Project Archive
National K–12 Foreign Language Resource Center and CAL: Prior Collaborations
The National K–12 Foreign Language Resource Center was established at Iowa State University with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education in 1994. One of nine National Language Resource Centers, this Center is unique in its commitment to the improvement of foreign language education in grades kindergarten through twelve (K–12) through professional development of K–12 foreign language teachers. The Center is a collaborative effort between Iowa State University, the Center for Applied Linguistics, and various foreign language educators around the country.
The Center provides professional support to foreign language educators through on-going research projects, occasional papers, and national summer institutes with long-term follow-up. All of the Center's work is focused on its three initiatives:
- Performance assessment (CAL)
- Effective teaching strategies (Iowa State)
- New technologies in the foreign language classroom (Iowa State)
Performance Assessment Initiative
Tell us about your foreign language assessment instrument(s), strategies, or resources!
The Performance Assessment Initiative is a collaborative effort between CAL and the National K–12 Foreign Language Resource Center. This initiative is designed to improve the ability of K–12 foreign language teachers to assess their students and to help them integrate assessment practices with foreign language standards.
Activites conducted from 2002-2006 included:
- providing training in the administration and rating of the Student Oral Proficiency Assessment (SOPA);
- maintaining an online foreign language assessment resource guide;
- developing and validating an Early Language Learning Oral Proficiency Assessment (ELLOPA) and accompanying student self-assessment, and
- conducting a study of the benefits and drawbacks of using distance learning technology to teach languages to young children
Watch our Web site for more information on the projects that will be conducted from 2006 - 2010 by the NFLRC and CAL, including the development of a Chinese K-5 curriculum and the dissemination of early foreign language resources through a Web site and e-mail discussion group.
Visit the NFLRC Web site housed at Iowa State University to learn more in the meantime.