# ACTFL Framework for Curriculum Design

## Proficiency levels (ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2024 / 2012)

| Major level | Can typically... | Text type | Context |
|-------------|------------------|-----------|---------|
| Novice (Low, Mid, High) | Communicate with memorised words and phrases; lists; simple personal information | Words, phrases, lists | Most common, familiar, everyday |
| Intermediate (Low, Mid, High) | Create with language; ask and answer simple questions; handle simple transactions | Discrete sentences, strings of sentences | Familiar, predictable, personal |
| Advanced (Low, Mid, High) | Narrate and describe in all major time frames; handle a situation with a complication | Paragraphs | Concrete, community, work, events |
| Superior | Support opinions, hypothesise, discuss abstract and unfamiliar topics | Extended discourse | Abstract, professional, academic |
| Distinguished | Tailor language to audience, persuade, use cultural and historical references | Extended, sophisticated discourse | Global, nuanced |

High sublevels mean the learner performs at the next level much of the time but cannot sustain it.

## The FACT/FACT-A lens for tasks

Check each task against the target level on:

| Element | Novice | Intermediate | Advanced |
|---------|--------|--------------|----------|
| Functions | List, name, identify | Ask and answer, describe simply, handle transactions | Narrate, describe in detail, explain, compare |
| Contexts / content | Self, immediate environment | Daily life, personal interests | Community, work, current events |
| Text type | Words, phrases | Sentences, strings | Paragraphs |
| Accuracy | Understood with difficulty by sympathetic listeners | Understood by sympathetic listeners | Understood without difficulty by non-sympathetic listeners |

## Proficiency vs performance

- **Proficiency**: what a learner can do spontaneously in unrehearsed, real-world contexts (rated with an OPI,
  AAPPL, STAMP and similar).
- **Performance**: what a learner can do with practised language in familiar contexts after instruction (rated
  with ACTFL Performance Descriptors, unit assessments).

Curriculum targets performance unit by unit; proficiency grows over years. Do not label a unit test score as a
proficiency level.

## Three modes of communication

| Mode | Definition | Example tasks | Not this mode |
|------|------------|---------------|---------------|
| Interpretive | One-way understanding of authentic texts (reading, listening, viewing) without negotiating with the author | Read a menu and choose a meal; watch a weather report and decide what to wear | Translating word by word; vocabulary lists |
| Interpersonal | Two-way, spontaneous exchange with negotiation of meaning (speaking or writing) | Plan a weekend with a partner; text-chat to arrange a meeting | Memorised skits; prepared dialogues |
| Presentational | One-way, prepared production for an audience (speaking or writing) | Record a video tour of your town; write a blog post | Unprepared conversation |

## World-Readiness Standards (the 5 Cs)

Communication (the three modes), Cultures (practices, products, perspectives), Connections (other subjects),
Comparisons (language and culture), Communities (use beyond the classroom, lifelong learning).

## Unit design (backward design)

1. Theme and essential question ("How do families celebrate?").
2. Unit can-do statements for each mode, at the target performance level.
3. Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA): interpretive task -> interpersonal task -> presentational task, linked
   by one authentic context, each with a rubric.
4. Learning episodes that build the language and culture for the IPA.
5. Authentic materials for the interpretive task.

## Typical targets (US programmes; vary widely)

| Programme | Typical end target (speaking) |
|-----------|-------------------------------|
| Elementary FLES, 3-5 years | Novice Mid-High |
| Middle school, 2-3 years | Novice High |
| High school, levels 1-2 | Novice Mid-High |
| High school, levels 3-4 / AP | Intermediate Low-Mid (AP: Intermediate Mid-High) |
| Dual-language immersion, grade 5 | Intermediate Mid-High |
| College, 4 semesters | Intermediate Mid-High |
| College major | Advanced Low-Mid |
| Seal of Biliteracy | Intermediate Mid (many states) |

## Time needed (US Foreign Service Institute estimates for English speakers to reach ILR 3 / Superior)

| Category | Examples | Class hours |
|----------|----------|-------------|
| I | Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch | 600-750 |
| II | German, Indonesian, Malay, Swahili | ~900 |
| III | Russian, Hindi, Greek, Turkish, Vietnamese, Polish | ~1,100 |
| IV | Arabic, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean | ~2,200 |

FSI learners are adults studying full time with small classes; school programmes take longer.