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- © Copyright 1997 California Foreign Language Project. All rights reserved
This Final Report summarizes the results of an evaluation study of selected elementary and secondary schools funded by the California Department of Education under the Foreign Language Assistance Act to develop model K - 12 programs in the teaching of less-commonly taught languages (LCTLs). Fourteen (14) projects at nineteen different school sites received a maximum of four years of funding to offer instruction in Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Korean and Russian. The evaluation of each model project was carried out by a team of language evaluators from Stanford University.
The evaluation design was guided by six instructional and evaluation questions regarding the teaching and learning of the target languages. The six questions addressed in this study were: (1) How can proficiency in the four language skills be assessed considering the diversity of languages, students' age, and teaching methods?; (2) Do students make reasonable progress in acquiring the language within a school year and across levels (e.g., Japanese 1 and Japanese 2) of instruction?; (3) How does motivation influence students' language proficiency attainment?; (4) How do parents' attitudes toward language study and their involvement influence students' language proficiency?, (5) Does students' ethnic heritage language background play a role in language study and proficiency development?, and (6) What challenges and difficulties do teachers and administrators experience in teaching of the LCTLs.
The Evaluation Team developed an evaluation strategy that relied heavily on teacher collaboration in working with students to develop language portfolios and in periodic rating of student oral proficiency. The evaluation also depended on student cooperation on numerous tasks ranging from preparing audio or video tapes for their portfolio to consenting to be interviewed in the language that they were learning. Parents also contributed through their completion of a survey questionnaire.
A multi-method approach was adopted for the collection of language proficiency information on students. These methods included: a language portfolio, an oral proficiency rating scale (Stanford Foreign Language Oral Skills Evaluation Matrix), an oral interview (Classroom Oral Competency Interview), and a self-assessment of proficiency in four language skills (Sung Language Assessment Questionnaire). In addition, there was a student questionnaire which contained questions regarding motivation for studying the language, learning strategies, parental involvement in students' language study, and background information on age, gender, and ethnic heritage language. The questionnaire was administered to all students beginning with the fourth grade. A questionnaire was also sent home to the parents of all students in the various language programs. The parent survey asked information on attitudes toward second language learning, involvement in child's language study, and background information on gender, language study, and ethnicity.
The information that was collected for this evaluation study was extensive. Over 200 language portfolios were assembled by teachers and students in school year 1994-95, and again in 1995-96. Evaluation Team members reviewed these 400 portfolios and prepared summaries of the level of language proficiency evident by the work found in the portfolios. In addition, teachers provided Stanford FLOSEM ratings on over 1,200 students during both school years. The data base included two years of FLOSEM language ratings on 569 continuing students, representing all of the language programs. Another 708 high school students provided self-ratings of their language proficiency on two separate instruments (the Stanford FLOSEM and the Sung Language Assessment Questionnaire). Members of the Evaluation Team administered the Classroom Oral Competency Interview (COCI) to 375 students. Over 1,200 students from the 4th through the 12th grade completed the student survey questionnaire. To complement the student information, surveys were completed by nearly 1,600 parents with children from kindergarten through the 12th grade. Finally, information was gathered from 16 teachers and 8 administrators about challenges to teaching LCTLs and strategies for maintaining their program once the FLAAP grant terminated.
After analyzing all of the available data, the Evaluation Team was impressed with the acquisition achieved by students in the LCTLs. Careful scrutiny of all of the portfolios available to the Evaluation Team led us to the conclusion that student portfolios which included written and oral samples of work in a foreign language class provided powerful evidence that students were achieving adequate mastery across the four language skill areas within one school year and also across levels of instruction. Other forms of language assessment [teacher FLOSEM ratings, student self-ratings on the FLOSEM and the Sung Language Assessment Questionnaire, and COCIs] showed that language development in the LCTL occurred within a school year and across levels of instruction with students' attaining increasing competence in the language of instruction. The data also showed that students from the same ethnic heritage background as the language studied were able to attain higher levels of proficiency than non-ethnic heritage students.
Findings from the student and parent survey were also very important in enabling the Evaluation Team to identify important relationships that influence language learning. For example, motivation [instrumental/integrative] to learn a LCTL played an important role in students' acquisition of the language. However, other considerations such as grade level, gender, ethnic heritage status, opportunity to use the language outside of the classroom, and parental involvement often exerted more influence in language proficiency than motivation alone.
Although we were not surprised as evaluators by the finding that ethnic heritage language plays a critical role in the learning of the languages studied, it is very important that language educators keep this fact in mind when they plan and implement foreign language programs in the LCTLs. For example, ethnic heritage students reported greater reliance on outside classroom use of the language which significantly correlated with greater oral proficiency. Another important finding was the significance of parent-reported involvement in their child's language study. The different statistical approaches taken in our analyses all revealed the important role played by parents when students enroll in a LCTL program. The role of parents is even salient when examined from the perspective of ethnic heritage parents. Those parents who reported that they were more involved in their children's language study, in turn, had children who attained high oral language proficiency ratings from their teachers.
Turning to the administration of the FLAAP programs, there was considerable variation in how they were managed at each site. However, all teachers and administrators felt that support from the FLAAP grant had been essential in the development and/or strengthening of their program. Teachers and administrators all acknowledged numerous challenges in the implementation of their program. The challenges ranged from an absence of curriculum and materials to certificated teachers. Teachers and administrators stated that without the grant it would have been very difficult to overcome some of the challenges posed in teaching a LCTL at their schools. Teachers and administrators both believed that students were interested in the program at their school, and that to a lessor extent the program was supported by parents. However, teachers perceived moderate to little support for their program from their principal, school superintendent, and school board. However, this did not deter teachers from their efforts to have a strong language program. Finally, teachers and administrators indicated that their programs would continue in some way even without grant funds, but that it would be difficult to sustain the same type of activity without the support that the grant provided. However, it is important to mention in conclusion that nearly all teachers expected that they would continue teaching a LCTL even without FLAAP grant support.
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