Assessing Chinese Language Proficiency in Young Students:

Strategies and Results

Claudia Navarro-Villarroel

National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center

Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa

Marcia H. Rosenbusch, Director

National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center

Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa

Chengbin Yin, Project Coordinator

Chinese K-5 Curriculum Project

Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), Washington, DC

K-5 Chinese Project

Collaborative Partners National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center at Iowa State University andCenter for Applied Linguistics, Washington, DCTwo Midwestern School Districts

Funding Source U.S. Department of Education, Language Resource Centers: 2006-2010

K-5 Chinese Project

• Purpose of ProjectCurriculum

• Develop a K-5 Chinese language framework for non-intensive (90 min./week) programs

• Develop proficiency-focused and standards-based curriculum and materials through Backward Design;

• Train teachers in best practices;• Train teachers in classroom-based assessment

with the SOPA.

K-5 Chinese Project

• Purpose of ProjectResearch

• Students’ progress in Chinese language proficiency;

• Attitudes toward the Chinese language and culture of students, administrators, teachers, parents and the community;

• Student progress on standardized assessments of English language arts and mathematics as compared to the progress of control groups.

Why assess oral proficiency?

Demonstrate student progress in Demonstrate student progress in language learninglanguage learning

Assess performance – values Assess performance – values authentic communicationauthentic communication

What is the SOPA?

SStudent tudent OOral ral PProficiency roficiency AAssessmentssessment

Goal: To find out what students can docan do with the

language they are learning.

Based on the 5 Goals of National Standards

Goal 1: CommunicationInterpersonal ModeInterpretive ModePresentational Mode

Goal 2: Cultures Goal 3: Connections Goal 4: Comparisons Goal 5: Communities

Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century. (1999). National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project. American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, et. Al.

Student Oral Proficiency Assessment: SOPA

What skills are rated?What skills are rated?Oral FluencyGrammarVocabularyListening Comprehension

SOPA Rating Scale

Three Main Levels:

Junior Novice Junior Intermediate Junior Advanced

SOPA Rating Scale Sublevels:

Junior Advanced-HighJunior Advanced-High

Junior Advanced-MidJunior Advanced-Low

Junior Intermediate-HighJunior Intermediate-HighJunior Intermediate-MidJunior Intermediate-Low

Junior Novice-HighJunior Novice-HighJunior Novice-MidJunior Novice-Low

Non-Immersion SOPA

Warm Up: (Put students at ease) Introductions

Task 1: Fruits/other objects (Identify, name)

Goal: To assess listening, word-level speech

Task 2: All about You (Answer informal questions)

Goal: To give students opportunity to create with language on familiar topics

Non-Immersion SOPA (cont.)

Task 3: Community or Classroom Activity (Follow/giving commands, describe)

Goal: To give students opportunity to create sentence-level speech

Wind down: Finish at student’s comfort level

SOPA Task 1: Fruits

Identifying (Where are the red fruit?)Naming (What is this fruit called?)Following instructions (Put the fruit

here. Count them.)

SOPA: Task 2 – All About You

All about you Answering informal questions

How old are you?What do you do on your birthday? Do you have brothers or sisters?Would you like to have a sister/brother? Do you have a pet?What is it called?What is it like?Why?

SOPA: Task 3 – The Community

Identifying Following Instructions Describing

What do you have there?

Where is the red fire truck?Where is the fireman?Take the dog. The dog is playing with a ball in

front of the apartment building. What is the mailman doing in the pet store? Why?

SOPA: Wind Down

Following instructions Positive ending, task students can complete

successfully!

Simon says...

Touch your head.

Raise your right hand.

Touch your left eye.

Clap for both of you.

Adaptations: Chinese SOPA Grade 2

Task 1: Identifying, naming, following instructions

Materials: Backpack with school supplies

Identifying

指指红色的铅笔。 (Point to a red pencil.)

红色的铅笔在哪里？ (Where is the red pencil?)

蓝色橡皮是哪个？ (Which ruler is blue?)

Chinese SOPA Grade 2

Task 1: Identifying, naming, following instructions (cont.)

Materials: Backpack with school supplies Naming (Oral Fluency)

这是什么颜色？ (What color is this?) Following instructions

把所有的铅笔 / 尺 / 橡皮 / 蜡笔放在一起。 (Put all pencils/crayons/rulers/erasers together.)

Adaptations: Chinese SOPA Grade 2

Task 1: Identifying, naming, following instructions (cont.)

Transition to Task 2 铅笔 / 橡皮 / 尺 / 蜡笔，有多少？(How many pencils/rulers/erasers/crayons are there?)

Chinese SOPA Grade 2

Task 2: All about you

Answering informal questions你住在哪儿？ (Where do you live?)你有姐姐吗？ (Do you have older brothers?)有几个？ (How many brothers and sisters do

you have?)

在学校里学什么？ (What do you learn in school?)

今天几月几日？ (What is the date today?)

SOPA: Task 3 – House Scene

Identifying

… 在哪里？ (Where is …?)

指一指 …… . (Point to …….[mom/dad/little boy/little girl, bedroom/kitchen/living room/bathroom].)

几个人？（房间 / 三明治 / 香蕉） (How many……[people/rooms/sandwiches/bananas]?)

SOPA: Task 3 – House Scene

Naming and describing

这是什么？ (What is this?)

这是谁？ (Who is this?)

他 / 她在干什么？ (What is s/he doing?)

SOPA: Task 3 – House Scene

Giving and Following Commands把爸爸放在卧室里。 (Put dad in the bedroom.)

把花放在客厅里。 (Put the flowers in the living-room.)

  Then, hand the little boy/girl magnet to one student and tell the student: 你是这个小男孩 / 小女孩 (You are the little boy/little girl), and gesture for the student to make up his/her own commands for the other student.

SOPA: Wind Down

Positive ending, task students can complete successfully!Tell the students that they have the option of singing a song, or play “Simon Says!” If students have difficulty responding to this activity, follow the commands together with them. Make it fun!

很好 (Great!)

谢谢你 (Thank you!)

再见 (Good bye!)

Research Design Treatment Schools vs. Control Schools

Have World Language = Treatment Schools Have no World Language = Control Schools

Longitudinal Study: Chinese

Grade K 1st 2nd

Y1: 2007-08 X

Y2: 2008-09 x X

Y3: 2009-10 x x X

Ethnicity

District 1 District 2

School 1 (Treatment)

School 2 (Control)

School 3(Treatment)

School 4(Control)

Caucasian 84.7 % 85.9 % 69.7 % 46.6 %Asian 4.4 % 6.4 % 1.6 % 0.2%Other Ethnicity 10.9 % 7.7 % 28.7 % 53.2 %

District 1 District 2School 1

(Treatment)School 2 (Control)

School 3(Treatment)

School 4(Control)

Percentage eligible for free and reduced price lunch

12.0 % 7.0 % 68.0 % 72.0 %

Table 1: Ethnicity distribution among schools

Table 2: Free/Reduced price lunch among schools

Retrieved on 2009 from http://www.schooldigger.com/

School Characteristics 2007

SOPA Rating: Junior Novice Level

Junior Novice-High = 3Junior Novice-Mid = 2

Junior Novice-Low = 1

School 1

Statistics

N Min. Max. Mean Median Mode Variance

Std. Deviation

Oral Fluency 43 1 1 1.00 1.00 1 .000 .000 Grammar 43 1 1 1.00 1.00 1 .000 .000 Vocabulary 43 1 1 1.00 1.00 1 .000 .000 Listening Comprehension 43 1 2 1.02 1.00 1 .023 .152 Valid N (listwise) 43 -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Research Results

100

Oral Fluency

Jr. Novice-Low

100

Grammar

Jr. Novice-Low

100

Vocabulary

Jr. Novice-Low

97.7

2.3

Listening Comprehension

Jr. Novice-Low

Jr. Novice-Mid

School 1

School 3 Statistics

N Min. Max. Mean Median Mode Variance

Std. Deviation

Oral Fluency 32 1 2 1.16 1.00 1 .136 .369 Grammar 32 1 2 1.19 1.00 1 .157 .397 Vocabulary 32 1 2 1.16 1.00 1 .136 .369 Listening Comprehension 32 1 2 1.16 1.00 1 .136 .369 Valid N (listwise) 32 -- -- -- -- -- -- --

School 3

SOPA Findings: Year 1

In schools with a non-intensive Chinese program (90 min./week) in kindergarten and first grade…Students score at the Junior Novice Low level at the end of Year 1

Complete oral proficiency assessments of students at regular intervals (depending on intensity of program)

Values oral proficiencyDemonstrates program outcomes to

student, parents, and community

Recommendations

Become familiar with summative oral proficiency assessments that are available for different levels and purposes:

ELLOPA www.cal.org/ela SOPA www.cal.org/ela NOELLA casls.uoregon.edu/noella.php

Recommendations

Train teachers in the use of summative oral proficiency assessments They will value oral proficiency They will focus on developing students’

oral proficiency They will integrate measures of authentic

oral assessment into the classroom

Recommendations

Use available resources for training teachers in oral proficiency assessment: ELLOPA and SOPA:

www.cal.org/ela

Recommendations

SOPA will be administered:– at the end of Year 3 (Grade 2)– At the end of Year 4 (Grade 3) pending funding

– At the end of Year 6 (Grade 5) pending funding

Data will be analyzed to explore differences in results over time and between schools

Plans for Future Research

Other oral proficiency assessments will also be used:– National Online Early Language Learning

Assessment (NOELLA) At the end of Year 4 (Grade 3) pending funding

At the end of Year 6 (Grade 5) pending funding

– Teacher Observation Matrix (based on the SOPA) TOM-SOPA

In Years 4-6 (Grades 3-5) pending funding

Plans for Future Research

Questions?

Assessing Chinese Language Proficiency in Young Students:

Strategies and Results

Claudia Navarro-Villarroel

National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center

Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa

Marcia H. Rosenbusch, Director

National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center

Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa

Chengbin Yin, Project Coordinator

Chinese K-5 Curriculum Project

Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), Washington, DC