Common Core- 10/24/14

According to ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages), the common core standards fit nicely into the established foreign language standards already set forth by ACTFL. The ACTFL standards include the 5 C's: communication, cultures, connections, comparison and communities. ACTFL, the main governing body of foreign language education nationwide, published a document in reaction to the common core standards, that have been adopted by many states, in April 2012. This document seeks to make common core more applicable to the world language classroom and the world language teacher. The real question is how do they do this and is ACTFL successful in this endeavor?

The document begins by aligning the common core target areas with the ACTFL modes of communication and proficiency levels. Common core speaking and listening is fit into the interpersonal mode of communication, listening and reading aligned with the interpretative mode, speaking and writing aligned with the presentational mode and language is paired with the ACTFL proficiency levels. This graphic seeks to show where the common core standards can fit with tenets of the ACTFL foreign language teaching system.

The document then goes on to break down each section of reading, writing, listening and speaking according to the common core sections. The common core standards are then matched with the ACTFL standard or standards that mostly encompass what the common core standard expects. There are then suggestions of how to meet the common core standard at each proficiency level: novice, intermediate and advanced, in the foreign language classroom. 

  While I find ACTFL's attempt to link their standards with Common Core to be comprehensive, professional and well executed, the struggle begins when no new ACTFL standards were added to cover the vast categories provided by the Common Core for just language arts alone. Common Core standards were adapted by some states, such as Pennsylvania, and ACTFL did not account for these changes. I understand that to create a set of standards for each state would be too exhaustive and time consuming in a world where time is of the essence, however, ACTFL could have done a more complete job of adapting the standards to align with Common Core to keep foreign languages current in today's educational market. Perhaps ACTFL could create a guide that accounted for the major changes made by states and draft standards that adhered more closely to the Common Core Standards, that so foreign language teaching and learning would continue to grow with Mathematics and Language Arts. The disconnect between the ACTFL standards and the Common Core Standards sends the message that world language may not have a place within the Common Core. In an effort to establish foreign language as an important part of the educational system in creating global learners, more effort need to be made to include foreign language in the ever-changing educational world.