4. Today’s Agenda
• Definition – the interpretive mode
• Importance of the interpretive mode
• Materials for the interpretive mode
• Interpretive mode throughout the curriculum
• Demonstration of teaching strategies
• Written and audio examples
• Teacher resources
5. Focus on Communication – the 5 C’s
• Language courses are designed around an
overarching premise:
When communicating,
language students demonstrate an understanding of the
culture(s),
incorporate interdisciplinary topics (connections),
make comparisons between the native language and the target
language and between cultures
while extending learning experiences from the language
classroom to the home and far beyond (communities).
8. Communication Modes
Interpersonal Communication
Active negotiation of meaning among individuals through conversation
(face-to-face or telephonic); however, it can also be realized through
reading and writing (e.g., exchange of personal letters, notes, summaries
or e-mails)
Presentational Communication
Creation of spoken or written communication prepared for an audience
and rehearsed, revised or edited before presentation; one-way
communication that requires interpretation by others without negotiation
of meaning
Interpretive Communication
No active negotiation of meaning with another individual, although there
is an active negotiation of meaning construction; includes the cultural
interpretation of text, movies, radio, television and speeches
=
10. Ultimate Goal
• No matter what level of language that we are
teaching, we should keep in mind that we are
moving towards pre-advanced to advanced
language learning.
ex. Advanced Placement courses that are
offered in the majority of our schools.
11. AP EXAM OVERVIEW
Section I (Interpretive Communication)
Multiple-choice (50% of total score): 65 items in 9 sets
4 reading
2 listening and reading combined
3 listening
Section 2 (Interpersonal and Presentational Communication)
Free-Response (50% of total score): 4 items
Interpersonal Writing
Presentational Writing
Interpersonal Speaking
Presentational Speaking
12. Interpretive
65%
Interpretive Skills on the AP exam
THE GOAL – From the introductory level, introduce interpretive mode
(activities, practices, assessments) and increase the interpretive focus to reach
this percentage.
13. How do you decide upon the
content of your curriculum?
14. Step one in Content Design
• Identify, create and design your units
– The current trend is to be inspired from the six
themes that guide AP structure
17. Step two in Content Design
• Select appropriate materials
18. AUTHENTIC MATERIALS
MUST BE USED THROUGHOUT
YOUR PROGRAM
• Exposure to authentic materials begins day one of year one!
• Scaffolding these materials through the various levels of your
program builds proficiency
• The rich diversity of these materials will energize your lessons
and engage students
19. AUTHENTIC MATERIALS
ARE...
• those designed for native speakers. They are real
text designed not for language students, but for
the speakers of the language in question. (Nunan)
• stretches of real language, produced by a real
speaker or writer for a real audience and designed
to carry a real message. (Harmer)
• “appropriate” and “quality” in terms of goals,
objectives, learner needs and interest and “natural”
in terms of real life and meaningful communication.
(Rogers)
27. Essential Factors
• Comprehensibility and relevance are two key
factors when selecting materials
• Authentic materials “open the door” to
interpretive mode engagement on the part of
the student
28. Decisions, Decisions…
• How do you select reading and
listening materials for your varied
classes?
• What are the most important
features that each resource must
have?
30. Listening – An Overview
• Think of when you learned language – was
listening given equal time? What changed?
• Which of the 3 modes involves listening?
• Does listening involve a variety of language?
• Is listening a passive skill?
• Why use authentic materials for listening
comprehension?
°
35. Listening Summary
• The ACTFL “Can Do” benchmarks are
practical descriptions of what our
students can do at the various levels of
language learning. They are truly
helpful in that they let us know where
our students should be along the
pathway to proficiency.
°
36. Novice Level - Listening
• I can recognize a few memorized words and
phrases when I hear them spoken.
• I can recognize some familiar words and phrases
when I hear them spoken.
• I can often understand words, phrases, and
simple sentences related to everyday life. I can
recognize pieces of information and sometimes
understand the main topic of what is being said.
37. Isolated words
Words and phrases
Discrete sentences
Strings of sentences
Connected sentences
Single paragraphs
Novice
Advanced
Intermediate
Proficiency Levels
★
44. Pre-listening
• Identify the purpose of the task
• Predictive activity based on title, speakers
• Cultural background
• Vocabulary resources – key words
• Set expectations
– Comprehension
– Main / Supporting ideas
– Potential tasks
45. Pre-listening - part 2
• Looking at pictures, maps, diagrams, maps
• Review vocabulary or grammatical structures
• Reading something relevant
• Constructing semantic webs (a graphic
arrangement of concepts or words to show
how they are related)
• Predicting the content of the listening passage
• Going over the directions for the activity
46. Listening guidelines
• Global Comprehension – understanding the general ideas /
meaning
– Holistic listening – listening to the whole text
• Segmental listening – listening to specific pieces
• Multiple listening opportunities
• Set optimal conditions for student comprehension
• Appropriate length (2-3 minute maximum)
47. Segmental listening
• Segmental listening – zeroing in on particular segments
of the text
• This step occurs after students acquire global
comprehension
• It supports obtaining more detailed information
• It involves guessing the meaning of words and
expressions
• It can lead to the examination of certain grammatical
structures
• If material is available online, students can concentrate
on global comprehension in class then practice intense
listening at home
48. Sample “while listening” activities
• Listening with visuals
• Filling in graphs and charts
• Following a route on a map
• Checking off items in a list
• Listening for the gist
• Searching for specific clues to meaning
• Completing cloze (fill in) exercises
• Distinguishing between formal and informal
register
49. Post - Listening
• Re-telling the main ideas
• Asking questions
• Expressing opinions
• Discussing likes / dislikes
• Writing a review / summary
• Writing a letter to the speaker
53. Your job…
• Watch and listen to a short ad
• Be prepared to brainstorm the following:
– Pre-listening activities
– Post listening, including formative assessments
and creative language activities
Let’s do these jobs for a second year language class
55. Scaffolding - Interpretive focus
• Scaffold this ad for various levels: consider
possible questions, observations, discussions
points and vocabulary.
• Under which of the six major themes could
this ad fit?
58. Reading – An Overview
• Think of when you learned language – was
reading given equal time? What has changed
and why?
• Which of the 3 modes does reading include?
• Should reading involve a variety of language?
• Is reading a passive skill?
• Why use authentic materials for reading
comprehension?
59. The Challenges of Reading
• Level Appropriate Resources
• Length of Resource
• Student Preparation
• Idiomatic Written Language
• Vocabulary and differences in vocabulary
• Follow up Activities
• Assessment
°
60. Reading by ACTFL Levels
°
NOVICE - Readers can understand key words and cognates, as well as
formulaic phrases that are highly contextualized. Readers are able to get
a limited amount of information from highly predictable texts in which
the topic or context is very familiar, such as a hotel bill, a credit card
receipt or a weather map
INTERMEDIATE - Readers can understand information conveyed in
simple, predictable, loosely connected texts. Readers rely heavily on
contextual clues. They can most easily understand information if the
format of the text is familiar, such as in a weather report or a social
announcement. Readers are able to understand texts that convey basic
information such as that found in announcements, notices, and online
bulletin boards and forums.
61. Reading by ACTFL Levels
°
ADVANCED – Readers can understand the main idea and
supporting details of authentic narrative and descriptive
texts. Readers are able to compensate for limitations by
using contextual clues. Comprehension is likewise
supported by knowledge of the conventions of the
language (e.g., noun/adjective agreement, verb
placement, etc.).
62. ACTFL Can Do Statements
• Novice I can recognize a few letters or characters. I
can identify a few memorized words and phrases when I
read.
• Intermediate I can understand the main idea of short and
simple texts when the topic is familiar.
• Advanced I can understand the main idea and some
supporting details on a variety of topics of personal and
general interest. I can follow stories and descriptions of
some length and in various time frames and genres.
68. Reading Resources
• Children’s story books
• Simple poems and
rhymes
• Charts, maps,
statistics
• Magazine articles
• Promotional
materials,
advertisements
• Excerpts from literary
works
69. Reading Challenges
Post- reading activities for all level readers could include
Retelling the main ideas – Summary
Answering and asking questions
Expressing opinions on persuasion or impact of the selection
71. Segmental Reading - Chunking
• Segmental reading – zeroing in on particular
segments of the text
• This step occurs after students acquire global
comprehension
• It supports obtaining more detailed information
• It involves guessing the meaning of words and
expressions
Segmental Reading helps students to focus…
72. Step-by-Step Reading
Step 1: Pre-reading activity
- Present new vocabulary
- Present culture background
Step 2: Reading followed by formative assessment
- Literal comprehension
Step 3: Post-reading follow up with higher order skills
activities:
- Write a summary
- Provide a cultural comparison
73. Pre- Advanced – Advanced
4th and/or 5th year
Un día de esos
Gabriel García Márquez
Espuma y nada más
Hernando Téllez
74. The stories
• Conflict between two adversaries
• Personal battle vs. community battle
• Vengeance - Revenge
76. Setting the Stage
• What would a dentist’s office look like in or
before 1962 in Columbia?
• What is a barber shop like?
• Who has been shaved or has seen someone
being shaved in a barber shop?
77. Pre-Reading
Essential Questions – Stimulating and Engaging
Vocabulary – Minimal but Guiding
Author(s) – Introduction
What is important to this story?
78. Pre-Reading
• Essential Questions
– What makes a man a hero?
– Is authority a good or bad force?
– Can you keep your emotion out of the job you
have to do?
79. While Reading
• Concentrating on actions of the story
• Focus on similarities and differences
• Cultural references
• Reflect back to the essential questions
80. As we finish Reading
• Create both formative and summative
questions for discussion
• Create both literal and interpretive questions
for discussion
81. Post Reading
• Final Summative Activity
• Presentational – Spoken or Written
• IPA – Culmination of a unit
• Comparative essay
– ¿Puedes relatar el conflicto entre los personajes de estos
cuentos con una situación que has experimentado en tu vida?
• Persuasive essay
– ¿Quién es el héroe verdadero de estos cuentos?
82. Benefits of Reading
Benefits to students acquired from reading throughout
your curriculum:
Vocabulary and comprehension skill building
Exposure to authentic simple texts leading to
authentic literary texts
Understanding of cultures – comparisons and
connections
83. Interpretive Summary
According to the ACTFL World Readiness
Standards under Interpretive skills…
Interpretive Communication: Learners
understand, interpret, and analyze what is
heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics.
=
84. What does this mean for our
curriculum?
Exposure and practice with elements of the
interpretive mode is an on-going procedure that
begins at the very first level and continues
throughout our programs.
85. In Summary…
• Your questions and comments
• edweiss.org
– French resources
Spanish and Italian links
Editor's Notes
The three modes of communication defined by the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century are foundational to the AP® French Language and Culture course.
Ask: How do you approach the three modes of communication in your current instruction?
You may also want to ask participants: How would you define “negotiation of meaning”?
The AP curriculum framework describes six primary learning objectives within the three modes. They identify what students should know and be able to do across the three modes of communication.
