Speaking Strategies: Meeting NCATE Oral Proficiency Standards

Abstract: The teaming of ACTFL and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education resulted in the requirement that teacher candidates speak at the Advanced Low (AL) or higher level on the Oral Proficiency scale. Providing the means to help candidates meet that minimum standard for certification is a fundamental consideration. This article outlines the design of a course, Speaking Strategies, that was implemented to address the specific issue of increasing students' oral proficiency. Inspired by Schmidt's (1990, 1993, 1995, 2001) noticing hypothesis, Speaking Strategies focuses students' attention on the tasks of the next proficiency level, resulting in an increase in proficiency of at least one sublevel in 71% of the cases. Most important for teacher candidates, more than one-third of those who did not reach the minimum AL rating prior to the course did so upon its completion. Key words: conversation, NCATE standards, oral proficiency, teacher certification, teacher credentials Introduction Teacher preparation programs underwent significant changes in 2002 with the collaboration of the ACTFL and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). The result of the organizations' efforts to standardize teacher training are articulated in Program Standards for the Preparation of Foreign Language Teachers (ACTFL, 2002). That document prescribes minimum competencies in language, culture, pedagogy, and linguistics for the licensing of foreign language teachers. Moreover, the Standards establish a minimum level of oral proficiency in the target language at the Advanced Low (AL) level on the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Guidelines. Of the areas in which teacher candidates are tested, oral proficiency is likely the most difficult for many of them. Proficiency refers to a speaker's ability to ''use the language effectively and appropriately in real-life situations'' (Swender, 1999, p. 1). Unlike content areas that one masters through study, oral proficiency develops and improves over time. In addition, Advanced-level proficiency is an ambitious goal for typical undergraduate foreign language majors, particularly if they have no significant study abroad experience (Rifkin, 2003). Research shows that most language majors rate at the Intermediate High (IH)/AL border upon completing their studies, with more placing on the Intermediate side of the border. Swender (2003) reported that in a study of 501 Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) ratings of undergraduate majors, 47% rated above the Advanced-level border and 53% rated below. As such, the AL minimum requirement sets the bar higher than many undergraduates' typical performance. The challenge for teacher trainers is to assist students in developing their skills to perform consistently at the Advanced level. The preparation of future teachers is the responsibility of faculty and program directors in both education and foreign language departments. It is incumbent on those of us in language programs to address the requirement that our future teachers speak at the AL level for teacher certification and attempt to train them accordingly. A primary question guides this article and the course described herein: Is it possible to increase oral proficiency by means of a classroom experience, in one semester? The answer is affirmative. This article describes the design of a course in Spanish oral proficiency called Speaking Strategies, which is offered in the Department of Hispanic Studies at the College of Charleston. Speaking Strategies was created to address the development of Advanced-level proficiency among undergraduate Spanish majors. Based on the results of pre- and post-OPIs, along with class activities that target Advanced-level tasks, Speaking Strategies has proven successful in increasing students' oral proficiency by at least one sublevel (i.e., Intermediate Mid to IH, IH to AL, etc.) for 71% of the students enrolled in the course. …