QCC Course Assessment Form (Short)
QCC COURSE ASSESSMENT FORM
Fall 2004, Rev. 6/15/07
Date 5-31-2012
Department: Foreign Languages and Literatures
Course: LI 213
Curriculum or Curricula: LA
PART I. STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES
For Part I, attach the summary report (Tables 1-4) from the QCC Course Objectives Form.
TABLE 1. EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT
LI-213 is the first part of the intermediate sequence of foreign language study (a requirement for a successful
transfer to the junior year of a baccalaureate program). It is a required course for (AA) degree in Liberal Arts and
Sciences, Fine Arts, and Business Transfer.
TABLE 2. CURRICULAR OBJECTIVES
Note: Include in this table curriculum-specific objectives that meet Educational Goals 1 and 2:
Curricular objectives addressed by this course:
N/A
TABLE 3. GENERAL EDUCATION OBJECTIVES
Gen Ed
objective’s ID
number from
list (1-10)
General educational objectives addressed by this course: Select from preceding list.
(1) Communicate effectively through reading, writing, listening and speaking.
(2) Use analytical reasoning to identify issues or problems and evaluate evidence in order to
make informed decisions.
1 TABLE 4: COURSE OBJECTIVES AND STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Course objectives




Read and comprehend
authentic reading material
including newspaper or
magazine articles, and
passages from
contemporary literary
works.
Make judgments and/or
suggestions, in oral and/or
written form, on particular
life styles and situations.
Describe or narrate past
events avoiding redundancy
and unnecessary repetition.
Describe or narrate future
plans.
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to read and understand authentic reading material
such magazine or newspaper articles.
Students will be able to suggest a friend or an elderly about proper and
healthy lifestyles.
Students will be able to describe or narrate an experience at the
emergency room, or an important past event.
Students will be able to describe the vacation plans of some of their
friends, or their life after graduating from college.
2 PART II. ASSIGNMENT DESIGN: ALIGNING OUTCOMES, ACTIVITIES, AND
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
For the assessment project, you will be designing one course assignment, which will address at least one general
educational objective, one curricular objective (if applicable), and one or more of the course objectives. Please
identify these in the following table:
TABLE 5: OBJECTIVES ADDRESSED IN ASSESSMENT ASSIGNMENT
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Read and comprehend authentic reading material including newspaper or magazine articles, and
passages from contemporary literary works.
Make judgments and/or suggestions, in oral and/or written form, on particular life styles and situations.
Speaking concisely by avoiding repetitions.
Describe or narrate past events avoiding redundancy and unnecessary repetition.
Describe or narrate future plans.
Curricular Objective(s) selected for assessment: (select from Table 2)
N/A
General Education Objective(s) addressed in this assessment: (select from Table 3)
1. Communicate effectively through reading, writing, listening and speaking.
2. Use analytical reasoning to identify issues or problems and evaluate evidence in order to make informed
decisions.
In the first row of Table 6 that follows, describe the assignment that has been selected/designed for this project.
In writing the description, keep in mind the course objective(s), curricular objective(s) and the general education
objective(s) identified above,
The assignment should be conceived as an instructional unit to be completed in one class session (such as a lab) or
over several class sessions. Since any one assignment is actually a complex activity, it is likely to require that
students demonstrate several types of knowledge and/or thinking processes.
Also in Table 6, please
a) identify the three to four most important student learning outcomes (1-4) you expect from this assignment
b) describe the types of activities (a – d) students will be involved with for the assignment, and
c) list the type(s) of assessment tool(s) (a-d) you plan to use to evaluate each of the student outcomes.
(Classroom assessment tools may include paper and pencil tests, performance assessments, oral questions,
portfolios, and other options.)
Note: Copies of the actual assignments (written as they will be presented to the students) should be gathered
in an Assessment Portfolio for this course.
3 TABLE 6: ASSIGNMENT, OUTCOMES, ACTIVITIES, AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS
Briefly describe the assignment that will be assessed:
The final exam will be used as the assessment tool to evaluate students’ abilities in speaking, listening,
reading, and writing as well as their knowledge in vocabulary and grammar.
Students’ conversational abilities will be assessed by engaging them in role-play activities where both they
and the instructor play a specific role. They may play the role of themselves describe an important event in
their lives, their first job interview, or their future plans to one of their friends (played by the instructor).
Listening comprehension abilities will be evaluated by asking the students to listen to a conversation between
two friends regarding the application for a job for one of them. In addition, students will listen to a
conversation between two friends in the doctor’s office waiting room before seeing by the doctor. Students
will be then asked to complete a true or false section and a multiple-choice section.
Reading abilities will be evaluated by asking the students to read two passages: one about the so-called
“Mediterranean diet”, and the other regarding a vacation in Italy. Students will be then asked to answer
true/false questions in one instance, and multiple choice questions in the other.
Vocabulary knowledge will be assessed by asking the students to complete a cloze dialogue regarding a job
that one of the interlocutors would like to apply for. The missing word will be chosen from a word bank
provided. In addition, students will complete a series of sentences with words describing body parts.
Grammar accuracy will be assessed by asking the students to complete four sections using the correct forms
of 1. FUTURE tense 2. formal and informal IMPERATIVE mode 3. PRESENT PERFECT OR IMPERFECT
tense 4. direct, indirect or reflexive pronouns with the IMPERATIVE.
Writing abilities will be assessed by asking the students to describe an experience at the emergency room
they will never forget.
Desired student learning outcomes
for the assignment
(Students will…)
List in parentheses the Curricular
Objective(s) and/or General
Education Objective(s) (1-10)
associated with these desired learning
outcomes for the assignment.
Gen-Ed objective
(1) Communicate effectively through
reading, writing, listening and
speaking.
(2) Use analytical reasoning to
identify issues or problems and
evaluate evidence in order to make
informed decisions.
Curricular objectives
Briefly describe the range of
activities student will engage in
for this assignment.
Oral comprehension: describe a past
event, job interview, or future plans.
Listening comprehension: listen to a
conversation in a doctor’s office
waiting room and between two friends
regarding a job application, followed
by multiple choice and true/false
answers.
Reading activity: read two passages
followed by multiple choice and
true/false answers.
Vocabulary activity: complete
descriptive sentences and a cloze
passage.
N/A
What assessment tools will be
used to measure how well
students have met each learning
outcome? (Note: a single
assessment tool may be used to
measure multiple learning
outcomes; some learning
outcomes may be measured using
multiple assessment tools.)
Students will be asked to describe a
memorable moment of their life. They
may be also asked to describe their
first job interview or their future plans
to one of their friends (played by the
instructor) (see Appendix I).
Students will be asked to listen to two
conversations and answer questions.
Students will be asked to read two
paragraphs and answer questions.
Students will be asked to provide the
correct vocabulary in two exercises.
4 Grammar activities: complete four
sections with verbs, pronouns, and
other syntactic structures.
Students will be asked to provide
sentences using the correct verb
morphology and pronominal forms.
Writing activities: write a composition
about an experience at the emergency
room.
Students will be asked to describe in
writing an experience at the
emergency room.
5 PART III. ASSESSMENT STANDARDS (RUBRICS)
Before the assignment is given, prepare a description of the standards by which students’ performance will be
measured. This could be a checklist, a descriptive holistic scale, or another form. The rubric (or a version of it) may
be given to the students with the assignment so they will know what the instructor’s expectations are for this
assignment.
Please note that while individual student performance is being measured, the assessment project is collecting
performance data ONLY for the student groups as a whole.
TABLE 7: ASSESSMENT STANDARDS (RUBRICS)
Brief description of assignment: (Copy from Table 6 above)
The final exam will be used as the assessment tool to evaluate students’ abilities in speaking, listening,
reading, and writing as well as their knowledge in vocabulary and grammar.
Students’ conversational abilities will be assessed by engaging them in role-play activities where both they
and the instructor play a specific role. They may play the role of themselves describe an important event in
their lives, their first job interview, or their future plans to one of their friends (played by the instructor).
Listening comprehension abilities will be evaluated by asking the students to listen to a conversation between
two friends regarding a job application. In addition, students will listen to a conversation between two friends
in a doctor’s office waiting room. Students will be then asked to complete a true or false section and a
multiple-choice section. Students will be then asked to complete a true or false section and a multiple-choice
section.
Lexical knowledge will be evaluated by completing a cloze passage. The missing word will be chosen from a
word bank provided. In addition, students will complete a series of sentences with words describing body
parts.
Grammar accuracy will be assessed by asking the students to complete four sections using the correct forms
of 1. FUTURE tense 2. formal and informal IMPERATIVE mode 3. PRESENT PERFECT OR IMPERFECT
tense 4. direct, indirect or reflexive pronouns with the IMPERATIVE.
Reading abilities will be evaluated by asking the students to read two passages: one about the so-called
“Mediterranean diet”, and the other regarding a passed vacation in Italy. Students will be then asked to
answer true/false questions in one instance, and multiple choice questions in the other.
Writing abilities will be assessed by asking the students to describe an experience at the emergency room.
Desired student learning
outcomes from the
assignment: (Copy from
Column 1, Table 6 above;
include Curricular and /or
General Education Objectives
addressed)
Gen-Ed objectives
(1) Communicate effectively
through reading, writing,
listening and speaking.
Assessment measures for
each learning outcome:
(Copy from Column 3,Table 6
above)
Students will be asked to describe
a memorable moment of their life.
They may be also asked to
describe their first job interview or
their future plans to one of their
friends (played by the instructor)
(i) they understand the questions being asked by the
interlocutor,
(ii) they use Italian syntactic structures and
vocabulary accurately,
(iii) they make themselves understood by using the
correct intonation and pronunciation.
(iv) they speak with a sustained fluidity.
2) Use analytical reasoning
to identify issues or problems
and evaluate evidence in order
75% of the students tested are anticipated to meet
the course’s expectations as described in the
6 Standards for student performance:
The parameters for measuring students’ oral
abilities will be to determine whether:
attached rubric (see Appendix II).
to make informed decisions.
Curricular objectives
N/A
Listening comprehension: listen
to a conversation in a doctor’s
office waiting room and between
two friends regarding a job
application description, followed
by multiple choice and true/false
answers.
Reading activity: read two
passages followed by multiple
choice and true/false answers.
Vocabulary activity: complete
descriptive sentences and a cloze
passage.
Grammar activities: complete four
sections with verbs, pronouns, and
other syntactic structures.
Writing activities: write a
composition about an experience
at the emergency
Students’ listening comprehension ability will be
determined by calculating their accuracy rates in
providing the correct answers to the questions
asked. 75 per cent of them are expected to meet the
course standards (80% accuracy rate).
Students’ reading comprehension ability will be
determined by calculating their accuracy rates in
providing the correct answers to the questions
asked. 75 per cent of them are expected to meet the
course standards (80% accuracy rate).
Students’ vocabulary knowledge will be
determined by calculating the accuracy rates in
providing or selecting the correct words in the
given situations. 75 per cent of them are expected
to meet the course standards (80% accuracy rate).
Students’ grammar knowledge will be determined
by calculating their accuracy rates in providing the
correct forms or structures. 75 per cent of them are
expected to meet the course standards (80%
accuracy rate, see Appendix III for scoring scales)
The parameters used to measure students’ writing
abilities will be to determine whether:
(i)
they will provide all
the information they have been asked,
(ii)
their writing displays
a vocabulary appropriate to their proficiency
level,
(iii)
they show an
adequate control of the syntactic structures for
an Italian low intermediate level class,
(iv)
their sentences are
fully developed, and well-connected.
.
75% of the students tested are anticipated to meet
the course’s expectations as described in the
attached rubric (see Appendix IV)
7 PART IV. ASSESSMENT RESULTS
TABLE 8: SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS
Use the following table to report the student results on the assessment. If you prefer, you may report outcomes
using the rubric(s), or other graphical representation. Include a comparison of the outcomes you expected (from
Table 7, Column 3) with the actual results. NOTE: A number of the pilot assessments did not include expected
success rates so there is no comparison of expected and actual outcomes in some of the examples below. However,
projecting outcomes is an important part of the assessment process; comparison between expected and actual
outcomes helps set benchmarks for student performance.
TABLE 8: SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS
Desired student learning outcomes:
(Copy from, Column 1,Table 6 above;
include Curricular and/or General
Education Objectives addressed)
Student achievement: Describe the group achievement of each
desired outcome and the knowledge and cognitive processes
demonstrated.
Gen-Ed objectives
See Table 9
Communicate effectively through
reading, writing, listening and
speaking.
Curricular objectives
N/A
8 TABLE 9. EVALUATION AND RESULTING ACTION PLAN
In the table below, or in a separate attachment, interpret and evaluate the assessment results, and describe the
actions to be taken as a result of the assessment. In the evaluation of achievement, take into account student
success in demonstrating the types of knowledge and the cognitive processes identified in the Course
Objectives.
A. Analysis and interpretation of assessment results:
What does this show about what and how the students learned?
Thirteen students completed the Italian final exam (assessment tool). Their oral performance was rated according to
five parameters: listening comprehension, fluidity, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. Student performance
was scored using the scoring rubric (see Appendix II). The total points a student could achieve (adding up all five
parameters, each worth a maximum of four points) was 20. The scale agreed upon beforehand by the Assessment
Committee defined the following ranges: 0-5 points= student performance does not meet expectations; 6 – 10
points= student performance almost meets expectations; 11-15 points= student performance meets expectations; 1620= student performance exceeds expectations.
The average of total points achieved by the thirteen students tested was 17.1. According to the scale, this percentile
slightly tops the 11-15 range, indicating that, in general, students’ oral ability exceeded the expectations of the
course.
1. Speaking task. Oral interview:
Regarding each single parameter, the average score is indicated in Table 2 below. Table 1
Average Score in Each Category Listening Compreh. Fluidity Pronunciation
Vocabulary
Grammar Total Range 0‐4 0‐4 0‐4
0‐4
0‐4
0‐20 Average Score # of Students 3.6 13 3.6 3.6
3.1
3.1
3.4 13 13
13
13
13 The Assessment Committee has also predicted that at least 75% of the students tested are expected to perform at the
level of the course. The percentage of students who achieved each performance level in Italian is shown in Table 2
below.
Table 2
Percentage of Students in Each Proficiency Level Does not meet
expectations 0-5 Almost meets
expectations 6-10 Meets expectations
11-15 Exceed expectations
16-20 # of Students Percentage 0 0 4
9
0% 0% 31%
69%
Adding Levels 3 and 4 data indicate that all the students met or exceeded the expectations of the course.
For all parameters, students met or exceeded the expectations. In any case, the highest average score was reached in
9 listening comprehension, pronunciation, and fluidity, followed by vocabulary and grammar.
2. Written Final Examination
Students were also rated according to five additional categories, namely listening comprehension, vocabulary,
grammar, reading and writing. The results are as follows:
Table 3
Student performance in each category
Listening Vocabulary Grammar
Reading
Writing Total Range 0‐16 0‐16 0‐36 0‐16 0‐16 0‐100 Average Score # of Students 14.9 13 12.4 29.7
14.8
13.5
85.3 13 13
13
13
13 The average overall score achieved was 85.3%, indicating that students’ general performance met the standards of
the course. In fact, the total points a student could score (adding up all five categories) was 100. The scale agreed
upon beforehand by the Assessment Committee defined the following ranges: 0-60 points= student performance
does not meet expectations; 61–73 points= student performance almost meets expectations; 74-89 points= student
performance meets expectations; 90-100= student performance exceeds expectations. As shown in Table 4, all
students met or exceeded the expectations.
Table 4
Range # 0f Students Percentage Student performance in each proficiency level
Does not meet expectations Almost meets expectations
0‐60 61‐73 Meets expectations
74‐89 Exceed expectations
90‐100 0 0 8 5 0 0 61.6 38.4 Tables 5-9 summarize the results of percentage of students in each category tested.
Table 5
LISTENING
Range # of Students Does not meet expectations 0‐6 0 Almost meets expectations 6.5‐9.5 1
Meets expectations
10‐13.5 3
Exceed expectations 14‐16 9 Percentage 0% 7.7%
23%
69.3% Almost meets expectations 6.5‐9.5 3
Meets expectations
10‐13.5 6
Exceed expectations
14.16 2 Table 6
VOCABULARY
Range Does not meet expectations 0‐6 2 # of Students 10 Percentage 15.4% 23.1%
46.1%
15.4% GRAMMAR Does not meet expectations 0‐16 Almost meets expectations 16.5 ‐22.5 Meets expectations
23‐30.5 Exceed expectations
31‐36 0 5 5 3 0% 38.5% 38.5% 23% READING
Does not meet expectations 0‐6 Almost meets expectations 6.5‐9.5 Meets expectations
10‐13.5 Exceed expectations
14‐16 0 0 6 7 0% 0% 46.1% 53.9% WRITING
Does not meet expectations 0‐6 Almost meets expectations 6.5‐9.5 Meets expectations
10‐13.5 Exceed expectations
14‐16 1 4 3 5 7.7% 30.7% 23.1% 38.5% Table 7
Range # of Students Percentage Table 8
Range # of Students Percentage Table 9
Range # of Students Percentage B. Evaluation of the assessment process:
What do the results suggest about how well the assignment and the assessment process worked both to
help students learn and to show what they have learned?
The results of the speaking task in Italian show that, as predicted, more than 75% of students tested met or exceeded
the minimum standards of the course, indicating that he majority of the students have developed the required oral
skills. However, students do not appear to be as grammatically accurate as they are in other oral competencies. Their
speech patterns still show some inaccuracies, which, nevertheless, do not seem to interfere with the understanding of
their message.
The outcomes regarding our students’ overall performance for the other language skills also indicate that they all
met or exceeded the standards required by the course. However, data show that some skills developed at a faster
pace than others. For instance, students encountered less difficulty in mastering the appropriate auditory and reading
abilities than their lexical, grammar, and writing skills. 92.5 per cent of the students met or exceeded the
expectations in understanding the two Italian conversations. Similarly, all the students were able to fully understand
the two reading passages. Nevertheless, only 61.5 per cent of the students reached the expected lexical knowledge.
Similar percentages of students were reported for the syntactic and writing skills (61.5% and 61.6 %, respectively)
B2) Evaluation of the assessment
.
The results obtained seem to indicate that the assessment tools used and the assessment process undertaken have
11 been effective in determining our students’ proficiency level.
C. Resulting action plan:
Based on A and B, what changes, if any, do you anticipate making?
As previously mentioned, students performed as expected with all of them meeting or exceeding the standards of the
course. However, it appears that the areas that need most improvement are: Vocabulary, Grammar and Writing. By
taking a closer look at the data, one could speculate that students show a general lack of grammatical accuracy and a
poor retention of the vocabulary presented to them that affect their written production. In any case, such a low
performance needs to be addressed perhaps calling for some changes in our teaching practices and techniques.
Conclusion and Action Plan
The acquisition scenario among the foreign languages evaluated (Italian, Spanish and French) lacks uniformity. As
Table 1 shows, in the three languages the number of students reaching the proficiency levels set up for an
Intermediate language course (LX213) ranges from 100% (Italian) to 67% (French), and 38% (Spanish). The reason
for these discrepant results may be due to intrinsic complexities of the three assessment tools. Two language
courses reported less than 75% of their students meeting the proficiency standards of the course. One of the reasons
may be that the quantity of data collected is different in each language. Another reason may be the discrepancies in
learning outcomes expected in each language and the discrepancies in the difficulty of the final exam related to the
difference in learning outcomes. It appears that the Spanish learning outcomes expected and therefore the writing
exam was more demanding than the others in terms of lexical and syntactic knowledge of the target language.
Faculty might have to re-assess their learning outcomes and agree upon a more homogeneous assessment tool,
which should include a differentiation between passive and active knowledge when eliciting responses. Another
factor for this uneven result might be that a good percentage of L2 Spanish learners were native speakers of
languages typologically different from the language they were acquiring. Furthermore, one Spanish instructor
observed that one third of the students in a class of 23 were not up to the level of LS213, and that only students who
exceeded the expectation in LX112 performed well in the third semester of Spanish.
It is obvious that the performance of the students who did not meet the expectations needs to be improved to a level
of at least “almost meets the expectations.” Thus, if the students that almost met expectations where to be given
special help, the result could have been more homogeneous. Thus, aside from the re-assessment of the tools, the
improvement in the performance could be achieved, with more intensive tutoring.
Table 1
12 In fact, as shown in Table 2, the average score of Spanish students was 68.1% vs. 79.5% (French) and 85.3%
(Italian), indicating that their overall performance was significantly below the course expectations (74 to 89).
Interestingly, such discrepancies were also noticed in a previous assessment of beginners II during the academic
year 2010-2011.
Table 2
Again, Spanish students scored lower than the Italian and French learners, even though all three language groups
reported some weaknesses in the Vocabulary, Grammar and Writing areas. In other words, they showed a general
lack of grammatical accuracy and poor assimilation of the vocabulary which has affected the quality of their written
production.
13 Table 3
Table 3 below indicates the average score in each category: listening, vocabulary, grammar, reading and writing.
Table 4
Table 4 indicates the average score in the overall oral assessment in each of the three languages assessed.
14 The results in the oral assessment do not show the same discrepancies as in the overall written seen above. In the
oral assessment none of the students was in the “does not meet expectation” category (compared to 35% in the
written assessment, see above). Aside from that, only 17 percent performed below the “Meets expectations level.”
As Table 5 below shows, students in all three languages performed better than in the written assessment. It shows
that 83% of the students of Spanish met expectations, which is 8% above the 75 percent which is normally expected,
while all students of Italian and students of French met or exceeded the expectations.
Table 5
15 Despite the performance above the expected 75 percent of all students of the three languages, a closer look at the
data reveals that there are divergences among the three language groups in all areas (see Table 6 below). For
instance, the three groups of learners did not report visible difficulty in understanding the instructor, and using the
target language with appropriate speed and pronunciation. However, similarly to the written test, their use of the
vocabulary and their grammatical accuracy was not as native-like. Again, the most affected were the Spanish
learners followed by the French ones.
In Table 6 below the results of French in the oral assessment are not consistent with the results in the written
assessment, especially in the vocabulary and grammar results. The students of French exceed the performance of
students of Italian in the oral grammar category, which was not the case in the written assessment. In the
vocabulary area, the students of French performed worse in the oral assessment than the students of Spanish, but in
the written assessment they had exceeded the performance of the students of Spanish.
Table 6
16 The data collected show that, although students tend to do better in the oral task, they seem to encounter greater
difficulties in properly acquiring the necessary lexical and syntactic expertise of the target language. The
weaknesses in the oral assessment show that vocabulary and grammar needs improvement and in the written
assessment the same two areas need more emphasis as well as writing. This situation needs to be addressed and
discussed with all faculty members, and some changes in our teaching strategies need to be introduced. Perhaps,
throughout the duration of the course students should be made aware of their weaknesses by receiving periodical
reports of their performance, or having individual conferences with their instructor, who will provide them with the
necessary guidance, help or material. Students will be also encouraged to attend the College Learning Center where
their acquisition problems may be individually addressed by the tutors. Furthermore, the educational staff of the
Foreign Language Department should continue working with CETL (the Center for Excellence in Teaching and
Learning) to find more effective ways to tackle and solve this problem. In sum, these stark discrepancies in the
assessment results call for a thorough re-examination of the assessment tools, a periodic monitoring of students’
progress, and more intensive tutoring combined with a constant search for strategies to solve these concerns.
17 APPENDICES
APPENDIX I: Situations for oral assessment
I. Un evento passato - You and your best friend are at a “caffè” enjoying a delightful summer
afternoon. You are reminiscing about your past. During your conversation you happen to
remember an event that has been particularly significant in your life. With the help of your best
friend (played by the instructor) you provide a detailed description of that event. In the narration
you may include the following information:
POSSIBLE TOPICS Type of event How it happened Where, when it happened Day of the week it happened Hour of the day it happened Weather conditions POSSIBLE QUESTIONS Quale evento era? Dov’è avvenuto? Com’è avvenuto? Che giorno e che ora era? Che tempo faceva? Chi era con te? Come si chiamava? Quanti anni aveva? Com’erano i presenti? Che cosa indossavano? Che cosa facevano? 18 II. Un colloquio di lavoro - Describe your first job interview or another important interview you
have had. Explain what the interview was for, when it took place, and what the weather was like.
Also describe what you wore, how you felt, and what the interview was like. Explain what you
talked about and what the results of the interview were.
POSSIBLE TOPICS Reason(s) of FIRST job interview Type of job you were interviewed Date of job interview How old you were Weather conditions What you were wearing How you went to the job interview At what time it started and ended How you returned home How you felt before and after the job interview How it went Whether you were hired 19 POSSIBLE QUESTIONS Quando hai avuto il tuo primo colloquio di lavoro? Per quale lavoro avevi fatto domanda? Perché cercavi quel tipo di lavoro? Quanti anni avevi? Qual era la data del colloquio di lavoro? Com’era il tempo quando hai fatto il colloquio? Come sei andato/a al colloquio? Come ti sentivi prima e dopo del colloquio? Che cosa indossavi? III. Programmi per il futuro - At the graduation party one of your friends (played by the instructor)
asks you about your future plans. Describe the type of job you are looking for, the type of
apartment or house you will live in, the kind of car you will buy. Talk about the type of life
you will have.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS Che tipo di lavoro cerchi e perché? Dove preferisci lavorare e perché? Dove e con chi andrai a vivere? Vivrai in un appartamento o in un villino? In che tipo di appartamento o villino vivrai? Che tipo di macchina comprerai ? Che cosa farai nel tuo tempo libero? Dove andrai in vacanza? Pensi di farti una famiglia? 20 APPENDIX II: Intermediate level I Speaking Task Holistic Rubric
Listening
comprehension
Performance
exceeds
expectations
Performance
meets
expectations
Fluidity
Pronunciation
Vocabulary
Grammar
Student fully
understands the
examiner’s
questions, without
probing
Speech
continuous with
few pauses or
stumbling.
Cohesive devices
appropriate for
this level are
frequently used
Excellent
pronunciation
Student fully
addresses the
information
requested and
provides
additional details
using rich
vocabulary
Perfect control
of the syntactic
structures and
grammar
required.
(Accuracy level
90% - 100%)
4 points
Student fully
understands the
examiner’s
questions, but
needs occasional
probing
4 points
Continuous
speech with
more pauses and
stumbling.
Cohesive devices
are sporadically
used
4 points
Good
pronunciation
with a few
imperfections
4 points
Student
addresses the
information
requested
without
providing
additional details
4 points
Adequate
control of the
syntactic
structures. Some
grammatical
errors
(Accuracy level
79% - 89%)
3 points
3 points
3 points
Student
addresses less
than 60% of the
examiner’s
questions using
inadequate
vocabulary
Emerging
control of the
syntactic
structures
Several
grammatical
errors
3 points
3 points
Performance
almost meets
expectations
Student
understands less
than 60% of the
examiner’s
questions after
probing
Speech choppy
and/or slow with
frequent pauses.
Rare use of
cohesive devices
Satisfactory
pronunciation
(Accuracy level
61% - 78%)
2 points
2 points
2 points
2 points
2 points
Performance does not meet expectations Student understands less than 40% of the questions even Speech halting and uneven with long pauses 21 Unsatisfactory pronunciation Student addresses less than 40% of the examiner’s questions using Minimal control of the syntactic structures. Numerous grammatical after probing 1 point 1 point 1 point inaccurate vocabulary errors
(Accuracy level 0%‐ 60%) 1 point 1point APPENDIX III: Scoring scales
Grammar task (Range: 0 to 36)
GRAMMARSECTION ACCURATE USE OF THE GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURES
LEARNED IN THE COURSE
Performance exceeds
expectations
More than 90% completion of the task
(31 – 36 points)
Performance meets
expectations
Between 74% and 89% completion of the task
(23 – 30.5 points)
Performance almost
meets expectations
Between 61% and 73% completion of the task
(16.5- 22.5 points)
Performance does not
meet expectations
Between 0% to 60% completion of the task
(0 – 16 points)
Vocabulary task (Range: 0 to 16)
VOCABULARY ACCURATE AND ADEQUATE USE OF THE VOCABULARY
SECTION
LEARNED IN THE COURSE
Performance
exceeds
expectations
More than 90% completion of the task
(14 – 16 points)
Performance
meets
expectations
Between 74% and 89% completion of the task
(10-13.5 points)
Performance
Between 61% and 73% completion of the task
22 almost meets
expectations
(6.5-9.5 points)
Performance
does not meet
expectations
Between 0% to 60% completion of the task
(0- 6 points)
Listening task (Range: 0 to 16)
LISTENING
SECTION
UNDERSTAND RELATIVELY COMPLEX MESSAGES RELATED TO
THE TOPICS COVERED IN THE COURSE
Performance
exceeds
More than 90% completion of the task
expectations (14 – 16 points)
Performance Between 74% and 89% completion of the task
meets
(10- 13.5 points)
expectations
Performance
almost
meets
expectations
Performance
does not
meet
expectations
Between 61% and 73% completion of the task
(6.5 – 9.5 points)
Between 0% to 60% completion of the task
(0 to 6points)
Reading task Holistic Rubric (Range: 0 to 16)
READING
SECTION
UNDERSTAND RELATIVELY COMPLEX MESSAGES
RELATED TO THE TOPICS COVERED IN THE COURSE
Performance
exceeds
More than 90% completion of the task
expectations (14– 16 points)
Performance Between 74% and 89% completion of the task
meets
(10- 13.5 points)
expectations
23 Performance Between 61% and 73% completion of the task
almost
(6.5 – 9.5 points)
meets
expectations
Performance Between 0% to 60% completion of the task
does not
(0 to 6 points)
meet
expectations
APPENDIX IV: Intermediate Level Writing Task Holistic Rubric
Exceeds
expectations
Meets
expectations
Almost meets
expectations
Does not meet
expectations
Task
Completion
Level of
Discourse
Vocab.
Grammar
Superior completion
of the task. Students
fully address the
information
requested, and
provide additional
details
Sentences are fully
developed and
interconnected with
conjunctions (e.g.
AND, BUT, or
BECAUSE
Rich use of
vocabulary
Perfect control of the
syntactic structures
required (Accuracy
level 90% - 100%).
4 POINTS
4 POINTS
4 POINTS
4 POINTS
Completion of task.
Students fully
address the
information
provided, but do not
provide additional
details
Sentences are fully
developed. Cohesive
devices are
sporadically used
Adequate and
accurate use of
vocabulary
Adequate control of
the syntactic
structures. Some
grammatical
imperfections
(Accuracy level 79%
- 89%).
3 POINTS
3 POINTS
3 POINTS
3 POINTS
Partial completion of
task. Students
complete no more
than 60% of the
information
requested
Sentences are
somewhat complete.
Rare use of cohesive
devices
Somewhat
inadequate and/or
inaccurate use of
vocabulary
2 POINTS
2 POINTS
2 POINTS
Emerging control of
the syntactic
structures Several
grammatical
imperfections
(Accuracy level 61%
- 78%).
2 POINTS
Minimal completion
of task. Students
complete less than
40% of the
information
requested.
Sentences are mostly
incomplete. No use
of cohesive devices
Inadequate and/or
inaccurate use of
vocabulary
24 Minimal control of
the syntactic
structures.
Numerous
grammatical errors
(Accuracy level 0%60%)
1 POINT
1 POINT
25 1 POINT
1 POINT