InTASC STANDARD Six: Assessment: The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of

assessments to engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the

teachers and of learners decision making.

Name of Artifact: Francophone Country Study Rubric

Course: French I

Date: 4 May 2016

ACTFL Standards Addressed: Presentational Communication: Learners present information,

concepts, and ideas to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate on a variety of topics using

appropriate media and adapting to various audiences of listeners, readers, or viewers.

Rationale:

The Francophone Country Study project allows my students practice their research skills

while they have the opportunity to learn about another Francophone country. Each student in a

class chooses a different Francophone country from a list that is passed around the room. After

they have chosen their country, we talk about the rubric. We discuss what makes a source

reliable. Each student creates a PowerPoint that he or she will present to the class. While a

student is presenting, the rest of the class fills out a form with information from the presentation.

This project allows the students to share what they learned about the country they chose

with the rest of the class. The students have the opportunity to learn about one country in depth

as well as an introduction to many other countries. My students are often proud of their

presentations, and they take ownership of their learning. This may bring about integrative

motivation (Shrum & Glisan, 2015). Since they express a personal connection with the

Francophone country that they researched, they may want to learn more to develop intercultural

competence to enable to function within that society (Brown, 2014). In the French classroom,
they are already acquiring linguistic competence, but in order to be able to function in the target

culture, they must also understand the social norms of that society in order to avoid acting

inappropriately. What is appropriate in one culture might not be appropriate in another. Speech

features also identify the speaker (Chaika, 2008). As a nonnative speaker it may be difficult to

observe all the subtleties that may be present in the dialect and the culture. Preparing the

presentation may spark that interest to delve deeper into the culture of that society. This may

broaden my students perspectives. Several students have told me that they wish to visit the

country they were researching while others were fascinated by the countrys history or culture,

but they did not want to visit the country because of instability present there. When students

recognize that a particular place may not be the ideal location to visit, but they demonstrate an

awareness of the global issues facing that location, they may be prompted to learn more about

those issues as well as the country. Looking into these issues may allow the students to show

empathy for people with those same issues or similar issues. This may help them become more

tolerant and accepting of others since the issues have a more personal connection.

References

Brown, H. D. (2014). Principles of language learning and teaching A course in second language

acquisition (6th ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson.

Chaika, E. (2008). Language the social mirror (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Heinle Cengage Learning.

Shrum, J. L., & Glisan, E. W. (2015). Teachers handbook (5th ed.). United States of America:

Cengage Learning.