on staff to support our heritage language program and to support the teachers in delivering Japanese instruction and curriculum development. I have the privilege of serving as the Curriculum Coordinator and Program Director. It is my responsibility to develop curriculum and materials, support teachers in foreign language instruction, hold workshops for SFUSD Japanese teachers, coordinate school-wide assessment of Japanese proficiency, liaison between elementary and secondary level teachers of Japanese and ensure that our Japanese program is clearly articulated from Kindergarten to twelfth grade.

Investment in Teachers
In 2001, we were awarded a three-year $500,000 Department of Education grant to develop a standards-based Japanese curriculum to be articulated K-12 within our district. This grant funds our curriculum office staff and supports teachers in staff development. Our teachers are strongly committed to delivering quality instruction in Japanese and to enhancing their skills in teaching Japanese. All of our teachers belong to the California Association of Japanese Language Teachers (CAJLT), the National Council of Japanese Language Teachers (NCJLT), the California Language Teachers’ Association (CLTA), and the National Network of Early Language Learners (NNELL). Through our grant teachers are able to attend conferences such as the Bay Area Foreign Language Program held at Stanford University, CLTA annual conference, ACTFL national conference and California Foreign Language Project Summer Institute. The teachers share what they have learned at the conferences with their colleagues at our bimonthly benkyoukai for SFUSD Japanese teachers. We are also able to develop and align curriculum at these benkyoukai.

In addition to attending conferences, we work closely with our colleagues to revise and to improve our own curriculum. We meet biweekly in grade-level teams to discuss curriculum, lessons, materials, assessment and student progress. We also use release days to develop curriculum and materials. Some days are devoted to grade-level meetings and others are across developmental levels to ensure articulation. We hold several curriculum meetings throughout the year to discuss school-wide cultural events, our curriculum and assessment.

Cross-School Projects
One of the keys to successful articulation is the commitment and camaraderie of the Japanese teachers in our district. Many of us are friends outside the classrooms/programs; therefore, we enjoy working together and supporting each other. Some examples of projects we have done together are:

Bunkasai and Oshougatsu events where high school students lead events for the elementary students.
Pen pal projects between elementary, middle and high school students
Bon odori performance by elementary and high school students at a high school assembly
Field trips of middle school students to high schools
Book reading and kami shibai presentation of high school students to elementary students
Teachers visiting and teaching “for a day” in other programs.

Assessment and Program Evaluation
We regularly assess our students to measure their progress in acquiring proficiency in Japanese. We use the Student Oral Proficiency Assessment (SOPA), the Fo reign Language Oral Skills Evaluation Matrix (FLOSEM), student portfolios, and the Heritage Language Placement Interview (HLPI). The SOPA is an oral interview created for K-8 students and designed to show what they can do in the target language. It consists of listening comprehension, informal questions, Total Physical Response (TPR) commands, and a description of a classroom scene. The FLOSEM, developed at Stanford University, is an assessment instrument based on teachers’ observations and analysis of student performance. The detailed rubric ranges from novice to native-speaker-like proficiency. For our portfolios, students collect samples of their work to show their progress in the language. We also include audiotapes of interviews and conversations. The portfolio is designed to follow the student through all six years of elementary school.

Finally, the HLPI was developed by our teachers to evaluate heritage language learners’ ability to understand and follow instructions in Japanese. Before we begin the heritage class each year, we have an oral interview placement test for students in first through fifth grade. Through this interview, we examine the students’ oral / aural skills in Japanese. Since nearly all instruction is given in Japanese in the heritage class, the interview contains listening comprehension and oral production questions. If the students’ language skills are at levels in which they demonstrate a need for the heritage class, based on these assessments, they are eligible to attend.

In addition to internal assessment, our program at Clarendon is evaluated externally by the California Foreign Language Project (CFLP) at Stanford University. CFLP measures teacher success, student progress and program effectiveness.

Communication with Parents
Regular communication with parents is another key element in our program. We publish monthly curriculum newsletters, hold parent information nights, and organize committees of parents to communicate information regarding our curriculum projects and cultural events. Our parents have a high level of participation and support, both in the classrooms and school-wide. We also conduct and annual survey of parents to measure their and the students’ opinions about our language program.

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