University of Mississippi

The present status of high school Spanish is both encouraging and disheartening. From my perspective as a former secondary school administrator and teacher and current college professor, I am basing my analysis on professional readings, formal and informal discussion with secondary school and college Spanish teachers, observations at state-sponsored secondary school meetings in numerous states, supervision of participants in a midsouth secondary school intensive Spanish program at the University of Mississippi in the summer of 1986, and a survey of 10 private and 16 public secondary school Spanish teachers who were 1987 Advanced Placement examination readers.

Foreign language study in this country has increased dramatically during the last two years. Much activity has centered on state mandated foreign language requirements. In addition, many states are investigating other related topics, i. e., teacher training certification, proficiency-based instruction, testing, and exchange programs (Draper 87). Manifestations of state regulations or recommendations are: 1) weighted courses, 2) increased number of total units required for high school graduation, and 3) competency testing.

For accreditation, most states require that a high school offer at least two years of a foreign language. More secondary schools, even in small and/or rural areas, now offer three or four years of at least one foreign language. The combination of these requirements and increased course offerings means that most college-bound American secondary school students today take one or two years of a foreign language. In Georgia, for example, every college-prep student takes two to three units of a foreign language; four units are recommended. The national trend is to provide students a broader range of course options. Thus more college-bound American students today study four years of math, four years of a laboratory science, three years of history (often including one of world history), one year of computer science, four years of English, a course in fine arts, and substantial (between 2 and 4 years) work in foreign languages. In general, however, students in the most competitive secondary schools take three to five years of foreign language, frequently beginning in junior high school.

Some states offer multiple high school diplomas -one «regular» and another «advanced». In Indiana, for example, a «Scholar's Diploma» requires two years of two languages or four years of one. In Virginia the «Governor's Seal» requires three consecutive years of a foreign language or two two-year sequences of two foreign languages.

State university entrance requirements have a major effect on secondary school curricula (particularly public schools). Whereas many colleges and universities had dropped the foreign language requirement either for entrance or for graduation, the new international scurry to beat or at least meet Japanese and other world competition has accelerated college reimposition of those requirements. By 1991, University of Minnesota students will have to complete a two-year foreign language requirement either in high school or without credit during the first two university years. Also the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts has challenged the nation with its specific ACTFL/ETS foreign language proficiency level entrance and graduation requirements. The increase in states reviewing their regulations for teacher training and certification, testing, and proficiency-based curriculum is directly related to the stiffening of state university entrance requirements.

In general, more students in more American secondary schools are studying foreign language (especially Spanish) than during the   —172→   previous five years. The A. P. teacher poll indicates that overall foreign language enrollment has increased in public schools; the percentage increase in Spanish is slightly higher than the total foreign language enrollment. In private schools, although the total foreign language enrollment has remained stable, Spanish has increased, particularly at the advanced levels. Spanish may be pulling ahead as the language of choice for private school enrollees. Student selection of Spanish was based on the perception of Spanish as more useful, to the inauguration of university foreign language requirements, and to a growing national interest in knowing a foreign language. Public schools noted a greater impact of state university entrance requirements on secondary school Spanish enrollments.

The above indicators of increased foreign language enrollment in American high schools do not address three issues that can be and are difficult: 1) quality of instruction; 2) background, preparation, and experience of instructors; and 3) state-regulated teacher certification of foreign language teachers.

The rapid increase in student enrollment, the shortage of truly qualified teachers, and a frequently short-sighted administrative reaction to these two situations have developed what I see as a two-tiered system of foreign language programs in the schools: 1) a well structured elementary through advanced curriculum producing top students and 2) a hastily assembled smattering of courses to meet minimal local and state requirements.

Fortunately, on the top tier are better advanced level high school Spanish programs. The Advanced Placement Language Examination was taken by 13,300 students: a 22% increase since 1986 and a 290% growth since 1980. The Advanced Placement Literature examinees numbered 2,525: a 17% growth since 1986 and 47% growth since 1980. (The latter is in contrast to German, for example, which has now phased out the Literature Examination, thereby limiting the program to Language.)

Rapid growth has not been necessarily beneficial to Advanced Placement. Some states are reimbursing school districts enrolling large numbers of students in the program. Florida was the first state to reward public school districts for students receiving a 3 or better on the Advanced Placement examination. Not surprisingly, students were herded into Advanced Placement classes, not necessarily meeting standards or prerequisites, in hope that the power of numbers would result in more 3s on the examination. Not infrequently, system-wide programmatic curricular revision did not accompany the establishment of the Advanced Placement program and/or several levels (Advanced Placement and the earlier course) of Spanish were taught in the same classroom. Districts have been especially interested in presenting native speakers to the Advanced Placement examination for what they perceive as an easy way to get high grades and subsequent district subsidy. South Carolina now requires that all school districts offer Advanced Placement programs.

Various secondary schools are experiencing a decreased foreign language enrollment. As has always been the case, many students take the first two levels (usually grades 8-10 or 9-11) and then drop out. Sometimes district requirements or focuses encourage students to opt for other subjects in the final high school years. In Maryland, for example, the high school fine arts requirement has cut into time students otherwise could have spent in upper level foreign language. The «mastery» or «back to basics» thrust for competency in math, science, English, and history leaves foreign language out completely. In some school districts, subscription to advanced Spanish has slackened off simply because the school offers such a wide variety of courses to meet graduation and college entrance requirements.

The rapid increase in student demand for Spanish has meant that administrators have had to find teachers for these classes. For many reasons (fewer foreign language education majors, better job opportunities than secondary school teaching, etc.) there is a shortage of foreign language teachers. To address a general teacher shortage, some states now offer an alternative route to certification. These provisions will undoubtedly help in the long run, but for now, administrators are assigning unqualified teachers to large classes of Spanish. It is not uncommon for a person already in a particular school system to be   —173→   required to teach a Spanish class after having studied a minimal number of hours of the language more than twenty years ago in college. These conditions are contributing to inadequate student preparation at the secondary school level.

The foreign language teacher shortage may be a blessing in disguise for our profession. Federal, state, and local monies are now being allocated for secondary school teacher recertification or professional renewal. Summer workshops offer intensive language study and practice in current issues like oral proficiency. The University of Mississippi, supported by the Department of Education, had a very successful month-long program in the summer of 1986, combining intensive language training with the newest educational methods instruction. Participants, most of whom began at the lowest proficiency level certified by a Foreign Service Institute trainer, increased their oral ability at least one entire level in that short time. They left the program with a renewed sense of confidence to speak Spanish well enough to manage secondary school classes and with a wealth of creative ways to teach Spanish.

Proficiency-based foreign language teacher certification is the wave of the future. In Texas, the suggested minimum proficiency for foreign language certification is Advanced Plus or 2 + on the FSI rating for secondary school and Advanced or 2 on the FSI scale for elementary certification. Other states are wrestling with proficiency-based certification, trying to determine how to administer the tests, what to test for, and to set the minimal proficiency level in each field.

Why are so many students restarting their foreign language when they get to college? Schwartz (22-8) surveyed California students to learn their reasons for doing poorly in college foreign language class: a) faster pace, in college, b) not enough hearing and speaking language in high school, c) too many outside obligations in college, d) not enough challenge in high school, e) not enough grammar taught in high school, f) harder grading in college, and poor study habits in high school. Overall, student perception of articulation problems centered on the faster pace of the college and the poor quality of the high school program.

Do high school foreign language students have an inflated opinion of their skills which is destroyed upon entering college? Research shows that at least their teachers may have overestimated their foreign language competency. Levine, Haw, and Cort (45-5) studied teachers who had not been familiarized with the formalities of the proficiency scale and found that high school teachers were overly affected by their impressions and knowledge of students. These teachers consistently overestimated students' actual ability in oral proficiency; "A" students were overestimated by the greatest amount; "B" pupils to a lesser degree, and "C" students were most accurately judged. The most highly overestimated student proficiency was at the novice level.

Secondary school and college/university professors are surprisingly ignorant about what goes on in classrooms at the other level. College students are finding their high school work deficient, and high school proficiency evaluations attest to the incompatibility of secondary school expectations and evaluations as compared with college procedures. By the same token, college professors have little idea about the complexity and frustrations of secondary school teaching. Although state-wide foreign language meetings have been addressing the articulation issues for years, the problems remain far from resolved.

College/university and secondary school teachers differ drastically in their assessment of student preparation. For his study on student placement and college views on articulation, Hagiwara (51-7) asked University of Michigan instructors about students' foreign language preparation for college. Faculty rated their students' foreign language preparation today, compared with 10 years ago as follows:

1) increase in proficiency	07.4%
2) equal in proficiency	26.0%
3) inferior in proficiency	47.7%
4) undecided	19.1%

The A. P. readers were asked to rank their student preparation within the last 5 years in two categories, first rating student achievement after two years of high school study and secondly after three-four years of study. Results were:

1) after two years	private school	public	total average
a) superior	60%	44%	52%
b) equal	40%	38%	39%
c) inferior	0%	18%	09%	—174→
2) after three four years
a) superior	90%	38%	64%
b) equal	10%	38%	24%
c) inferior	0%	18%	09%
d) undecided	0%	06%	03%

There are two fallacies in this comparison. Hagiwara discussed trends in the last 10 years; I limited data to the last five. My sample resulted from select, more than likely atypical secondary schools where Advanced Placement has been successful; the highly selective nature of the University of Michigan probably means that their polled students came from the kinds of high schools represented in my sample. That correlation is an undocumentable variable in my comparison. Nevertheless, the data suggest that while college foreign language professors believe that students entering their classes directly from high school are generally more poorly prepared than in the past, high school teachers find them generally superior.

The A. P. readers were asked, «Based on my knowledge of my students' college placement in Spanish, I generally assume the following equivalency of high school work to college». Admittedly a response to the question would depend on the colleges or universities where graduates are attending but one would normally assume that teachers would have some global perspective of secondary-college equivalency. Not so. Private school respondents consistently assumed three years of high school equal to one semester of college. The fact that public school teacher responses were so disparate is alarming. Half said that one year of high school is equivalent to one semester of college foreign language work; other responses ranged from two, three, and four years = one semester of college; four years of high school = three years of college; one year of high school = three-fourths years of college; three years of high school = two semesters of college; and four years of high school = three semesters of college.

If secondary school teachers themselves do not know at what equivalent college level their students are working, how can they prepare these people adequately for the college course in which they are to be placed? People on all rungs of the ladder need to realize what is going on above and below them. If teachers are in the dark about secondary school-college equivalents, it is no wonder that students are even less informed. Perhaps secondary schools are merely doing a poor job of tracking their graduates' placement in college language classes. The problem is compounded by the scant comprehension by high school teachers of college foreign language programs and vice versa.

Freshman are placed in college classes in a variety of ways: medium and small college departments frequently use a placement examination; larger institutions are less likely to base placement on examination. Other methods are interviews with an instructor or an advisor; instructions in the college catalog; or self-placement, frequently amounting to guessing (Schwartz). Klee (1987) lists these major problems in placement: 1) false beginners, 2) inaccuracy of placement instrument, 3) inadequate secondary school preparation of students, 4) lack of placement instrument, 5) poor identification of native Spanish speakers, 6) inadequacy of college course offerings, and 7) gap between years of language study.

Disparities continue to exist between secondary school and college/university expectations. In private secondary schools, each teacher expects to have four-five classes daily, three-four preparations, and an average pupil load of 65 (plus expected on-campus duties like coaching, residence counseling, advising, etc.). In public secondary schools, each teacher is more likely to have five daily classes, four preparations, and a pupil load of over 100 (plus various duties such as monitoring, study halls, etc.). The college situation is far different with a teaching load of 9-15 hours per week, three-four classes, two-three preparations, and an average pupil load of 50-75 (plus research, committees, advising, etc.).

It is all too easy for college professors to make recommendations for high school teachers like:

1) attend workshops for teachers

2) emphasize standards for work, especially for college   —175→   bound students; reduce «fun and games»

3) emphasize oral-aural work and grammar more

4) visit colleges to know about happenings and student placement

5) keep and/or improve language competence by doing refresher work and travel abroad

6) encourage students to take foreign languages during the senior year of high school to avoid the repetition of elementary Spanish in college

7) participate in foreign language secondary school-college collaboratives.

Concerned high school teachers have recommendations for college professors:

1) allow for a period of student transition/adjustment from secondary school to college

2) do not berate students' performance; if a student falls short of course expectations, investigate lower level placement

3) participate in seminars, workshops, and meetings with secondary school teachers to learn what is going on there

4) keep up to date with proficiency and other current instructional movements which promise to equalize student performance

5) ask foreign language students about their high school programs (books, methods, evaluation procedures, percentage of students in college-preparatory program, extra-class activities, etc.) to understand their background as they enter a college class

6) invite secondary school teachers to college classes

7) offer refresher courses for secondary school teachers at convenient times (evenings, weekends or summers)

8) participate in foreign language secondary school-college collaboratives

9) do not assume superiority over secondary school teachers.

The basic need for communication among secondary school and high school faculty will always exist. It is unfortunate that college foreign language instruction frequently has been relegated to a minor status compared with literary scholarship. Now that students are demanding to learn to communicate in Spanish for professional or personal reasons, and to a lesser extent to be acquainted with literature, foreign language departments which hope to raise themselves above service level are going to have to revise their programs. By having their faculty tied up giving solely elementary and intermediate courses, they will be impeded from meeting anything but minimal college/university requirements.

The appalling rise in college tuition will make parents and students more demanding consumers. What enlightened parent wants to spend $3000 for his child to repeat the Spanish course that he/she should have had in secondary school? The pressure is on colleges and secondary schools alike to work toward the common goals of curricular revisions centering on consistent and accurate measurements of proficiency. The needs are 1) to upgrade secondary programs so that students receive a solid enough background to enter college classes at a level no lower than intermediate, 2) to document the results of the University of Minnesota's decision to give no credit for elementary French, German, and Spanish foreign language studied in college, 3) to make college programs sufficiently flexible to accommodate entering student differences, and 4) to foster understanding at both levels that more emphasis on oral proficiency probably means less likelihood of covering all the grammar details at as early levels as before. The common goals of Spanish instructors are surely to move students along as quickly as possible, allowing or requiring them to repeat material as they go from secondary school to college; and to broaden the perspective of upper level courses from the pure survey of literature approaches into realistic communication with and understanding of international interdependency.

Draped Jamie B. «State Initiatives and Activities in Foreign Languages and International Studies». Foreign Language Annals Feb. 1987: 87-96.

Hagiwara, Peter, «Student Placement and College Views on Articulation». ADFL Bulletin 17:3 (Apr. 1986): 51-7.

Levine, Martin G., George J. Haw and Donna Cort. «The Accuracy of Teacher Judgment of the Oral Proficiency of High School Foreign Language Students». Foreign Language Annals Feb. 1987: 45-55.

Klee, Carol A. «How Do Colleges Place Freshmen in Spanish Courses?» Articulation Session, AATSP Convention. Los Angeles, 14 Aug. 1987.

Reschke, Claus. «Proficiency-Based Foreign Language Teacher Certification: The Texas Project». ADFL Bulletin 16.2 (Jan. 1985): 17-21.

Schwartz, Leon. «The California Study on Foreign Language Articulation». ADFL Bulletin, 17.1 (Sept. 1985): 22-8.

Hispania [Publicaciones periódicas]. Volume 71, Number 1, March 1988