Proficiency is about:
-How much can you communicate? (How much vocab do you know? What topics can you discuss or write about?)
-How easily can you communicate? (How much do you "halt" when you speak? Does your pronunciation and accent lend itself to understanding? When you write, do you have to look up every word?)
-In what way can you communicate? (How many verb tenses can you use? How accurate is your grammar?)
At Dakota Ridge, in World Language, we value the ACTFL scale (a simple diagram is on the left.) Though this is a simple graphic, there are more complicated sub-levels, as seen below. Do a quick self-assessment? Where do you fall?
-How much can you communicate? (How much vocab do you know? What topics can you discuss or write about?)
-How easily can you communicate? (How much do you "halt" when you speak? Does your pronunciation and accent lend itself to understanding? When you write, do you have to look up every word?)
-In what way can you communicate? (How many verb tenses can you use? How accurate is your grammar?)
At Dakota Ridge, in World Language, we value the ACTFL scale (a simple diagram is on the left.) Though this is a simple graphic, there are more complicated sub-levels, as seen below. Do a quick self-assessment? Where do you fall?
At Dakota Ridge, we aim to bring you to the "novice mid" level at the end of level 1, perhaps to "novice high" or "intermediate low" at the end of level 1 honors and/or level 2, perhaps with a few elements of "intermediate mid" abilities already apparent.
Most likely, you are finding that you don't fall into any of the boxes completely. That's okay. Proficiency is nebulous!
Most likely, you are finding that you don't fall into any of the boxes completely. That's okay. Proficiency is nebulous!
Apart from ACTFL, here is my "List of values," for ending your current year.
FRENCH 1
Tier 1: (Essential to be able to demonstrate, in order to move on)
-Meanings of all subject pronouns (je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles)
-Conjugation and use of être, avoir, aller, faire
-Conjugation of ER verbs, and having memorized about 20 verbs' meanings
-Using infinitives (especially after a conjugated verb)
-Understand that all nouns have a gender, and know some of the things that depend upon noun gender (such as adjective agreement, indefinite and definite articles)
-Possessive pronouns (my, your, his/her, our, their), even if your genders aren't quite accurate yet
-Question words and their meanings, and how to use "est-ce que"
-Answer basic questions (maybe slowly) with subject/verb/object, at least
-Principles of pronunciation (what to do with the letter "e," the "oi" and "eu" combinations, for example)
-Understand some cognates and familiar vocab when you see/hear them in discourse (for example, in a song or in movies)
-Meanings of some prepositions and conjunctions (à, de, avec, mais, et, parce que)
-Greet people and discuss family members, favorite activities, some places around town, some foods. Know how to be polite, discuss days of the week, months of the year, numbers 1-69, and ask for something you would like.
Tier 2: (Know how to do it with reminders, working your way towards consistent demonstration)
-Conjugation and use of vouloir and pouvoir
-Conjugation and use of RE verbs, plus prendre
-Conjugation and use of IR verbs (two groups)
-Near future (aller + infinitive)
-Adjective agreement
-Nuances of noun/adjective word order (including BAGS)
-Discuss the weather and seasons, school, how to get places, use numbers 70-100
-Compound sentences ("I like to bike when it's sunny. I go to school because I want to learn.")
Tier 3: (Recognize it when you see it, know why we do it, work toward demonstrating more often)
-Preposition combinations and le partitif (à/de, à la, au, aux, du de la des, etc.)
-Recent past (venir de + infinitive)
-Numbers beyond 100
FRENCH 1 HONORS/FRENCH 2
Tier 1: (Essential to be able to demonstrate, in order to move on)
-All of French 1, tier 1
-Near future (aller + infinitive)
-Adjective agreement, including possessive adjectives
-Noun/adjective word order
-Compound sentences
-Conjugation and use of vouloir, pouvoir, devoir
-Conjugation and use of RE verbs, plus prendre and mettre
-Conjugation and use of IR verbs (two or three groups)
-Passé composé with avoir, including irregular past participles été, eu, fait, voulu, pu, plus all regular ER, IR and RE verbs' past participles.
-Reflexive verbs in present tense, using je, tu, il/elle and maybe ils/elles
-What object pronouns are and their relationship to verbs (especially le, la, les, l')
-Give your opinion about style of clothing or décor, discuss the weather and seasons, cuisine, your daily routine, places you go, and get the hotel room you need/want.
-Negative expressions in present tense (jamais, rien, plus, personne, que)
Tier 2: (Know how to do it with reminders, working your way towards consistent demonstration)
-Passé composé with être
-Irregular past participles pris, mis
-Reflexive verbs in present tense, using nous & vous
-Reflexive verbs in passé composé, future proche (or with other verbs), and in command form
-Negative expressions jamais & rien in passé composé
-Direct versus indirect object pronouns (when to use lui/leur, and also me, te, nous, vous)
-All numbers
Tier 3: (Recognize it when you see it, know why we do it, work toward demonstrating more often)
-Imparfait for storytelling (setting the scene, basic overall description in the past)
-Negative expressions personne and que in passé composé
FRENCH 1
Tier 1: (Essential to be able to demonstrate, in order to move on)
-Meanings of all subject pronouns (je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles)
-Conjugation and use of être, avoir, aller, faire
-Conjugation of ER verbs, and having memorized about 20 verbs' meanings
-Using infinitives (especially after a conjugated verb)
-Understand that all nouns have a gender, and know some of the things that depend upon noun gender (such as adjective agreement, indefinite and definite articles)
-Possessive pronouns (my, your, his/her, our, their), even if your genders aren't quite accurate yet
-Question words and their meanings, and how to use "est-ce que"
-Answer basic questions (maybe slowly) with subject/verb/object, at least
-Principles of pronunciation (what to do with the letter "e," the "oi" and "eu" combinations, for example)
-Understand some cognates and familiar vocab when you see/hear them in discourse (for example, in a song or in movies)
-Meanings of some prepositions and conjunctions (à, de, avec, mais, et, parce que)
-Greet people and discuss family members, favorite activities, some places around town, some foods. Know how to be polite, discuss days of the week, months of the year, numbers 1-69, and ask for something you would like.
Tier 2: (Know how to do it with reminders, working your way towards consistent demonstration)
-Conjugation and use of vouloir and pouvoir
-Conjugation and use of RE verbs, plus prendre
-Conjugation and use of IR verbs (two groups)
-Near future (aller + infinitive)
-Adjective agreement
-Nuances of noun/adjective word order (including BAGS)
-Discuss the weather and seasons, school, how to get places, use numbers 70-100
-Compound sentences ("I like to bike when it's sunny. I go to school because I want to learn.")
Tier 3: (Recognize it when you see it, know why we do it, work toward demonstrating more often)
-Preposition combinations and le partitif (à/de, à la, au, aux, du de la des, etc.)
-Recent past (venir de + infinitive)
-Numbers beyond 100
FRENCH 1 HONORS/FRENCH 2
Tier 1: (Essential to be able to demonstrate, in order to move on)
-All of French 1, tier 1
-Near future (aller + infinitive)
-Adjective agreement, including possessive adjectives
-Noun/adjective word order
-Compound sentences
-Conjugation and use of vouloir, pouvoir, devoir
-Conjugation and use of RE verbs, plus prendre and mettre
-Conjugation and use of IR verbs (two or three groups)
-Passé composé with avoir, including irregular past participles été, eu, fait, voulu, pu, plus all regular ER, IR and RE verbs' past participles.
-Reflexive verbs in present tense, using je, tu, il/elle and maybe ils/elles
-What object pronouns are and their relationship to verbs (especially le, la, les, l')
-Give your opinion about style of clothing or décor, discuss the weather and seasons, cuisine, your daily routine, places you go, and get the hotel room you need/want.
-Negative expressions in present tense (jamais, rien, plus, personne, que)
Tier 2: (Know how to do it with reminders, working your way towards consistent demonstration)
-Passé composé with être
-Irregular past participles pris, mis
-Reflexive verbs in present tense, using nous & vous
-Reflexive verbs in passé composé, future proche (or with other verbs), and in command form
-Negative expressions jamais & rien in passé composé
-Direct versus indirect object pronouns (when to use lui/leur, and also me, te, nous, vous)
-All numbers
Tier 3: (Recognize it when you see it, know why we do it, work toward demonstrating more often)
-Imparfait for storytelling (setting the scene, basic overall description in the past)
-Negative expressions personne and que in passé composé