2. Why are we asking the question?
• Some say that proficiency tests such as the
OPI are inappropriate tests for heritage
learners.
• Others say the OPI and the ACTFL/ILR
rating criteria are appropriate for everyone.
3. Which is the best term,
“Bilingual,” “Native,” or
“Heritage” Speaker?
• All of these terms describe categories of
individuals.
• Each term represents a range of abilities
rather than a specific level of proficiency in
a language.
• The terms are used inconsistently and may
overlap.
4. Points to Ponder
• Can native speakers also be bilinguals?
• Are bilinguals always considered to be
native speakers of two languages?
• Are heritage speakers considered to be
native speakers?
• Are there some people who speak no
language well?
5. What Makes Someone
a Native Speaker?
•
•
•
•
Place of birth?
The first language acquired?
The language of the parents?
A minimum number of years living in the
society?
• The level of education attained in the
society where the language is spoken?
7. Cognitive versus Linguistic
Student Errors
• Without the Greeks we wouldn’t have history.
• A myth is a female moth.
• Actually, Homer was not written by Homer but by
another man of that name.
• Germinate: To become a naturalized German.
• The pistol of a flower is its only protection against
insects.
• The abominable cavity contains the bowls, of
which there are five – a, e, i, o, and u.
9. The following three charts are from:
Bias in Mental Testing,
by Arthur R. Jensen
The Free Press, Macmillan Publishing.
786 pages, 1980.
ASVAB Factor Analysis, page 220
Mental Age and Chronological Age, page 104
Knowledge and Reasoning Development, page 106
10.
11.
12.
13. Summary of Maturation’s
Impact on Language
• Verbal ability is highly correlated with the growth
of cognitive ability.
• Mental ability grows rapidly from birth to about
age 16, then the rate of growth levels off.
• About age 8 there is a sharp increase in ability to
answer questions requiring recall of factual
information.
• Ability to answer questions requiring the
understanding of relationships develops more
slowly and doesn’t level off until age 12.
15. Reading Scale: European Commission
• Functional reading
– Locate information in highly formatted texts such as
schedules, signs, directories.
• Referential reading
– Acquire new information from news, descriptions,
science reports.
• Reflective reading
– Extend one’s world view, cultivate the mind by reading
literature, popular science articles, reviews.
• Critical reading
– Evaluate editorials, critical essays, persuasive texts.
16. Reading Scale: Council of Europe
Common European Framework
• A1 Can understand very short, simple texts a single
phrase at a time.
• A2 Can understand short, simple texts on familiar topics.
• B1 Can read straightforward factual texts.
• B2 Can read [factual texts] with a large degree of
independence, but may have difficulty with low-frequency
items.
• C1 Can understand in detail lengthy, complex texts.
• C2 Can interpret critically virtually all forms of the
written language including abstract, structurally complex,
or highly colloquial writings.
17. Bloom’s Taxonomy of
Educational Objectives
• Memorization of facts.
• Comprehension and use of words and phrases.
• Application of skills to create and understand new
communications.
• Analysis and definition of factual relationships in
paragraph length communications.
• Synthesis of concepts to produce and comprehend
abstract ideas and hypothetical situations.
• Evaluation and persuasion through refined use of
professional, literary, and rhetorical skills.
18. Summary of Education’s Impact
on Language Development.
• Life’s activities support the cognitive
development of lower cognitive levels.
• Formal education builds on those levels.
• Attaining the highest levels of language and
cognitive skills usually requires sustained
schooling such as completion of a higher
education degree program.
19. What would happen if …
• A learner stopped using the language at age 8?
• A learner’s experience in the language were
limited to factual communications?
• A learner’s education switched to a different
language in the 4th grade?
20. What Makes Someone
a Heritage Speaker?
“For the most part, …[t]hey speak or hear the
heritage language spoken at home, but they
receive all of their education in the official or
majority language of the countries in which they
live. … They thus become literate only in the
majority language.”
Guadalupe Valdés, “Introduction,” in Volume I, Spanish for Native
Speakers, Harcourt College Publishers. 108 pages, 2000.
21. Testing and Teaching
Heritage Learners
• Assessment methods should match the
reason for giving the test.
– Screening for job assignments.
– Placement into instructional programs.
– Planning individualized instruction.
22. What Determines Whether a
Test Is Appropriate?
• The person to be tested?
Or…
• The purpose for which the test is being
administered?
23. Testing Application Matrix
Purpose
Heritage Learners Other Learners
Screening for job assignments
?
?
Placement into instructional programs
?
?
Planning individualized instruction
?
?
24. Screening for Job Assignments
• Skill modality ratings based on the ILR scale are
“non-compensatory” in that all conditions of a
given level must be met to earn that rating.
• Therefore, an ILR rating is useful for job
placement, because it represents a conservative
guarantee that the test candidate has the level of
proficiency needed for a given job.
• However, a summary ILR proficiency rating
cannot recognize the individual strengths that may
be present in a heritage speaker’s ability profile.
25. Level 3 / Superior: A Summary
• Content areas to be included:
Practical, social, professional, and abstract topics
such as economics, culture, and science.
• Communication tasks to be accomplished:
Use extended, cohesive discourse to support
opinions, to hypothesize, to defend policies, and to
clarify points of disagreement.
• Accuracy expectations:
Without searching for words or phrases, can use
the language clearly and relatively naturally to
elaborate concepts freely and make ideas easily
understandable to native speakers.
26. Proficiency Level Summary
LEVEL
FUNCTION/TASKS
5
All expected of an
educated NS
4
Tailor language, counsel, motivate,
persuade, negotiate
Wide range of
professional needs
3
Support opinions, hypothesize,
explain, deal with unfamiliar topics
Practical, abstract,
special interests
2
Narrate, describe, give directions
1
Q & A, create with the language
0
Memorized
CONTEXT/TOPICS
All subjects
Concrete, realworld, factual
ACCURACY
Accepted as an
educated NS
Extensive, precise,
and appropriate
Errors never
interfere with
communication &
rarely disturb
Intelligible even if
not used to dealing
with non-NS
Everyday survival
Intelligible with
effort or practice
Random
Unintelligible
27.
28. Placement into instructional
programs. (Macro Diagnosis)
• The major components of the ILR scale are
– Communication tasks to be accomplished.
– Specified topical domains.
– Accuracy statements.
• Assigning a separate rating to each of these
components creates a “macro” skill profile.
• Although this three-factor, macro profile is not
very detailed, it could be useful in grouping
learners into classes of students with similar
needs.
29. Course Design
• Depending on the diversity found in the
population, multiple instructional tracks
may be needed.
• These tracks may be based on
– Communicative functions.
– Topical / lexical domains.
– Language structure and accuracy of
communication.
30. Proficiency Level Summary
LEVEL
FUNCTION/TASKS
5
All expected of an
educated NS
4
Tailor language, counsel, motivate,
persuade, negotiate
Wide range of
professional needs
3
Support opinions, hypothesize,
explain, deal with unfamiliar topics
Practical, abstract,
special interests
2
Narrate, describe, give directions
1
Q & A, create with the language
0
Memorized
CONTEXT/TOPICS
All subjects
Concrete, realworld, factual
ACCURACY
Accepted as an
educated NS
Extensive, precise,
and appropriate
Errors never
interfere with
communication &
rarely disturb
Intelligible even if
not used to dealing
with non-NS
Everyday survival
Intelligible with
effort or practice
Random
Unintelligible
31. Planning Individualized
Instruction. (Micro Diagnostics)
• The ILR scale can also be used as the basis
for conducting individualized diagnostic
assessments.
• Strengths and deficiencies can be noted as
they relate to the candidate’s performance
on the communication tasks found in the
ILR scale.
32. Planning Individualized
Instruction. (Micro Diagnostics)
• For instance, the test candidate performing tasks at
Level 3 might display the following pattern:
– Native-like pronunciation.
– Inappropriate choice of register.
– Lack of lexical precision.
– Etc.
• From this type of analysis, an individualized
learning plan could be developed for each learner
based on their personal strengths and weaknesses.
33. Proficiency Level Summary
LEVEL
FUNCTION/TASKS
5
All expected of an
educated NS
4
Tailor language, counsel, motivate,
persuade, negotiate
Wide range of
professional needs
3
Support opinions, hypothesize,
explain, deal with unfamiliar topics
Practical, abstract,
special interests
2
Narrate, describe, give directions
1
Q & A, create with the language
0
Memorized
CONTEXT/TOPICS
All subjects
Concrete, realworld, factual
ACCURACY
Accepted as an
educated NS
Extensive, precise,
and appropriate
Errors never
interfere with
communication &
rarely disturb
Intelligible even if
not used to dealing
with non-NS
Everyday survival
Intelligible with
effort or practice
Random
Unintelligible
35. When testing heritage language learners,
is the glass half empty
or half full?
• The answer will depend on:
–The breadth and depth of the
learner’s experiences.
- The “size of the glass.”
36. Choosing the Correct Glass
Requires Knowing Its Purpose
• Water glass
• Wine glass
• Brandy snifter
37. Choosing the Correct Test
Requires Knowing Its Purpose
• Screening for job assignments.
• Placement into instructional programs.
• Planning individualized instruction.
38. Testing Application Matrix
Purpose
Heritage Learners Other Learners
Screening for job assignments
?
?
Placement into instructional programs
?
?
Planning individualized instruction
?
?
39. Testing Application Matrix
Purpose
Screening for job assignments
Heritage Learners Other Learners
Proficiency Test
Proficiency Test
Macro Diagnostic Macro Diagnostic
Placement into instructional programs
Test
Test
Micro Diagnostic Micro Diagnostic
Planning individualized instruction
Test
Test
40. Testing is Beneficial
• Heritage learners generally have substantial,
if sometimes uneven, language skills.
• Optimum utilization of those skills requires
informed decision making.
• Language tests can provide the desired
information.
41. However…
• Different tests and testing approaches yield
different data.
• The type of information needed establishes
the testing purpose.
42. Conclusion
• It is the purpose of the test – not the person
to be tested – that should determine the type
of test to be administered.
