WORLD LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

  • On April 29, 2024, the Board of Education was presented with the revised curriculum that has been in development since fall 2022.  Below are summary highlights of what was presented to the Board of Education.

    Value Statements

    • Our program needs to be driven and measured by the ACTFL Proficiency standards.

    • Students must be linguistically, socially, and culturally equipped to communicate successfully and demonstrate understanding, acceptance, and respect in our multilingual, multicultural world. Instruction should be inclusive of diverse groups of people.

    • The curriculum should be designed using a backward design. Thematic (content, not grammar-based) units of study should be authentic, relevant, and applicable to an outside-of-the-classroom setting to promote future readiness. Grammar instruction should complement the thematic unit, not drive it.

    • Students should be exposed to resources, assessments, and classroom experiences that are authentic and simulate real-life, relevant situations.

    • The scope and sequence of the curriculum should be fluid and continuous through the K-12 program and across languages by working as a collaborative team of educators.

    • Instruction should be conducted in the target language when appropriate, using language that is comprehensible to students.

     

    Research Summary

    The team reviewed a variety of resources as part of the curriculum review process including Wisconsin state standards and best practice research. It should be noted that the review of research tries to be as comprehensive as possible; therefore, articles and resources that have been reviewed may or may not have been taken into consideration when making review recommendations. Below are the research summary findings that were taken into consideration for curriculum revisions.

    • Research continues to show benefits of language learning ase a central part of any curriculum due to globalization of the world’s economy and language learning has been shown to greatly enhance student performance across the curriculum.

    • Through world language instruction, students should experience language, culture, and content first-hand; students should be learning about themselves and their world by examining another culture and its language.

    • Recommended instructional strategies include: students learning to use the language rather than learning about the language; communicative activities are given priority; grammar is taught in the context of other meaningful activities; and students should be examining authentic cultural resources

    • Better technology with translation continues to be a threat in the World Language classroom. Correct use of technology needs to be embedded into lessons & curriculum so that kids know how to use these tools to their advantage without using them inappropriately.

     

    Access to Curriculum

    To access curriculum unit plans for the Pewaukee School District please click HERE to enter our curriculum warehouse.  You may search for specific grade level, subject area, and/or course(s). 

     

    World Language Documents: