This large-scale study used a survey to collect data on K-12 world language classrooms in Massachusetts public schools, focusing on core instructional practices, curriculum, and assessment. The study resulted in 383 individual teacher completed responses, representing 188 districts, which was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results indicate…

State-issued seals and certificates of biliteracy are increasingly common nationwide. Nevertheless, limited research to date has examined how this state legislation functions as language in education policy and the ideological foundations of these policies. Addressing this gap, the present paper examines state seals as an instance of neoliberal…

The introduction of the Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL) has presented a potent opportunity for community heritage language schools to credential the heritage language proficiency of their students in a U.S. context. This study explores the involvement of community heritage language schools in the SoBL initiative. It investigates how seven heritage…

Much of applied linguistics research has been concerned with classroom-based second language (L2) development as it offers an ideal setting for examining the institutional ecology of L2 learning and teaching. However, scholars have continued to call for greater attention to the operationalization of constructs, selection of valid assessments, and…

This article contributes to broader discussions of the knowledge base for language teacher education; the standards and policies that inform world language teacher education; and the need for a systematic, principled, and robust theory of language to underpin contexualized world language teaching and learning. Specifically, it proposes that the…

To date, research on the Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) has focused principally on student performance, largely neglecting the experiences of instructors. This is a substantial gap, for it is instructors who are responsible for both designing and administering the IPA. The present study, therefore, used concepts from the literature on…

Previous research has examined world language classroom-based assessment practices as well as the impact of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project, 1999) on practice. However, the extent to which K-12 teachers' assessment practices reflect national and state…

In response to the call for improving teacher candidates' familiarity with the assessment tasks and format of the edTPA (Hildebrandt & Swanson, 2014), this single case study investigated the reflective writing development of Jena, a K-12 Spanish teacher candidate, and her evolution in a pedagogy that focused on the development of writing two…

This article reports on the implementation of diagnostic assessment in an advanced Spanish language program at the university level. Particular attention is given to the use of dynamic assessment practices as a way to assess language abilities, intervene in learning, and document learners' growth. Dynamic assessment is conceptually based on…

The effects of data-gathering methods on pragmatic data have been well documented, yet an inquiry into the interactive effects of assessment tasks with pragmatic instruction has received scant attention. This study investigated the interaction between two assessment tasks (e-mail and phone) and two types of pragmatic instruction (explicit and…

Outlines a framework or portfolio assessment that offers foreign language teachers a model for systematically designing and implementing assessment portfolios and give them a tool to use for conducting further research. (Author/VWL)

Numerous publications, including the "Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century" (National Standards, 1999), emphasize the importance of cultural understanding in the development of intercultural competence in foreign language learning. However, there is no agreement on how culture should be defined operationally in the context…

Due to an increase in enrollment in upper-level Spanish classes that posed staffing problems, the Spanish section of the Department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Tennessee decided to combine three sections of Spanish 331, "Introduction to Hispanic Culture," into one large lecture course, which was…

Discusses classroom assessment techniques (CATs), formative assessment tools that require knowledge of one's discipline and a clear desire to increase student learning. Examples are provided from a Spanish grammar and composition course. (Author/VWL)

Examines classroom assessment techniques and how technology can be used to enhance their effectiveness. Examples from upper-division courses in German, French, and Spanish are given. (Author/VWL)