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Crystal is the chair of the combined world language departments of three elementary schools in her town. The goal of the language programs in the elementary schools is for students to successfully move into the intermediate levels of the language in middle school, rather than starting at a novice level in 7th grade. Recently, teachers have become concerned about whether 6th graders have high enough levels of language proficiency to move into the intermediate levels the following year. At the most recent meeting of the departments, Crystal and the other teachers discussed instituting a test that the 6th graders will have to pass to place into the intermediate level of their language in 7th grade. Teachers brought up a variety of concerns about the impact of a possible exam.

Brainstorm a list of concerns and considerations that you would have in Crystal’s position about the impact of this testing situation. After considering your own responses, click here to view the sample responses.

Djimon teaches beginner Swahili classes at a high school in his district. Although he wants to use formative speaking assessments to improve students’ proficiency levels, most of them have expressed their anxiety about speaking in front of their classmates, and he is worried that they will drop out of the course if they are uncomfortable. The school’s administration has already discussed removing less commonly taught languages from the course options due to a lack of enrollment, and Djimon is concerned about the possible impact of implementing assessments in his classroom.

Brainstorm a list of concerns and considerations that you would have in Djimon’s position about the impact of this testing situation. After considering your own responses, click here to view the sample responses.

Professor Osei is the chair of a modern languages department at a small, private college.  Recently, faculty members have become concerned about whether graduating majors have high enough levels of oral proficiency to get jobs using the language.  At the last faculty meeting, Professor Osei and other instructors discussed instituting a test as a graduation requirement. Faculty members brought up a variety of concerns about the impact of a possible exit exam. 

Brainstorm a list of concerns & considerations that you and others might have about the impact of this testing situation. After considering your own responses, click here to view the sample responses.

Dr. Fernández is part of the faculty and sits on the curriculum planning board of the Spanish language department at a local university. The department administers a test to all students at the beginning of the semester to determine placement. Dr. Fernández has a large number of heritage language learners placed in his classes in the past few years, and wants to create a heritage-specific track within the department. He has proposed finding a new assessment specifically designed for heritage learners, or modifying the existing exam to better accommodate them. Some of the other faculty don’t think there is enough of a difference between heritage language learners and second language learners, and that resources for buying a new test or modifying an old one could be better spent elsewhere.

Brainstorm a list of concerns and considerations that you would have in Dr. Fernández’s position about the impact of this testing situation. After considering your own responses, click here to view the sample responses. 

Yixi is the CEO of a venture capital company that is based in New York and has offices in Shanghai, Tokyo, Dubai, and London.  She is concerned that newly hired employees from New York may not have the language skills that they need to work in the overseas offices, especially oral and written proficiency.  Yixi forms a committee to discuss the implications of instituting a language proficiency test as a prerequisite for hiring.  The group had a number of concerns about the impact of a possible hiring exam.

Brainstorm a list of concerns and considerations that you would have in Yixi’s position about the impact of this testing situation. After considering your own responses, click here to view the sample responses.