Preparation Manual

Section 9: Sample Foreign Language Pedagogy: Instructional Practice Assignments
Languages Other Than English (LOTE) Spanish (613)

Directions for the Foreign Language Pedagogy: Instructional Practice Assignments

This section of the exam consists of two assignments that measure how well you can integrate and/or apply your knowledge of foreign-language pedagogy and theories when designing instructional units. It is not a measure of foreign-language proficiency. Your responses should be written in English.

Lesson Plan
Opinion/Position Essay

Specific instructions will be provided for each assignment. Although your responses should be written in English, the special characters included in the ash symbol pop-up window will be available in case you need to include words in the foreign language.

The total testing time for this section of the exam is 35 minutes; therefore, you should manage your time so that you have enough time to respond to both assignments within the allotted time. The timer in the upper right corner of the screen will indicate how much time is remaining.

You will type your response to each assignment. You may use the erasable notebooklet provided to make notes, write an outline, or otherwise prepare your response. However, your final response to each assignment must be typed in the response box provided for the assignment.

Sample Assignments

Lesson Plan

For this assignment, you will be given a scenario and an objective around which to design a lesson plan. Your response should be written in English. It should be grade appropriate and address the objective given.

Include the following information in your lesson plan:

Vocabulary you will include in the lesson
Materials that you will use in the lesson
Detailed descriptions of procedures and activities that will be a part of the lesson
Informal or formal assessment or evaluation of students' learning

Type your lesson plan in the response box provided and indicate all categories in your response. Be sure to also include all the blank categories in your response.

Manage your time so that you allow enough time to plan, write, and revise your lesson plan. An effective lesson plan will typically contain a minimum of 200 words.

Assignment 1

Assume that you are teaching a third-year, high school foreign language class. Your students are from 15 to 17 years of age. Most students are estimated to be in the intermediate range, as described in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines 2012. Design an instructional unit on a popular legend from the target culture. At the end of the unit, students will discuss in the target language their readings of the legend and share their personal reactions to the characters and events depicted in the text. Your unit will cover three class periods of 50 minutes each.

School Grade: Third year, high school

Student Profile: 15–17 years of age

Proficiency Level: Intermediate range in the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines

Theme/Topic: A popular legend from the target culture

Objective: Students will discuss in the target language their readings of the legend and share their personal reactions to the characters and events depicted in the text.

Length of Unit: 3 class periods of 50 minutes each

Vocabulary:

Materials:

Procedures/Activities:

Assessment:

Make sure you include all the blank categories in your response.

Opinion/Position Essay

For this assignment, you will be provided with a scenario to write an essay to support your opinion or position on the issue. First, read the scenario. Then, type your response in English in the response box provided.

Your essay should include reasons and/or examples to support your opinion.

Manage your time so that you allow enough time to plan, write, and revise your essay. An effective essay will typically contain a minimum of 150 words.

Assignment 2

The school district where you teach is facing a budget deficit, and officials have been asked to implement changes in order to reduce costs. Some officials in the school district propose eliminating the foreign language program in elementary school in order to reduce the need for additional teachers and maximize use of classroom space. Write an essay giving reasons why the foreign language program in elementary school should continue.

Scoring Rubrics

Scoring Rubric for Foreign Language Pedagogy — Lesson Plan

Score	General Description	Score Descriptors
3 High	A response at this level demonstrates evidence of a *high degree of competence* in response to the assignment, but it may have a few minor errors.	Fully addresses and fully elaborates all categories (vocabulary, materials, procedures and assessment) Demonstrates a high degree of content understanding and all or almost all content information is accurate and well developed All teaching techniques described are appropriate for age, grade and proficiency level All materials and activities discussed are appropriate for age, grade and proficiency level Assessment instrument described elicits appropriate information on targeted learning objective Response is well organized and generally coherent
2 Mid-High	A response at this level demonstrates evidence of *competence* in response to the assignment, but it has minor errors.	Addresses all categories (vocabulary, materials, procedures and assessment), but some points are not fully elaborated Demonstrates a moderate degree of content understanding and most content information is accurate Most teaching techniques described are appropriate for age, grade and proficiency level Most materials and activities discussed are appropriate for age, grade and proficiency level Assessment instrument described elicits moderate amount of information related to learning objective Response is organized, but some parts are not fully developed
1 Mid-Low	A response at this level demonstrates evidence of *limited competence* in response to the assignment and it has one or more major errors.	Addresses only some of the categories (vocabulary, materials, procedures and assessment) Demonstrates a low degree of content understanding and only some content information is accurate Some of the teaching techniques described are appropriate for age, grade and proficiency level Some materials and activities discussed are appropriate for age, grade and proficiency level Assessment instrument elicits minimal information related to learning objective Response is inadequately organized or not sequenced correctly
0 Low	A response at this level demonstrates evidence of *little or no competence* in response to the assignment and it is obviously flawed.	Addresses almost none of the categories (vocabulary, materials, procedures and assessment) Demonstrates a poor understanding of content and content information is inaccurate Teaching techniques described are not appropriate for age, grade and proficiency level Materials are not connected to procedures and activities are not appropriate for age, grade and proficiency level Assessment instrument is not described and/or the instrument described does not relate to learning objective Response is disorganized

Scoring Rubric for Foreign Language Pedagogy — Opinion/Position Essay

Score	General Description	Score Descriptors
3 High	A response at this level demonstrates evidence of a *high degree of competence* in response to the assignment, but it may have a few minor errors.	Fully addresses and completes the task Clearly demonstrates a high degree of understanding of the content required by the question All content information is accurate and well developed All or almost all supporting details or examples are appropriate and effective Response is well organized and generally coherent
2 Mid-High	A response at this level demonstrates evidence of *competence* in response to the assignment, but it has minor errors.	Addresses and completes the task Demonstrates a moderate degree of understanding of the content required by the question Most content information is accurate Most supporting details or examples are appropriate and effective Response is organized, but some parts are not fully developed
1 Mid-Low	A response at this level demonstrates evidence of *limited competence* in response to the assignment and it has one or more major errors.	Addresses and completes the task Demonstrates a low degree of understanding of the content required by the question Some content information is accurate Some supporting details or examples are vague, not well defined, not appropriate or not effective Response is inadequately organized or not sequenced correctly
0 Low	A response at this level demonstrates evidence of *little or no competence* in response to the assignment and it is obviously flawed.	Partially addresses and/or partially completes the task Demonstrates a poor understanding of the content required by the question Most content information is inaccurate Most supporting details or examples are irrelevant, not effective or missing Response is disorganized

Note: Your written response should be your original work, written in your own words and not copied or paraphrased from some other work.

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