World Languages Program Enduring Understandings

❖ The global nature of our society requires us to negotiate meaning through a variety of modalities.

❖ Students understand that there are commonalities present in all cultures. Language study brings a heightened sensitivity, tolerance, understanding and connection with the global community while providing a perspective of one’s own culture.

As the famous civil rights leader César Chavez once said, “Preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures.”

❖ Interdisciplinary connections provide the framework to navigate through an increasingly complex global society.

❖ The study of languages provides the opportunity for critical examination of one’s own language and culture.

❖ With an increasingly connected world, language learning generates life-long interest and opportunities for students to become productive citizens of the global community.

Pennsylvania does not have oficially adopted standards for World Languages as of August 2024. In order to set expectations and create authentic and meaningful learning plans, we rely on the World-Readiness Standards created by ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages). The Goal Areas are commonly referred to as 'the 5 Cs'; Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, Communities. See the graphic below for more detail in each area.

Our goal in the CBSD World Languages Department is to create students who can function in the language that they study. We believe that reading, writing and culture are important but listening and speaking in the target language will allow them to function in an authentic language environment.

In order to accomplish this goal, beginning in the fall of 2021 the Central Bucks World Languages Department in each middle and high school will use assessments that are called IPAs which stands for Integrated Performance Assessments. They will occur throughout each unit as formative performance-based practice which may vary by teacher. Additionally, they will be given at the end of each unit as common district summative assessments, and at the end of each course as common district final summative assessments. IPAs assess the progress that language students are making in building their proficiency through the World-Readiness Standards and were created by ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages). The Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) is a cluster assessment featuring three tasks, each of which reflects one of the three modes of communication: Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational. The three tasks are aligned within a single theme or content area, reflecting the way students naturally acquire and use the language in the real world or the classroom. 

The final summative IPAs given at the end of each course (formerly called final assessments) equal 20% of the total grade for 9th-12th grade students and are placed into the 5th marking period in middle school.  

Other tests, quizzes, projects, and activities will be included at the discretion of the teacher throughout the units in each course to check for understanding of essential vocabulary, grammar, and culture.