Purposes: 1) Develop understanding of ACTFL Guidelines as widely-used standards of language proficiency. 2) Prepare for later activities in test creation / administration. 3) Prepare for discussions of curriculum design and program assessment.

Outline: You'll be recalling times when you used one of your non-native languages, and comparing your memories to the profiles in the ACTFL Guidelines for Speaking Proficiency.

Product: A one-page (single-spaced) document that states a proficiency evaluation and provides anecdotal evidence to support it.

Procedure:
1) Choose which one of your non-native languages your are going to evaluate. If you speak several other language, choose one in which you are not particularly fluent; for example, if you teach French, do NOT evaluate your French. On the other hand, avoid a language where, for example, you can only say Hello and Good-bye, count to 10, and say a few food items. If you truly do not speak another language than English, even on a relatively modest level, find a person who can serve as your surrogate. This person must be able to recollect in some detail situations in which his or her non-native language was used communicatively, and must be able to answer, in a non-specialist way, your follow-up questions about details of vocabulary and grammar.
2) Follow this link to the precise specifications for collecting and rating your "sample". When you write up your rating, it may help you to imagine that you are formulating your evaluation to be read by someone who does not speak your "sample" language but who does know something about language teaching.

Evaluation: The following link is to the scoring guide for this assignment. If you read the scoring guide before you complete your assignment, you will know exactly what to do to get the score and grade you want.

About the language you write: English is preferred; if that is your native language, use it. If English is not your native language, you may use any of the following without further consideration: Spanish, French, or German. If Prof. Kuehlhorn approves), you may use Hindi. For other languages, ask us.

EMAIL this assignment. Do NOT write or print it out and hand it in. Use the address that you want your instructor to use to contact you during this course. If you do not have your own internet provider and email service, you should get PSU internet and email access (“Odin”) right away (<www.account.pdx.edu>), or arrange some other email and internet service.

Problems? If you do not understand the terms of this assignment, or for some other reason encounter some obstacle in carrying it out, contact the course instructors. Such contact, at least until the process is abused, will count as "on-time" completion of the activity.