Global Language Portfolio (July 2008)

COMMUNICATION SELF ASSESSMENT AND GOAL SETTING

Date of Self-Assessment _________________________

Provisional Checklist for: Writing

Self-assessment:

Work through the checklist and note in the first of the two right-hand columns what you believe you can already do 80% of the time or more. Placing a checkmark in the first of the two columns indicates mastery of the task performed rather than occasional success. After you check off over 80% of the items for a given ACTFL level, you should progress to the next level in that same skill. Each skill is assessed separately with different levels possible in each of 5 skills. Keep going through this checklist until you reach the highest level where you checked off at least 4 of the 5 tasks. Record that level (NM, NH, IL, IM, IH, AL, AM, AH, S, or D) on your GLP Language Passport.

Goal setting:

Place a checkmark in the second column to identify the next set of goals you wish to reach in the future.

	Language: _______________________________________	(1) I can do this easily and well.	(2) This is one of my goals.
Presentational Mode
Writing
Novice Low (NL)
I can write the letters of the alphabet. (only for languages with an alphabet)
I can produce from memory isolated words or familiar phrases, especially if I am allowed time to write them or there is help from my teacher.
I can copy words. (only for languages with an alphabet)
I can complete parts of a form asking for very simple information, such as my name, the date, or my date of birth.
I can write a one-word response to a question for which the choices are given, such as “yes” or “no,” or the names of products under a picture.
(Added specific descriptors for languages with characters or syllabaries, or for specific language attributes:)
I can copy some strokes and characters. (only for languages using characters or syllabaries)
I can produce from memory isolated, basic strokes. (only for languages using characters or syllabaries)
Novice Mid (NM)
I can transcribe and reproduce from memory a modest number of isolated words and phrases.
I can write about family, school, leisure activities, and everyday life, using memorized phrases.
I can write simple sentences describing myself and others using phrases I have learned.
I can write about familiar pictures and reinforce what I have learned through guided writing, as in certain textbook exercises.
I can supply certain information (such as names, numbers, nationality) requested on simple forms, as long as I understand what is being asked.
(Added specific descriptors for languages with characters or syllabaries, or for specific language attributes:)
Novice High (NH)
I can write short messages, postcards, and e-mails, mostly using vocabulary and sentence structures I have practiced.
I can recombine familiar vocabulary and sentence structures to formulate questions and answers about family, school and certain leisure activities in a way classmates and my teacher will understand.
I can use some culturally appropriate idiomatic expressions taken from textbook materials.
I can often write well enough to communicate requests to my teacher or to a hotel clerk.
I can write isolated sentences and phrases to describe what I see or what I am doing.
(Added specific descriptors for languages with characters or syllabaries, or for specific language attributes:)
Intermediate Low (IL)
I can formulate and answer simple questions about myself, my family, and certain school or work activities, with occasional need to refer to a dictionary or a textbook.
I can write about my daily routine, often using and recombining sentences and phrases that I have learned.
I can sometimes make appropriate distinctions between familiar and formal styles, in use of subject pronouns, titles of address, and basic social formulas.
I can write in the present time frame, and refer to the future or past by using the present time frame with time-related words or phrases, such as “yesterday” or “next week.”
I can link simple sentences to narrate and describe what I have seen or done.
(Added specific descriptors for languages with characters or syllabaries, or for specific language attributes:)
Intermediate Mid (IM)
I can correctly write simple descriptions, make requests for information, and give routine directions.
I can write sentences about personal preferences and experiences in a way that my teacher or a hotel clerk will understand.
I can take simple notes on what I see and hear.
I can write with ease in the present time, although with less consistency when I use other time frames.
I can write short personal letters and e-mail messages involving uncomplicated situations at work.
(Added specific descriptors for languages with characters or syllabaries, or for specific language attributes:)
Intermediate High (IH)
I can write simple business letters, brief summaries, and short compositions well enough to be understood by some target-language clients or by a visiting professor from a target language country.
I can give uncomplicated but often detailed paragraph-length descriptions and narrations of personal experiences involving work, school, or social activities.
I can write about current, future, and past events at work or at school, albeit with uneven control of certain tenses or subject areas.
I can combine and link sentences and paragraphs in simple fashion when I summarize literary texts or work-related reports.
I can take detailed notes on familiar topics, such as what I read for a literature or civilization class, or for what I hear in a routine meeting at work.
(Added specific descriptors for languages with characters or syllabaries, or for specific language attributes:)
Advanced Low (AL)
I can often produce routine correspondence or send e-mails that a visiting scholar or international client from the target country can understand with little effort.
I can write letters and reports of a factual nature, often correctly using common target-language word order, as well as linking many sentences and paragraphs appropriately.
I can write with some control over major time frames in my term papers and reports.
I can tailor in limited fashion the style of my writing depending on the audience and on my intended purpose at school or at work.
I can often use appropriately the vocabulary, expressions, and language patterns of the target language, although I may occasionally borrow from those of my dominant language.
(Added specific descriptors for languages with characters or syllabaries, or for specific language attributes:)
Advanced Mid (AM)
I can organize my writing in cohesive paragraphs for both academic assignments and work-related reports on concrete topics.
I can write detailed narratives and descriptions of a factual nature with good control of word order and linking words or phrases.
I can write summaries, or research papers with a range of vocabulary that allows precision and detail, despite occasional need for paraphrasing.
I can write with some sense of the formal or informal audience for which I am writing and in a manner any native speaker will understand.
I can write essays and reports using language that often incorporates idiomatic expressions and structures of the target language.
(Added specific descriptors for languages with characters or syllabaries, or for specific language attributes:)
Advanced High (AH)
I can write reports and research papers requiring significant precision and detail.
I can handle most formal business correspondence effectively.
I can write confidently about concrete aspects of my special areas of expertise.
I can occasionally develop written arguments, construct hypotheses, or deal with abstract topics in literarary texts or in work-related assignments.
I can write with ease and some fluency when I am free from pressure situations like deadlines or tests.
(Added specific descriptors for languages with characters or syllabaries, or for specific language attributes:)
Superior (S)
I can write with ease about both abstract and concrete topics.
I can write papers or reports with a high degree of control over grammar, vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation.
I can incorporate organizational and developmental principles, like cause and effect, comparison, chronology, or other orders of presentation appropriate to the topic and the target audience.
I can often counsel or persuade, and support my opinions by developing cogent arguments or hypotheses.
I can organize ideas, select appropriate words and phrases, and differentiate written registers from oral registers when I prepare my school assignments or my written tasks at work.
(Added specific descriptors for languages with characters or syllabaries, or for specific language attributes:)
Distinguished (D)
I can prepare complex assignments and reports that show clear organization and development of both principal and secondary ideas.
I can prepare documents and publications using target-language stylistic patterns and developing persuasive arguments.
I can write for audiences in a variety of registers, selecting the register best tailored to the target audience, and frequently using target-language cultural patterns.
I can express subtlety and nuance, and alter style, tone, and format according to the age, social class, or professional role of the intended audience.
I can consistently demonstrate a high degree of control over grammar, punctuation, spelling, and vocabulary, as needed for a given situation.
(Added specific descriptors for languages with characters or syllabaries, or for specific language attributes:)