This project will support the French department’s transition away from a textbook-based curriculum at the 100, 200, and 300 levels in order to offer an authentic, proficiency- and project-based curriculum, one that allows students to grow into non sibi changemakers and acquire skills that machine translators cannot replace. More than recreating a set of units, this project will transform the curriculum into a community-based one unique to Andover.
Rooted in the proficiency standards put forth by ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages), the new curriculum will offer a coherent arc over the three-year program, based on ACTFL Can-Do Statements, essential questions, and language proficiency functions (rather than themes and grammar points). Students may engage in negotiating a meeting time or solving a food scarcity issue in Andover, interpreting an article about the migrant crisis in France or engaging campus Francophone colleagues.
To assess and measure the impact of the new curriculum, surveys, shared live documents to annotate, in-class assessments and standard proficiency benchmarks and tests will be used.
Over time, this project will be used in the World Language Division to provide opportunities for alignment and collaboration.
