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Name of the activity: Intercultural Classroom: Activity 14： Let’s go together.
– Activity steps:
Let students engage in a collaborative travel planning exercise that promotes cultural understanding and collective decision-making. At first, students complete a travel plan sheet to design their own dream trip to a (culturally diverse) country. Students should consider various aspects, such as accommodation, transportation, unique destinations to visit, and descriptions of the culture in their chosen country.Then, students share their individual travel plans within small groups, encouraging discussion and exchanging ideas. Have the small groups create a comprehensive “Great Travel Plan” incorporating teammates’ preferences. This can help highlight the importance of diverse perspectives, exploring different accommodation options, and acknowledging some cultural and individual perspectives while reaching group decisions.
At the end of the activity, students can reflect and contemplate the challenges encountered while reaching a great travel plan together. They may also recognize the importance of teamwork and collaboration in effectively resolving different opinions and developing a big travel plan together. Through this activity, students may cultivate an awareness of cultural diversity and grasp the essence of collective thinking and collaboration in the context of travel planning.
3, What modifications or changes do you want to make, and why? I would narrow the travel plan locations to China and the United States. If I have more students, I will divide students into two locations: China and The United States. Students can plan trips to China and The United States, by doing so, they can get familiar with some cities or places in China more and also apply their life experiences and prior knowledge about traveling in the US. When they make the presentations, they can also compare different groups’ travel plans to China and the United States.
Thank you, Ms. Lin, for providing clear and brief descriptions and the registration fees (if any) for each assessment mentioned above. Also, thank you, Ms. Luo, for pointing out the practical matters about the district’s priority regarding where or how to spend or provide money. If the public schools don’t have the additional money to support students to take some good assessments, then perhaps not so many students will take them and get benefits from them. I also like AAPPL designed for 3rd-12th grade students.
On the other hand, regarding training for AAPPL directly, even though AAPPL is a computer-based assessment, the Speaking and writing parts still need people (native speakers of the target language preferred) as raters. As far as I know, ACTFL regularly provides ongoing training and support to their raters.
– Who are you evaluating? (Age group? Heritage or non-heritage? Languages for specific purposes? etc.
I am teaching Chinese levels 1 to 3 for 9-12 graders (15-19 years old) for a US public high school online. Most of my students in the high school are non-Chinese heritage students. I also teach 4-6 graders and adult students in a Chinese heritage school. According to ACTFL’S OPI, my high school students’ levels are between Novice low to Intermediate low. My 4-6 graders and adult students’OPI levels are between Novice mid to Intermediate mid. ACTFL’s OPI is suggested to be taken by people 18 years old or older, partly maybe because the intermediate high or above levels; the test takers may be expected to answer questions in a border range (according to ACTFL’s inverted pyramid OPI Level scales), and give their personal opinions and supporting ideas to show their critical thinking, etc., that may require a certain level of maturity and some topics maybe also not so relevant to K-12 students’ lives and interests. Thus, I would recommend my adult students to take the ACTFL OPI only, but as a teacher, I can have ACTFL’s OPI proficiency assessment approach in mind and introduce it to my 9 to 12th-grade students as a long-term goal.
Here I would focus on evaluating and recommending The ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages, AAPPL, to my Chinese Level 2 and Level 3, 10-12 grade non-Chinese heritage students in high school, even though I think my 4-6 grade students in a Chinese heritage school could be suitable to take it, too.
According to ACTFL and its related training workshops, The AAPPL is typically appropriate and specially designed for Grades 3 – 12. I like ACTFL’s 5Cs and three modes of communication, and “The AAPPL assesses language performance and proficiency via all three modes of communication (Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational) as described in the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages.” The AAPPL approach, from performance to proficiency, probably sounds like an ideal concept and a goal that could be hard to reach. However, with different levels of assessment forms provided and designed by AAPPL for different grade levels and language proficiency, step by step, over time, by taking the assessments and using them to adjust learning and teaching, perhaps students and teachers could both make some good progress.
– What language skills need to be evaluated?
Three modes of communication include listening, speaking, reading, and writing. When teaching, I like to take them into consideration in my teaching activities and assessments. “AAPPL comprises four components, proficiency ranges, and performance ratings are provided for each.” AAPPL includes the following four parts:
1. Interpretive Listening (IL)
2. Interpretive Reading (IR)
3. Interpersonal Listening & Speaking (ILS)
4. Presentational Writing (PW)The good part that I like about AAPPL is test takers can choose which part mentioned above to take and can take them separately on different dates. With the options, I would mainly recommend my Chinese Level 2 and Level 3 high school students and Chinese heritage 4-6 grade students to take the Interpretive Listening (IL) and/or Interpersonal Listening & Speaking (ILS) first. I like students to take assessments to build them up more and take that assessment experiences and outcomes as learning, improving, and setting goals opportunities.
– Does it require special training for people who will administer this specific assessment platform?
For administering, I don’t think so. AAPPL is a computer-based assessment, and before the test, test takers can go through the pretty thorough guidance on the computer. And the assessment outcomes/reports, as far as I know, are pretty clear and provide useful suggestions to students. Educators and school administrators can access general reports, guidance, explanations, and charts as references. Overall, AAPPL has a pretty organized reporting system that makes it easier to monitor learners’ assessment outcomes, progress in different language areas, and growth over time, and can be useful to help The world language program, teachers, and students to make more reasonable and achievable teaching and learning goals from performance to proficiency.– Who are you evaluating? (Age group? Heritage or non-heritage? Languages for specific purposes? etc.
I am teaching Chinese levels 1 to 3 for 9-12 graders (15-19 years old) for a US public high school online. Most of my students in the high school are non-Chinese heritage students. I also teach 4-6 graders and adult students in a Chinese heritage school. According to ACTFL’S OPI, my high school students’ levels are between Novice low to Intermediate low. My 4-6 graders and adult students’OPI levels are between Novice mid to Intermediate mid. ACTFL’s OPI is suggested to be taken by people 18 years old or older, partly maybe because the intermediate high or above levels; the test takers may be expected to answer questions in a border range (according to ACTFL’s inverted pyramid OPI Level scales), and give their personal opinions and supporting ideas to show their critical thinking, etc., that may require a certain level of maturity and some topics maybe also not so relevant to K-12 students’ lives and interests. Thus, I would recommend my adult students to take the ACTFL OPI only, but as a teacher, I can have ACTFL’s OPI proficiency assessment approach in mind and introduce it to my 9 to 12th-grade students as a long-term goal.
Here I would focus on evaluating and recommending The ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages, AAPPL, to my Chinese Level 2 and Level 3, 10-12 grade non-Chinese heritage students in high school, even though I think my 4-6 grade students in a Chinese heritage school could be suitable to take it, too.
According to ACTFL and its related training workshops, The AAPPL is typically appropriate and specially designed for Grades 3 – 12. I like ACTFL’s 5Cs and three modes of communication, and “The AAPPL assesses language performance and proficiency via all three modes of communication (Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational) as described in the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages.” The AAPPL approach, from performance to proficiency, probably sounds like an ideal concept and a goal that could be hard to reach. However, with different levels of assessment forms provided and designed by AAPPL for different grade levels and language proficiency, step by step, over time, by taking the assessments and using them to adjust learning and teaching, perhaps students and teachers could both make some good progress.
– What language skills need to be evaluated?
Three modes of communication include listening, speaking, reading, and writing. When teaching, I like to take them into consideration in my teaching activities and assessments. “AAPPL comprises four components, proficiency ranges, and performance ratings are provided for each.” AAPPL includes the following four parts:
1. Interpretive Listening (IL)
2. Interpretive Reading (IR)
3. Interpersonal Listening & Speaking (ILS)
4. Presentational Writing (PW)The good part that I like about AAPPL is test takers can choose which part mentioned above to take and can take them separately on different dates. With the options, I would mainly recommend my Chinese Level 2 and Level 3 high school students and Chinese heritage 4-6 grade students to take the Interpretive Listening (IL) and/or Interpersonal Listening & Speaking (ILS) first. I like students to take assessments to build them up more and take that assessment experiences and outcomes as learning, improving, and setting goals opportunities.
– Does it require special training for people who will administer this specific assessment platform?
For administering, I don’t think so. AAPPL is a computer-based assessment, and before the test, test takers can go through the pretty thorough guidance on the computer. And the assessment outcomes/reports, as far as I know, are pretty clear and provide useful suggestions to students. Educators and school administrators can access general reports, guidance, explanations, and charts as references. Overall, AAPPL has a pretty organized reporting system that makes it easier to monitor learners’ assessment outcomes, progress in different language areas, and growth over time, and can be useful to help The world language program, teachers, and students to make more reasonable and achievable teaching and learning goals from performance to proficiency.
