Four-Week High School Credit Program Syllabus Waldsee - Concordia Language Villages Accredited by Advanced

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Four-Week High School Credit Program Syllabus Waldsee - Concordia Language Villages Accredited by Advanced Four-Week High School Credit Program Syllabus Waldsee - Concordia Language Villages Accredited by AdvancEd Course Title: One year of German High School Language Study Levels: Beginner through advanced—customized to student needs and personal or academic goals. Class size by level ranges from 4–8 students. The overall ratio of teachers and counseling staff to villagers is 1 to 3. Teachers: Teachers and administrators in the Concordia Language Villages Credit Programs have strong backgrounds in teaching language and culture, as well as other domains. They include both native speakers of German and Americans with extensive experience in German-speaking countries. Most are primary or secondary school teachers, practicing teachers in their own country, or have an M.A. or Ph.D. qualifying them to be instructors. Program Credits: One year of high school credit. Level determined by proficiency assessment upon arrival. Accreditation Details: Concordia Language Villages is accredited by AdvancEd, a non-partisan accreditation body with over 100 years’ experience. Our program meets or exceeds the guidelines for foreign language credit established by departments of education across each of the 50 U.S. states by achieving 190 high-quality instructional hours over the course of four weeks. Learning Objectives: This intensive program meets a variety of objectives related to linguistic proficiency, cultural competency, and positive engagement in local and global communities. The course is designed to advance the Concordia Language Villages mission and meet the World-Readiness Standards of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. It supports high school students’ learning needs in public and private schools, homeschooling environments, International Baccalaureate diploma programs, language immersion schools, and those seeking alternative learning environments and credentials, such as the Seal of Biliteracy and Global Education Achievement Certificate. All high school credit instruction serves broader institutional goals such as the Concordia Language Villages mission of inspiring courageous global citizens. A courageous global citizen lives responsibly by: ● Appreciating and seeking to understand diverse cultural perspectives; ● Communicating with confidence and cultural sensitivity in multiple languages; ● Respecting human dignity and cultivating compassion; ● Engaging critically and creatively with issues that transcend boundaries; and ● Advancing a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world for all. Concordia Language Villages’ programs meet all of the objectives of the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Language Learning. For a summary of our program’s alignment with the national standards, please visit our website. Curriculum and Instruction: The Four-Week High School Credit Program in German consists of 190 hours of direct instruction and language and culture practice. A typical day includes, at a minimum, 8.5 hours of direct instruction, development of comprehension skills, conversation, and a wide range of structured activities in the target language. Villagers carry what they learn in their courses into the other areas of the Village, where they are immersed and surrounded by a large number of proficient speakers and opportunities to practice, apply and extend their learning. For information about the broader philosophy of learning in the Concordia Language Villages, visit our description of the CLVway. As an extension of Waldsee‘s core curriculum, the credit program emphasizes active learning, drawing on all of the resources that Waldsee has to offer, including our rich natural surroundings, a variety of indoor and outdoor arts and sporting activities, and Village life. The curriculum focuses on four “Waldsee Goals”: to create a safe, positive and caring environment that motivates participants to use the German language; to learn more about German-speaking cultures; to better understand themselves and relate to others; and to be responsible citizens in our global society. Villagers engage the German language using a theme-based curriculum that melds cultural content with grammar. The program emphasizes learning in social situations and natural settings, like going to the Laden (store), ordering food at the Waldsee Café, or producing our own Seifenoper (soap opera) for the rest of the village. Our Village is our classroom. The following is a list of key elements of curriculum and instruction featured specifically in the intensive Four-Week High School Credit Program: ● Small credit program classes of 4–8 villagers and an overall ratio of one (target language proficient) staff member to three villagers ● Project-based learning (individual and thematic) ● Linguistic and cultural immersion in a simulated “Village,” in which villagers use the target language as the primary language of communication ● Exploration of global issues and themes relevant to people in German-speaking countries ● Opportunity for villagers to reflect on their learning and set and fulfill personal goals ● Interaction with a variety of global perspectives and cultural beliefs ● A supportive learning community in a positive, residential atmosphere that fosters confidence and collaboration ● Character development through leadership and stewardship opportunities, living in a community, taking risks, and playing in the target language ● Hands-on experiential learning and language practice in simulated and real situations ● Interdisciplinary, content-based instruction in the areas of natural and social sciences, arts and humanities ● Learning in nature and about our natural world ● Engagement with culturally-authentic products and practices Evaluation: Both formative and summative assessments are used with an emphasis on performance and proficiency. Credit villagers begin with several placement evaluations and have frequent opportunities to demonstrate their language and culture learning through activity-based assessment tools, as well as more traditional quizzes and tests. Each credit villager also completes a comprehensive multimedia portfolio documenting his or her own learning and progress at the Village. Final Evaluations include: ● Final grade based on multiple areas of assessment (see below) ● Descriptions of villager proficiency and skills in three modes of communication: interpersonal, presentational, and interpretive. Individuals can compare these descriptions to common proficiency scales such as ACTFL, Common European Framework, or College Board Continuum. Grading Criteria (subject to change): Portfolio And Reflection (5% of final grade) Villagers projects and all other major components of the portfolio. As an introduction to the reader, they include a self- reflection on their entire time in Waldsee. They describe their unique identity as a language and culture learner before the session and reflect on how they have changed and grown during the session. They highlight the most meaningful parts of their experience. Village Participation (25-40% of final grade) In Waldsee, villagers are engaged in learning throughout the day. It is their responsibility to document how they choose to participate in Village life and what they learn from it. They have weekly goals and meetings with their teacher to discuss their progress. In addition to their four formal class periods each day, students participate in German in a variety of activities with their fellow villagers. In any given session, these may include soccer, volleyball, field handball, fencing, chess, cooking and baking, environmental projects, photography, dance, frisbee, canoeing, card and board games, and many arts activities from German-speaking countries. Waldsee features cuisine authentic to German-speaking countries and encourage credit villagers to use their German actively at mealtimes to learn and practice culturally appropriate norms and language structures, and to engage informally in conversation with fellow villagers and staff, including at “German only” tables. Villagers participate in a variety of evening programs that help them use their German actively in ways that also help them learn and appreciate cultural norms, practices, and perspectives from German-speaking countries. Programs range from festivals and field games to cabin activities and cross-cultural simulations. On some nights, they use that time as study time to review or work on long-term projects. Villagers are encouraged to take advantage of a variety of incentive tracks to get to “100% German.” These include pledging to speak German the entire day; participating in “German only” tables at mealtimes; practicing their German by acting as waiters at the Waldsee Cafe; and becoming a Waldsee Mensch by completing a number of community service tasks. Projects (30-50% of final grade) Villagers complete five (5) projects in order to meet the four Waldsee goals. These might include using German to make a poster based on what they learn in class, planning a vacation to Germany, writing an essay, making a film or recording, or engaging in historical role-playing exercises. Three of the projects must be connected to themes that are addressed in their leveled classes. Two projects must be in conjunction with their Arbeitsgruppen (AG), which are mixed-level interest groups. Journal, Class Participation, and Assignments (20-25% of final grade) All other in-class work and assignments completed throughout the session is included in villager portfolios, including drafts of work that demonstrate growth. Villagers also be keep
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