NBPTS EAYA World Languages cheat sheet

Krashen's input hypothesis holds that acquisition occurs when learners comprehend input slightly beyond current competence (i+1), not when input is merely difficult.

Cummins distinguishes BICS (conversational fluency, typically 1-3 years to develop) from CALP (academic language proficiency, typically 5-7 years), so a student fluent in the hallway may still struggle with academic text.

Interlanguage is the learner's evolving internal grammar; errors are evidence of rule formation, not defective copying, and systematic errors show the rule the learner currently applies.

Transfer from L1 can be positive (cognates, shared rhetorical patterns) or negative (false cognates, differing article or gender systems); diagnosing the source predicts which errors will persist.

Affective filter: anxiety, low motivation, and low self-confidence raise the filter and block intake; low-stress, high-challenge tasks lower it without lowering rigor.

Learners with interrupted formal education need literacy scaffolding in the L1 or L2 before grade-level content demands, since gaps reflect schooling history, not ability.

Heritage and home-language learners differ from world-language novices in prior oral proficiency, so placement should assess all modes, not only reading and writing.

Developmental stages of second-language writing (pre-production, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, advanced fluency) guide expectations for output length and complexity.

Interpersonal communication is spontaneous two-way negotiation of meaning in speaking or writing; the interlocutors jointly construct the exchange rather than deliver rehearsed text.

Interpretive tasks involve one-way reception of a text with no negotiation; presentational tasks involve one-way production for an audience with no immediate feedback - do not label a dialogue as interpersonal if it is memorized.

ACTFL proficiency levels for interpersonal speaking: Novice (formulaic, list-like, reliant on memorized phrases), Intermediate (sentence-level, asks and answers simple questions, survives predictable topics), Advanced (paragraph-level, narrates and describes in major time frames), Superior (extended discourse, supports opinion, handles unfamiliar topics).

The three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, presentational) are separate goal areas; a single lesson can address several but each is assessed differently.

Politeness conventions, formality registers (tu/vous, tú/usted, du/Sie, keigo), and honorifics are culture-bearing grammar, not decoration; teaching register is teaching culture.

Repair strategies (clarification requests, circumlocution, paraphrasing) are markers of communicative competence; a learner who paraphrases around a gap is performing at a higher level than one who stops.

Task design for interpersonal assessment should include an information gap or opinion gap so that both parties must exchange unrehearsed meaning.

Cultural products, practices, and perspectives (the 3 Ps) frame culture teaching; an interpersonal exchange about a practice should surface the underlying perspective, not just the behavior.

Interpretive communication is receptive: listening, reading, or viewing authentic texts, with comprehension demonstrated without negotiating with the author.

Authentic texts are created by and for native speakers for a real purpose, not written to teach a grammar point; they include menus, podcasts, infographics, and news.

Scaffolding authentic texts should proceed from global comprehension (main idea, purpose, audience) to specific detail to inference, not from vocabulary list to translation.

ACTFL interpretive listening and reading levels: Novice interprets isolated words and memorized phrases; Intermediate understands sentence-level main ideas on familiar topics; Advanced understands paragraph-length connected text with some inference; Superior comprehends abstract and culturally embedded text.

Advance organizers, pre-reading schema activation, and glossing of only high-frequency or key terms preserve the challenge while making text accessible.

Inference questions (author's intent, tone, audience, cultural assumption) distinguish interpretive tasks from literal comprehension checks.

Visual literacy matters: infographics, memes, and video carry meaning in layout, color, and image that must be read alongside the written text.

Assessment of interpretive communication should use the target language for questions where possible and avoid translating the text, which converts the task into translation rather than interpretation.

Presentational communication is one-way production (speaking or writing) for an audience, planned and revised, with meaning carried by the text rather than negotiated.

Presentational modes include reports, stories, persuasive pieces, poetry, video, and digital posts; the audience and purpose should be specified in the task.

ACTFL presentational writing and speaking: Novice produces lists and memorized phrases; Intermediate produces connected sentences on familiar topics; Advanced produces organized paragraphs with narration and description in major time frames; Superior produces extended, well-organized discourse with detail and nuance.

The writing process (brainstorm, draft, revise, edit, publish) supports presentational growth; feedback should target meaning and organization before surface accuracy.

Rubrics for presentational tasks should weight comprehensibility, organization, vocabulary range, language control, and cultural appropriateness separately, aligned to the targeted proficiency level.

Text-type control (words to phrases to sentences to paragraphs to extended discourse) is the strongest predictor of presentational level; length alone is not a level indicator.

Digital presentational formats (podcasts, blogs, videos) extend audience awareness and are legitimate evidence for presentational standards.

Cultural comparison tasks (products, practices, perspectives) are presentational when the learner explains the comparison to an audience in the target language.

Backward design (Wiggins and McTighe): identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence, then plan learning experiences - standards first, activities last.

ACTFL's core practices: facilitate target-language comprehensibility, design communicative tasks, and use authentic texts and real-world scenarios.

The IPA (Integrated Performance Assessment) cycle uses interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational tasks around one theme, with rubrics aligned to proficiency levels.

Formative assessment (exit tickets, thumbs, quick writes, conferencing) informs instruction in real time; summative assessment measures achievement at the end of a unit.

90%+ target-language use in class is a widely cited benchmark for comprehensible input, adjusted for novices with visuals, gestures, and cognates.

Differentiation in the language classroom includes tiered tasks by proficiency level, flexible grouping, scaffolded text levels, and choice in product format.

Proficiency vs. performance vs. achievement: proficiency is the learner's functional ability across contexts; performance is ability within a rehearsed classroom context; achievement is mastery of taught content.

Rubrics should describe observable performance at each level and be shared with learners before the task so criteria function as learning targets.

Professional learning communities (PLCs) use a cycle of inquiry: analyze student data, plan instruction, implement, and examine results collaboratively.

Reflective practice (Schön's reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action) uses observation and evidence, not intuition alone, to adjust instruction.

Co-teaching models with content teachers include one-teach-one-support, parallel, station, and team teaching; each requires shared planning time.

Advocacy for world-language programs uses enrollment, proficiency, and equity data to argue for funding, sequencing, and access, not anecdote alone.

Seal of Biliteracy recognition and dual-language immersion programs are policy levers that legitimize multilingualism and expand program demand.

Professional organizations (ACTFL, state and regional language associations) publish standards, offer professional development, and set ethical and instructional guidance.

Action research in the classroom follows a cycle: question, plan, act, observe, reflect, and share, generating locally valid evidence for instructional change.

Ethical collaboration includes confidentiality of student data, shared norms for feedback, and transparency with families about program goals and assessment.

Backward design sequence: desired results (standards), acceptable evidence (assessments), then learning plan; activities follow evidence, not the reverse.

ACTFL core practices include facilitating target-language comprehensibility, designing communicative tasks, and using authentic texts and real-world scenarios.

The Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) cycle links one thematic unit to interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational tasks with proficiency-aligned rubrics.

Formative assessment (exit tickets, conferencing, quick writes) drives real-time instructional adjustment; summative assessment measures achievement at unit's end.

90%+ target-language use is a common benchmark for comprehensible input, supported by visuals, gestures, cognates, and sheltered vocabulary for novices.

Differentiation includes tiered proficiency tasks, flexible grouping, leveled texts, and choice of product format, all anchored to the same learning target.

Proficiency is functional ability across contexts; performance is ability within a rehearsed classroom context; achievement is mastery of taught content.

Rubrics describing observable performance should be shared before the task so criteria function as learning targets rather than post-hoc judgments.

Interpersonal communication is spontaneous two-way negotiation of meaning; memorized dialogue delivered without exchange is presentational, not interpersonal.

Interpretive tasks are one-way reception with no negotiation; presentational tasks are one-way production for an audience with no immediate feedback.

ACTFL interpersonal speaking: Novice uses formulaic lists and memorized phrases; Intermediate uses sentences, asks and answers questions on familiar topics; Advanced narrates and describes in major time frames at paragraph level; Superior supports opinion and handles unfamiliar topics.

Register and politeness systems (tu/vous, tú/usted, du/Sie, keigo) are culture-bearing grammar and should be taught as culture, not decoration.

Repair strategies (clarification requests, circumlocution, paraphrase) indicate communicative competence; a learner who paraphrases around a gap outperforms one who stops.

Interpersonal assessment tasks need an information gap or opinion gap so both parties must exchange unrehearsed meaning.

Cultural products, practices, and perspectives frame culture teaching; an interpersonal exchange should surface the perspective behind a practice.

Novice learners can still perform interpersonally if the task is predictable and scaffolded with sentence frames and modeled questions.

Interpretive communication is receptive (listening, reading, viewing) with comprehension demonstrated without negotiating with the author.

Authentic texts are created by and for native speakers for real purposes (menus, podcasts, infographics, news), not written to teach a grammar point.

Scaffold authentic texts from global comprehension (main idea, purpose, audience) to specific detail to inference, not from vocabulary list to translation.

ACTFL interpretive levels: Novice interprets isolated words and phrases; Intermediate gets sentence-level main ideas on familiar topics; Advanced understands paragraph-length text with inference; Superior comprehends abstract, culturally embedded text.

Advance organizers and glossing only high-frequency or key terms preserve challenge while making text accessible.

Inference questions (author intent, tone, audience, cultural assumption) distinguish interpretive tasks from literal comprehension checks.

Visual literacy counts: layout, color, image, and sound carry meaning in infographics, memes, and video and must be read with the text.

Assessment should ask questions in the target language and avoid translating the text, which turns interpretation into translation.

Presentational communication is planned, revised one-way production (speaking or writing) for a specified audience and purpose.

Presentational formats include reports, stories, persuasive pieces, poetry, video, and digital posts; the task should specify audience and purpose.

ACTFL presentational levels: Novice produces lists and memorized phrases; Intermediate produces connected sentences on familiar topics; Advanced produces organized paragraphs with narration and description; Superior produces extended, detailed, nuanced discourse.

Text-type control (words to phrases to sentences to paragraphs to extended discourse) is the strongest level indicator; length alone is not.

The writing process (brainstorm, draft, revise, edit, publish) supports growth; feedback should target meaning and organization before surface accuracy.

Rubrics should separately weight comprehensibility, organization, vocabulary range, language control, and cultural appropriateness at the targeted level.

Digital formats (podcasts, blogs, videos) extend audience awareness and are legitimate evidence for presentational standards.

Cultural comparison tasks are presentational when the learner explains the comparison to an audience in the target language.

Krashen's input hypothesis: acquisition occurs when learners comprehend input slightly beyond current competence (i+1), not when input is merely difficult.

Cummins separates BICS (conversational fluency, roughly 1-3 years) from CALP (academic proficiency, roughly 5-7 years); hallway fluency does not guarantee academic reading.

Interlanguage is the learner's evolving internal grammar; systematic errors reveal the rule the learner currently applies and are evidence of rule formation.

L1 transfer can be positive (cognates, shared rhetoric) or negative (false cognates, article and gender differences); diagnosing the source predicts persistent errors.

Affective filter: anxiety, low motivation, and low confidence block intake; low-stress, high-challenge tasks lower the filter without lowering rigor.

Learners with interrupted formal education need literacy scaffolding before grade-level content demands; gaps reflect schooling history, not ability.

Heritage and home-language learners differ from novices in prior oral proficiency, so placement should assess all modes, not only reading and writing.

Developmental output stages (pre-production, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, advanced fluency) set expectations for length and complexity of production.

PLCs use a cycle of inquiry: analyze student data, plan instruction, implement, and examine results collaboratively.

Reflective practice (Schön's reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action) uses observation and evidence, not intuition alone, to adjust instruction.

Co-teaching models with content teachers include one-teach-one-support, parallel, station, and team teaching; each requires shared planning time.

Advocacy for world-language programs uses enrollment, proficiency, and equity data, not anecdote alone, to argue for funding, sequencing, and access.

Seal of Biliteracy recognition and dual-language immersion programs are policy levers that legitimize multilingualism and expand demand.

Professional organizations (ACTFL, state and regional language associations) publish standards, offer professional development, and set ethical and instructional guidance.

Action research follows question, plan, act, observe, reflect, and share, generating locally valid evidence for instructional change.

Ethical collaboration includes confidentiality of student data, shared feedback norms, and transparency with families about program goals and assessment.