Foreign Language Proficiency in Higher Education

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vi

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2. Preliminaries

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Proficiency Testing in the U.S. Context: An Introduction

      • Susan M. Gass, Paula Winke

      Pages 3-13

   3. The Power of Performance-Based Assessment: Languages As a Model for the Liberal Arts Enterprise

      • Benjamin Rifkin

      Pages 15-21

3. Curriculum

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 23-23

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   2. Vocabulary Size, Reading Proficiency and Curricular Design: The Case of College Chinese, Russian and Spanish

      • Jane F. Hacking, Fernando Rubio, Erwin Tschirner

      Pages 25-44

   3. Picking Up the PACE: Proficiency Assessment for Curricular Enhancement

      • Dan Soneson, Elaine E. Tarone

      Pages 45-70

   4. Assessment and Curriculum for Heritage Language Learners: Exploring Russian Data

      • Olga Kagan, Anna Kudyma

      Pages 71-91

   5. Modern-Day Foreign Language Majors: Their Goals, Attainment, and Fit Within a Twenty-First Century Curriculum

      • Paula Winke, Susan M. Gass, Emily S. Heidrich

      Pages 93-113

4. Assessments and Learning Outcomes

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 115-115

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   2. In Advanced L2 Reading Proficiency Assessments, Should the Question Language Be in the L1 or the L2?: Does It Make a Difference?

      • Troy L. Cox, Jennifer Bown, Teresa R. Bell

      Pages 117-136

   3. Proficiency vs. Performance: What Do the Tests Show?

      • Fernando Rubio, Jane F. Hacking

      Pages 137-152

   4. Exploring the Relationship Between Self-Assessments and OPIc Ratings of Oral Proficiency in French

      • Magda Tigchelaar

      Pages 153-173

   5. Where Am I? Where Am I Going, and How Do I Get There?: Increasing Learner Agency Through Large-Scale Self Assessment in Language Learning

      • Gabriela Sweet, Sara Mack, Anna Olivero-Agney

      Pages 175-195

   6. Arabic Proficiency Improvement Through a Culture of Assessment

      • Katrien Vanpee, Dan Soneson

      Pages 197-216

   7. A Cross-Linguistic and Cross-Skill Perspective on L2 Development in Study Abroad

      • Dan E. Davidson, Jane Robin Shaw

      Pages 217-242

5. Instructors and Learners

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 243-243

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   2. Language Instructors Learning Together: Using Lesson Study in Higher Education

      • Beth Dillard

      Pages 245-263

   3. U.S. Foreign Language Student Digital Literacy Habits: Factors Affecting Engagement

      • Jeffrey Maloney

      Pages 265-286

   4. Linking Proficiency Test Scores to Classroom Instruction

      • Charlene Polio

      Pages 287-308

This volume comprises of chapters that deal with language proficiency relating to a wide range of language program issues including curriculum, assessment, learners and instructors, and skill development. The chapters cover various aspects of a broad-based proficiency initiative, focusing on numerous aspects of foreign language learning, including how skills develop, how assessments can inform curriculum, how learners and instructors view proficiency and proficiency assessment, and how individual use of technology furthers language learning. The concluding chapter points the way forward for issues and questions that need to be addressed.

• Foreign language curriculum
• Assessment reform
• Proficiency assessment for curricular enhancement
• Self-assessment in language learning
• Digital literacy practices
• Advanced L2 reading proficiency

“This collection provides a long-overdue update of one of the most enduring concepts in foreign language education of the past three decades: proficiency. The 16 chapters demonstrate how proficiency continues to inspire and anchor insightful SLA research designs, flexible frameworks for curricular innovation, meaningful assessment, and relevant professional development in postsecondary foreign language education. This volume will undoubtedly attract a broad readership, including SLA researchers, curriculum experts, test developers, teacher trainers, language program directors, and administrators. The insights will energize them in their shared commitment to optimize collegiate foreign language learning and thus to better serve our field’s most important stakeholder: the student in the undergraduate language classroom.” (Per Urlaub, Middlebury College, VT, USA)

• Second Language Studies Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA

  Paula Winke, Susan M. Gass

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