Language Learning Framework

Russian Language Programs in the United States

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on functional abilities. Given the cognitive maturity of ninth and tenth graders,
there is particularly good reason in the earliest courses.

A note on placement

We noted above the principled reason for colleges to be flexible in
making placement decisions. Having outlined the notion of stages above, a
further, important, word on interpretation of these stages is in order. It is our
intent that the goals for the stages not be taken to be minimal ones. We have
chosen to specify the goals as a range in order to make the guidelines as useful
as possible as a curriculum development tool. Were we to specify only the
minimal goals for a given stage, there would be no information about what
material might be covered in a program if all of the minimal goals were
achieved a month before the end of the school year. In the current format, we
leave some flexibility to individual programs, and at the same time, provide
direction where it might be useful. Thus, by providing a range, we hope to
suggest ways that articulation can be further facilitated.
A crucial consequence of this approach is, therefore, that placement
decisions should not be made on the basis of a small number of deficiencies for
a given stage. Placement decisions, even if based on the definitions of stages
given below, should include: testing (directed to these guidelines), a personal
interview, and a letter from the student's previous teacher. Facts about the
individual's history should be interpreted in light of all of this information in order
to arrive a placement that best suits the needs of the learner without making
impossible demands on the program.
Finally, the obvious point needs to be made that Russian never has had
and may well never have sufficient enrollments that placement in college can
pretend to be a fine-grained affair. The truth is that few if any college programs
can afford to run off-sequence courses, so in-coming students must be
assessed for placement with respect to a very limited number of options. The
severity of this system, we believe, provides further support for any unanimity
that might be achieved across the profession if a framework like the one
proposed here were to be adopted.


on functional abilities. Given the cognitive maturity of ninth and tenth graders, there is particularly good reason in the earliest courses.
		A note on placement
	We noted above the principled reason for colleges to be flexible in making placement decisions. Having outlined the notion of stages above, a further, important, word on interpretation of these stages is in order. It is our intent that the goals for the stages not be taken to be minimal ones. We have chosen to specify the goals as a range in order to make the guidelines as useful as possible as a curriculum development tool. Were we to specify only the minimal goals for a given stage, there would be no information about what material might be covered in a program if all of the minimal goals were achieved a month before the end of the school year. In the current format, we leave some flexibility to individual programs, and at the same time, provide direction where it might be useful. Thus, by providing a range, we hope to suggest ways that articulation can be further facilitated. A crucial consequence of this approach is, therefore, that placement decisions should not be made on the basis of a small number of deficiencies for a given stage. Placement decisions, even if based on the definitions of stages given below, should include: testing (directed to these guidelines), a personal interview, and a letter from the student's previous teacher. Facts about the individual's history should be interpreted in light of all of this information in order to arrive a placement that best suits the needs of the learner without making impossible demands on the program. Finally, the obvious point needs to be made that Russian never has had and may well never have sufficient enrollments that placement in college can pretend to be a fine-grained affair. The truth is that few if any college programs can afford to run off-sequence courses, so in-coming students must be assessed for placement with respect to a very limited number of options. The severity of this system, we believe, provides further support for any unanimity that might be achieved across the profession if a framework like the one proposed here were to be adopted.