Russian Language Programs in the United States

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Following are thethree general domains in which we propose to try to describe the knowledge of language learners.3 0 --SKILL LEVELS AND FUNCTIONAL ABILITIES: concerned with procedural knowledge associated with proficiency levels and particular functions. Skill levels are expressed in terms specified by ACTFL proficiency guidelines. In principle, those guidelines do not specify particular functions, so the list of functional abilities here is intended to provide some degree ofuniformity at each stage across programs. The list of functions is expressed to the extent possible in topic-neutral terms. --LEXICAL GOALS AND TOPICAL KNOWLEDGE:refers to the learner's lexicon and groupings within it. Lexical goals are expressed in terms of lexical minimums; specifically, the approximate numbers of items that learners should know both for production and reception. It is an important step that learners be conscious of their ability to address particular topics, and not simply of the words they know. --STRUCTURAL KNOWLEDGE:covers the grammatical (morphological and syntactic) and associated semantic information that learners should be working on. In contrast to the first domain, this knowledge is primarily declarative. Measurement of acquisition in this domain is therefore very different than in the first, and is often framed in terms of recognition and recall. These three domains represent three different types of knowledge, but we do not propose that these be addressed in any Russian language program as discrete domains. Rather, we are urging that, e.g., structural knowledge be developed within a function-based approach. It is crucial to keep in mind that the goals in each of these domains are to be interpreted in domain-specific ways. That is, knowledge in the structural domain should be measured differently than are proficiency levels. Further- more, it will be necessary to recycle much of the material that occurs at the elementary stage at subsequent stages. The ability to perform a particular func- tion at the elementary level needs to be broadened at the intermediate stage. Part of the expectation problem, mentioned in the introduction to this document, has to do with teachers and learners being aware of what it possible and appro- priate knowledge at each level of proficiency, at each stage of a language learning career. 30For readers who wish to compare the three domains of the stages delineated in this document with the five "continuum categories" delineated in Articulation and Achievement ,the following brief comments might be of interest. In essence, the first four continuum categories in Articulation and Achievement (function, context, text type, accuracy) are addressed within the first domain of this framwork (skill levels and functional abilities). The fifth category (content) corresponds to our second domain (lexical goals and topical knowledge). This framework introduces the domain of structural knowledge as a way to try to assess declarative knowledge as a foundation,--combining notions of declarative, passive, and recognition knowledge--for further proficiency and functional development.