Four-Week High School Credit Program Syllabus Lac du Bois, Bemidji – Concordia Language Villages Accredited by Cognia

Course Title: One Year of French High School Language Study

Levels: Beginner through advanced—customized to student needs and personal or academic goals. Leveled class size ranges from 4–9 students. The overall ratio of teachers and counseling staff to students is 1 to 4.

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 the target language and Americans with extensive experience abroad. 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 Cognia, a non-partisan accreditation body with over 100 years’ experience. Our program meets or exceeds the guidelines for foreign language credit established by State Departments of Education across the country by achieving a minimum of 180 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 meet both the Concordia Language Villages mission and 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 consists of a minimum of 180 hours of direct instruction and language and culture practice. A typical day includes, conservatively, 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. Villagers are grouped into classes based on language level and goal similarity. They are guided in their learning by their principal teacher in a core class who helps them set initial goals, reflect on their progress, shape their portfolio and projects, and achieve their learning goals. They also take two elective classes during the session. These have included documentary filmmaking, improvisational theater, book making and bookbinding with authentic African materials, West- African instrument-making, poetry, linguistics and phonetics, and Global Summit—preparing to represent a francophone country in the International Day event on a global topic.

In addition to their primary class and electives, they attend “Stages.” These are project-based learning opportunities and lead villagers to share with the Village—creating a bakery, presenting a play, leading a whole-Village cultural simulation.

All credit villagers participate in an overnight camping experience with their teachers and classmates, a mini-program called “Belle Etoile.” They learn to set up camp, build the fire, cook the meal, and take hikes and play in the State Park near our Village. The overnight also includes collaborative group games and a solo reflection time.

The daily schedule allows villagers to engage in French in various topics with cultural and historical themes. Each day at Lac du Bois centers on a theme that ranges from geographical -- such as , Québec, Provence, or - to historical or cultural -- such as May 1968, Chocolate, Election in , or Tin Tin.

Meals are a cornerstone of the program and the daily themes. Skits showcase the day’s theme at mealtimes, songs are taught that relate to the era or place, and vocabulary is taught that relates directly to the theme. The Culinary Arts staff design the day’s menu to reflect the theme and offer new and classic cuisine for the Village to try. Dishes are presented through skits for villagers to learn the related vocabulary and cultural significance of the dishes.

Villagers use the target language as the primary language of communication throughout the program. Villagers also have the opportunity to learn from the entire staff of approximately 35 teachers and counselors in directed activities, cabin group activities, family eating groups, and other Village activities. Through leadership opportunities, living in a community, taking risks, and playing in the target language, villagers are encouraged to participate as they choose to engage but also to try new things in group projects and with their cabin mates.

The following is a summary of key elements of curriculum and instruction featured specifically in the intensive Four- Week High School Credit Program: ● Small credit program classes of 4–9 villagers and an overall ratio of one (target language proficient) staff member to four 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 issues affecting the target cultures ● Opportunity for villagers to reflect on 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 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 and arts and humanities ● Learning in nature and about our natural world ● Engagement with culturally-authentic products and practices

Daily Schedule (subject to change): 8h00 Wake up/Clean cabins/Set tables 8h30 Daily question or challenge to enter the dining hall 8h45 Breakfast 9h30 Class 1 10h45 Snack break (bank open) 11h15 Directed Activity 12h00 Song time 1 12h20 Meal presentation 12h30 Lunch/mail 13h30 Cleaning/Rest time 14h50 Free time (bank and stores open, activities offered, waterfront open) 16h05 Song time 2 14h25 Stages-Project Class 17h15 Class 2 18h15 Meal presentation 18h30 Dinner 19h15 Mono mystérieux (awards for villagers’ efforts to speak with staff) 19h30 Pause in courtyard 19h45 Plaisirs d’Amour (“soap opera”) 20h00 Evening program 20h45/21h00 Camp fire 22h00 Lights out

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 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): Village Life 20% Villagers participate in several aspects of the village including required Super Français (speaking 100% in French), announcing what all villagers will compost during meals that day, working at the village café, etc. Assessments 30% Halfway through the course and during the fourth week, there are oral and written assessments on what villagers have learned. Projects 30% Villagers work on a class project directed by their instructor generally centered on topics related to francophone cultures. Their principal teacher helps them set initial goals, reflect on their progress, and achieve their learning goals. Additionally, projects in elective courses are designed to enhance villagers’ speaking and writing skills concerning a specific topic of their choice. Portfolio 20% Portfolios include a number of items collected during the session. They are a reflection of villager work and achievements in all areas of the program.

Grade Scale: A = 90–100% B = 80–89% C = 70–79% D = 60–69% F = 59% and below

Program Policies: Receiving Credit: Credit for the program will be granted upon completion of all 180 required hours (the entire four-week course) as well as a passing grade in all categories of the Village-specific grading policy.

Transferring Credit to Schools: School districts decide whether or not to accept transfer credit and how to list that credit on a villager’s school record. Many schools accept full credit for work done at Concordia Language Villages. Some schools, however, may accept half credit, advancement in language studies or notation of the work on the villager’s high school transcript. Others may administer a placement exam to determine an appropriate course level upon returning to the school’s language program. It is a parent or guardian’s responsibility to speak with the villager’s principal or other school officials to determine what will be required in order for the credit to be transferred prior to their session. Villagers may include Concordia Language Villages transcripts in college application materials if the credits are not transferred to the villager’s school.

Language Levels: On the first full day of the credit session, villagers are placed into learning groups based on their language ability and credit expectations. These groupings allow villagers to learn with peers possessing similar skills and needs near their proficiency level to make one year’s worth or more of progress. Concordia Language Villages welcomes and accommodates learners of any proficiency level (including true beginners) and individualizes an approach to support their increased proficiency and mastery.

Matching School Language Class: Although villagers will learn the same amount of language at the Village as they would in a year at school, it may not be the same content; every school is different. If your school is concerned that the Concordia Language Villages curriculum match closely with its curriculum, please have your villager bring a copy of that curriculum or syllabus to the Village and share it with the credit facilitator and teacher. We can try to incorporate particular aspects of individual schools’ syllabi into the Language Villages classes or provide individualized extra help, but this has to be requested by parents. Under no circumstances are we able to guarantee matching a school course exactly. Please note that curricula for Village classes cannot be furnished ahead of time, as it is determined during the session based on the abilities of the class group.

Credit Appeals Process: Before the close of the credit session, all credit villagers should know their final grade and generally will sign a document that attests that they earned the grade indicated. To appeal a grade, a villager must submit a written request, co-signed by a parent or guardian, to Concordia Language Villages, stating the rationale for the appeal before October 1 of the year following the summer session.

For more policies regarding behavior, participation, etc., please see the Parent Handbook.

Program Documentation: Following successful completion of the course, Concordia Language Villages will provide (to villagers’ schools or parents): ● Official transcript for one year of high school credit ● Syllabus of specific Language Village selected ● Proof of Concordia Language Villages’ accreditation ● Copy of curriculum specific to leveled class ● Final Evaluation

Villagers in the course also return to their home or school with a portfolio demonstrating competencies and proficiency as designed by their specific Language Village.

A report, emailed or mailed to parents at mid-session, includes the villager’s grade to date. The grade, of course, may change before the end of the session.

Final documentation is mailed from the administrative office in Moorhead, Minn., not from the Village, and takes several weeks to process. At the parent’s request, an evaluation and transcript of the villager’s work will also be sent to his or her school at the end of the summer.