View Content #19800

by Julie Sykes, CASLS Director.

In 2014, the National Council of State Supervisors for Foreign Languages (NCSSFL) and the American Council of Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL) released the results of a collaborative effort towards aligning NCSSFL Linguafolio®/Can-Do Statements with ACTFL’s Language Proficiency Benchmarks.  The resulting cohesive document provides benchmarks for instructors in curriculum design that can be targeted at a variety of modes and levels, as well across all proficiency levels. The document can be found at: http://www.actfl.org/publications/guidelines-and-manuals/ncssfl-actfl-can-do-statements

NCSSFL also provides guidelines for using the Can-Do Statements in classroom instruction and classroom design. They suggest Linguafolio is especially useful for:

• Differentiated Instruction - using the Can-Do Statements as a diagnostic tool allows instructors to tailor instruction to the needs of their learners.
• Curriculum Design and Unit/Lesson Design -  the Can-Do's serve as benchmarks to set time-specific learning outcomes. (See an example application in this week’s Activity of the Week)
• Assessment - evaluation can be designed around a variety of assessment and evaluation needs.

More resources related to using the Can-Do statements in your classroom can be found on NCSSFL’s website and through CASLS’ professional development resources.

NCSSFL:  http://www.ncssfl.org/LinguaFolio/index.php?linguafolio_index

Linguafolio Online Network: http://lfonetwork.uoregon.edu

CASLS’ Linguafolio Online is a digital e-portfolio that includes the newly released NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements. For more information see: https://casls.uoregon.edu/pages/assessment/linguafolio.php