Alberta Spanish Programs of Study

A Webinar for Visiting Teachers from Spain

Christina Bexte Curriculum Manager, Languages

International Language Programming in the Alberta K-12 system

Alberta students learn languages:

at home,

in the community, and

at school.

Languages in Alberta

Alberta communities are diverse; our communities reflect a wide range of languages and cultures; those of:

our First Nations (indigenous/Aboriginal) peoples

Canadian francophones… as well as speakers of

French from around the world

(French and English are Canada’s official languages)

immigrants from around the world, from a wide range

of cultures and linguistic backgrounds.

Linguistic/Cultural Diversity…Non-official mother tongues by immigrant status and period of immigration, Canada, 2006

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2006. http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/as-sa/97-555/figures/c1-eng.cfm

Linguistic/Cultural Diversity…Top 11 Non-official mother tongues reported in Canada:

Mother Tongue: reported as mother tongue on 2006 census

Arrived between 2001 and 2006(immigrated during five years preceding 2006 Census)

Arrived between 1981 and 2001

Arrived before 1981

Born in Canada

Chinese languages 1 million* 172,000 almost 500,000 151,000 181,000

Italian 475,000 2,700 14,000 276,000 182,000

German 461,000 15,000 46,000 179,000 221,000

Punjabi 378,000 62,000 150,000 50,000 115,000

Spanish 338,000 70,000 142,000 47,000 78,000

Arabic 275,000 69,000 122,000 29,000 55,000

Tagalog 253,000 61,000 134,000 39,000 9,000

Portuguese 225,000 9,000 48,000 106,000 61,000

Polish 216,000 7,000 107,000 45,000 57,000

Urdu 152,000 52,000 57,000 11,000 32,000

Ukrainian 141,000 7,000 11,000 21,000 102,000

*Chinese languages includes persons have a Chinese language as mother tongue (including Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Taiwanese, Chaochow (Teochow), Fukien and Shanghainese as well as a residual category (Chinese languages not otherwise specified).

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2006. http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/as-sa/97-555/figures/c1-eng.cfm

Encouraging Choice and Recognizing our Linguistic/Cultural Diversity…

…. have led to a variety of language programs in the K - Grade 12 system

…with various entry points.

International Language Programming in the Alberta K-12 system

• Provincial/territorial governments in Canada have the responsibility for Education.

• Alberta Education determines the curriculum standards for Kindergarten to Grade 12.

• Local school authorities are responsible for the implementation of programming, that is:- determining the programming that best meets local

school/community needs, and- implementing the programming

International Language Programming currently in Alberta School Authorities

School authorities in Alberta, including: jurisdictions

charter school jurisdictions

private schools

schools in First Nations communities

offer language learning opportunities to their students.

School authorities in Alberta have a range of language program choices available to them:

Alberta school authorities may deliver either: an available provincial language

program of studies ora current, authorized locally

developed/acquired language course.

Which International languages are offered?

… through provincial programs of study?

BlackfootChinese (Mandarin)CreeFrenchGerman ItalianJapaneseLatinPunjabiSpanishUkrainian

…as locally-developed course series? examples include:

Arabic CantoneseFilipinoGreekHebrewKoreanPolishPortugueseRussian

Additionally …there are increasing numbers in after-school/evenings language program in community heritage language schools.

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Français langue première

Early and Continuing French Immersion

Bilingual Programs (Language Arts): Chinese, German, Spanish*, Ukrainian

Late French Immersion

K-12 Language and Culture: Blackfoot*, Cree, Italian*

9-Year Language and Culture*: Chinese, Cree, German, Japanese, Punjabi, Spanish, Ukrainian

9-Year French as a Second Language

6-Year Language and Culture: Chinese, Cree, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Ukrainian

New*

Scheduled for review

3-Year Language and Culture: Blackfoot,

Chinese, Cree, German, Italian,

Japanese, Punjabi*, Spanish, Ukrainian

(Latin 10-20-30)

3-Year French as a Second Language

Locally – developed/acquired course series may be developed/implemented

Languages in Alberta

Language program options for Spanish:

Spanish Bilingual programsLanguage Arts courses are 1 component of an alternative (bilingual) language program

Spanish Language and Culture course seriesLanguage and Culture course series consist of instruction in the target language and

culture, timetabled (95 hours K-Grade 9; 125 hours per high school 5-credit course). The course series reflect the number of years of instruction: 3-, 6-, 9- and 12-Y.

In Alberta there are two types of provincial Spanish language programs:

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Français langue première

Early and Continuing French Immersion

Bilingual Programs (Spanish Language Arts)

Late French Immersion

K-12 Language and Culture

9-Year Language and Culture (Spanish)

6-Year Language and Culture (Spanish)

3-Year Language and Culture (Spanish)

Language Programming Enrollments 2009/2010:Since 2006, Alberta authorities have been reporting their language enrolments.

In 2009/2010 school authorities reported enrollments in:

• French (French immersion and French as a Second Language (FSL)

• 6 First Nations (Aboriginal) languages were reported: Cree, Blackfoot, Nakota (Stoney), Dené, Tsuu T'ina, and Saulteaux

• 19 international languages : Arabic, American Sign Language(ASL), Chinese(Mandarin), Chinese(Cantonese), Filipino, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese.

(Note: Some languages are offered exclusively in community heritage language schools e.g., Cantonese, Greek, Hungarian, Korean, Portuguese, Swedish and Vietnamese.)

What does preliminary data reveal re Spanish Enrollments last year?

• 200 schools in 57 Alberta school authorities across Alberta (35 jurisdictions, 3 charter schools, 18 private schools and 1 heritage language private school) reported enrollments in Spanish language programming in 2009/2010.

• 4 of these jurisdictions offered Spanish bilingual programming (K-grade 10) in 16 schools in Edmonton and Calgary.

*2009/2010 preliminary data

Grade K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Spanish program enrolments are on the rise in Alberta.

*2009/2010 data is preliminary.

Spanish Enrolments 2006/2007-2009/2010*

International Languages Programs of Study

Chinese 中文 German (Deutsch) Italian (Italiano) Japanese 日本語 Latin (Latīna) Punjabi ਪੰ�ਜਾ�ਬੀ� Spanish (Español) Ukrainian (Українська) Assessment Materials for 9-year Programs Related Documents Key Contacts

at: http://education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/interlang.aspx

What is an Outcome?

Alberta’s curriculum is written with a focus on outcomes

i.e. the knowledge, skills and attitudes that students are expected to achieve by the end of a grade and/or course.

Student outcomes are not activities or strategies, that is:

Outcomes: Not activities!Students will use ______ in a variety of situations and for a variety of purposes.

to receive and impart informationto express emotions and personal perspectives to get things doneto form, maintain and change interpersonal relationshipsto extend their knowledge of the worldfor imaginative purposes and personal enjoyment

Field trip to ___________ restaurant Poster on my home Hand in four reportsAttendance at every class is required10% penalty for assignment that are handed in late

Assumptions …We believe… • Language is communication.

• All students can be successful learners of language and culture, although they will learn in a variety of ways and acquire proficiency at varied rates.

• All languages can be taught and learned.

• Learning Spanish as a second language leads to enhanced learning in– the student’s primary language – related areas of cognitive development and knowledge acquisition.

Bilingual programsBilingual programming

in international languages is designed

to promote all-round personal development by fostering

social, emotional,

moral, intellectual and

creative growth.

A Spanish Bilingual Program includes:

the Language Arts course series (at http://www.education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/interlang/spanish.aspx )

other subjects taught in Spanisho determined by the school authorityo outcomes as outlined in the Alberta programs of study (at : http://www.education.alberta.ca/teachers.aspx )

Spanish Language Arts

What are thecomponents and outcomes

of Alberta’s Spanish bilingual program language arts curriculum?

Alberta’s Spanish Language Arts…

• General Language Componenthas…

5 General Outcomes

• General Language Componenthas…

5 General Outcomes

COMPONENTS: • General

Language Component

• Specific Language Component

• Culture

COMPONENTS: • General

Language Component

• Specific Language Component

• Culture

• Specific Language Component

has…2 General Outcomes

(SPECIFIC LANGUAGE (i.e. Spanish) AND CULTURE)

• Specific Language Component

has…2 General Outcomes

(SPECIFIC LANGUAGE (i.e. Spanish) AND CULTURE)

Learning Outcomes for Spanish Language Arts

SPANISH LANGUAGE ARTS: GENERAL LANGUAGE COMPONENT

In the Kindergarten to Grade 12 Language Arts sequence, students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to…

Specific Language Component: ... acquire Spanish to

• … understand and appreciate languages,

and… use Spanish confidently and competently in a variety of situations for – communication, – personal satisfaction

and – further learning.

Specific Language Component: ... acquire Spanish to

• … understand and appreciate languages,

and… use Spanish confidently and competently in a variety of situations for – communication, – personal satisfaction

and – further learning.

CULTURE:

… explore, understand and appreciate the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world for

• personal growth and satisfaction

• participating in, and contributing to, our multicultural Canadian society and the world.

CULTURE:

… explore, understand and appreciate the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world for

• personal growth and satisfaction

• participating in, and contributing to, our multicultural Canadian society and the world.

Students will….

Students will….

Learning Outcomes for Spanish Language Arts

Spanish Language and Culture

Alberta’s language and culture curriculum is outcomes based, applications driven…

Alberta’s language and culture curriculum is outcomes based, applications driven…

What are the.. key componentsoutcomesof this program ?

What are the.. key componentsoutcomesof this program ?

Spanish Language and Culture … Key components?

into four components: - APPLICATIONS- LANGUAGE COMPETENCE- GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP- STRATEGIES

Alberta’s language and culture programs of study are all organized

… then by General outcomes (GO’s)

→Cluster→Strand

Specific outcomes (SO’s)→ by grade

becoming more complex over time.

General Outcomes…… are broad statements identifying the knowledge, skills and

attitudes that students are expected to achieve, for example:

Applications [A]● Students will use target language in a variety of situations and for a variety of purposes.

Language Competence [LC]● Students will use the target language effectively and competently.

Global Citizenship [GC]● Students will acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes to be effective global citizens.

Strategies [S]● Students will know and use strategies to maximize effectiveness of learning and communication.

Specific Outcomes:

Each general outcome is further broken down into specific outcomes that students are to achieve by the end of the course/grade

● Specific outcomes are: interrelated and interdependent categorized under cluster headings which show the scope of each of the four general outcomesfurther categorized by strands and clusters which show thedevelopmental flow of learning from the beginning to the end of the program

(In the classroom, a number of outcomes will be dealt with simultaneously and in an integrated manner.)

Applications

Students will use the international language in a variety of situations and for a variety of purposes

to impart and receive information to express emotions and personal perspectives to get things done to form, maintain and change interpersonal relationships to extend their knowledge of the world for imaginative

purposes and personal enjoyment

Language Competence

Students will use the international language effectively and competently.

attend to form interpret and produce oral texts interpret and produce written texts apply knowledge of the sociocultural context apply knowledge of how discourse is organized, structured and

sequenced

Global Citizenship

Students will acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes to be effective global citizens.

historical and contemporary elements of the target culture(s) affirming diversity personal and career opportunities

Strategies

Students will know and use strategies to maximize the effectiveness of learning and communication.

language learning language use general learning

Language learning is an ongoing process

• Spanish outcomes reflect a progression of development that matches the developmental stages of the students.

• The specific outcomes for each course reflect the knowledge, skills and attitudes that students are expected to achieve by the end of that course.

• Students are expected to demonstrate the specific outcomes for the current course and build upon their prior knowledge and skills from previous grades/courses.

Language learning is integrative, not merely cumulative

An expanding spiral model shows that progression is not only vertical (e.g., increased proficiency) but also horizontal (e.g., broader range of applications and experience with more text forms, contexts and so on).

Language learning is reinforced, extended and broadened over time:

general and specific outcomes established in this program of studies are intended to be delivered in an integrated manner.

lexical fields, learning strategies or language functions are revisited at different points in the program, but from a different perspective, in broader contexts or at a slightly higher level of proficiency each time.

Modes of Communication

Language programs use three modes of communication to organize some of the specific outcomes:– Interaction (direct, face-to-face oral

communication, written communication, involving negotiation of meaning and generally requiring more speed but less accuracy )

– Interpretation (receptive communication of oral and written messages: reading, listening, viewing)

– Production (communication of oral and written messages, which may be enhanced by representing the meaning visually)

Language Competence [LC]:Using the target language effectively and competently … requires a great deal of practice …

Just because we taught it – doesn’t mean they ’got it’!

The language curriculum allows us to reinforce this repetition in the grammatical elements strand of language competence(LC),

Strategies Component:… the General Outcome is:

Students will know and use strategies to maximize the effectiveness of learning and communication.

We focus on…

Strategies help students learn and communicate more effectively and more efficiently.

Key Program References:• Provincially developed language programs in a wide variety of International

languages, including Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese, Punjabi, Spanish and Ukrainianare posted at:

http://www.education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/interlang.aspx

• Alberta Language programs are posted on Learn Alberta at: http://www.learnalberta.ca/

Learn Alberta at: http://www.learnalberta.ca/

Questions about provincial International Languages’ Programs of Study?

Contact:

Christina Bexte Curriculum Manager, Languages Education Program Standards and

Assessment Division, Curriculum SectorArts, Communications and Citizenship

BranchAlberta Education

8th Floor, 44 Capital Blvd., 10044–108 StreetEdmonton, AB, Canada T5J 5E6

Ph.: 780-422-3216 Fax: 780-422-3745