INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS
Objectives for Elementary-Level Students of French, German, and Spanish
SPEAKING: Ability to adapt and personalize memorized material to form basic questions, statements, requests and commands in everyday situations in a way that is understandable to native speakers who are used to dealing with foreigners. Speech will be characterized by pauses, frequent errors in grammar and word selection, and inconsistent pronunciation and intonation.
LISTENING: Ability to comprehend basic spoken discourse pertaining to familiar situations in a very well-defined context. Statements and questions may have to be repeated frequently before they are understood, and the pace of speech may have to be slowed to ensure comprehension. Details may be difficult to grasp, but the general meaning of the spoken message should be understood.
READING: Ability to comprehend highly-contextualized narrative and dialogues on familiar topics that require the reader to make few interpretive suppositions. Details may be difficult to grasp, but the general meaning of the text should be understood.
WRITING: Ability to create simple sentences and paragraphs which communicate everyday, practical needs to native speakers used to dealing with foreigners. Writing samples still consist largely of material already learned in class, although a personal style may begin to emerge. Errors in grammar, word selection, and punctuation are frequent, but not to the extent that meaningful communication is impeded.