San Diego State University Department of Spanish and Portuguese Portuguese Language Program Piloting the cast for Portuguese: Using larc’s cast assessment tool to provide feedback on oral proficiency to intermediate language learners Cassia De Abreu, MA Ed. Lecturer in Portuguese cdeabreu@mail.sdsu.edu

PROGRAM BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Minor in Portuguese

Portuguese Language Track

Continuation: Portuguese Language Track

ACTFL: Description of Intermediate Level Proficiency

Intermediate- Mid

Intermediate- High

PORT 401: Class Profile Fourth semester in Portuguese language: Goal is to move students beyond the Intermediate level proficiency in all four language skills to Advanced. 7 students taking the course for credit 1 student auditing the course 5 are International Business majors: 4 seniors – 1 sophomore 4 out of 5 International Business Major students will be going doing the semester abroad in Brazil between Fall/2016- Spring 2017. 1 is considering studying abroad in France in Fall/2015.

Continuation: Class Profile Age range: 19- 32. Genders: 4 females and 3 male students. English as L1: 4 Spanish as L1: 4 Spanish as L2: 2 English as L2: 3 Portuguese as HL: 1 Other languages learned: French (2).

PORT 401: Three student profiles in this group Heritage learner (HL): Outstanding L2 learner (Spanish as L1): Developing L2 learner (Spanish as L1): Outstanding L2 learner (English as L1): Developing L2 learner (English as L1): Outstanding L2 learner (Another L1): Developing L2 learner (Another L1):

Profile 1: Heritage Learner of (Brazilian) Portuguese, “Senhorita mHbaKe” Ir ao site do CAST, fazer login como administradora e escutar um pouquinho da produção da aluna. Colar o link direto da aluna não funciona. https://cast.sdsu.edu/servlets/cast.home

Profile 2: Outstanding L2 Learner, “ Senhorita eWhKUg”

Profile 3: Developing L2 learner, “ Senhorita uhHhBe” Escutar um a amostra da gravação da estudante.

You be the judge: Listen to the discourse samples and comment Any striking differences? Any surprises? Positive aspects? Room for improvement? Based on your expectations, what thoughts come to mind?

Initial Feedback and Observations: Feedback on vocabulary was recurrent among L2 learners overall; HL did not have any need for feedback on vocabulary, L2 learner with developing proficiency had more difficulty “finding the words” to express her ideas than the outstanding L2 learner. More Negative Interference from Spanish in the Developing L2 learner’s proficiency; lower self-correction, Some Negative Interference from Spanish in the Outstanding L2 learner’s proficiency; followed by immediate self-correction

Initial Feedback and Observations: Outstanding L2 Learner versus Heritage Learner’s proficiency Outstanding L2 Learner Produced much more language Vocabulary was richer (despite instances of self- correction) Made a bigger effort to provide longer and more detailed answers. Was more informative I learned more about this speaker in terms of experiences and even personality. Heritage Learner Produced minimal language to answer questions Vocabulary was accurate and pragmatically appropriate, Her discourse is native-like Straight forward answers; no details.

How can these observations inform my teaching? How to develop materials and design tasks that will continue fostering language proficiency for both L2 learners and HLs? How can I address the linguistic needs of these different student populations? What else do I need to learn about HLs in order to maximize their learning potential? How does (intrinsic or extrinsic) motivation play a role in each student’s progress towards higher levels of proficiency? How can I further implement the use of CAST to provide even more meaningful feedback and assessment to my Portuguese language students?

Food for Thought:

Learn more: ACTFL Special Interest Groups

ACTFL.ORG

The Portuguese Special Interest Group- PORT SIG

PORT SIG Networking Opportunities

Contact Information: Cássia De Abreu, MA Ed. Portuguese Lecturer cdeabreu@mail.sdsu.edu