2)b Where the Standards Take Us

Question 0

NOW: student pair and group work

Answer 0

FUTURE: tasks that provide opportunities for students to negotiate meaning, engage in language play, and develop interactional competence (e.g., ability to manage discussion)

Question 1

NOW: concept of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, writing

Answer 1

FUTURE: communication in three modes to mirror real communication and to emphasize the purpose of communication

Question 2

NOW: oral teacher-to-student exchanges that are communicative in nature

Answer 2

FUTURE: purposeful goal-oriented talk that is intellectually meaningful and stimulating (i.e., encourages students to ask questions, expand on their talk, take multiple turns in conversation)

Question 3

NOW: Grammar as a component of communication rather than an end itself

Answer 3

FUTURE: grammar that serves communication needs

Question 4

NOW: use of authentic materials and commercially produced materials organized around communicative topics or situations

Answer 4

FUTURE: a central focus on the development of interpretation skills, which are pivotal to acquiring new information, cultural knowledge, and connections to other disciplines and target-language communities

Question 5

NOW: classroom activities that are purposeful and meaningful

Answer 5

FUTURE: a central role for inquiry-based activities such as cultural investigations, authentic text exploration, and research- and technology-based projects (previously considered unit add-on’s and/or supplemental)

Question 6

NOW: classroom environment that focuses on meaningful communication

Answer 6

FUTURE: classroom environment that fosters a sociocultural community of learners engaged in meaning making and acquiring knowledge through foreign language

Question 7

NOW: integration of various aspects of culture into language learning

Answer 7

FUTURE: approach to culture that emphasizes a constructivist approach to exploring the connection of cultural products and practices to their philosophical perspectives, enabling learners to develop more relevant cultural insights into the target language and their own

Question 8

NOW: ways of measuring student learning that focus on performance, on knowledge in use

Answer 8

FUTURE: performance assessments that are integrated with instruction and learning, go beyond paper-and-pencil test formats, and have an expanded role in determining student progress in meeting the standards.