Department of Foreign Languages Planning Website

Learning and Program Outcome Goals and Assessment

Program: B.A. Foreign Languages

Assessment Methods

The Department of Foreign Languages offers a wide variety of classes including language instruction, service learning, business French, German, and Spanish, materials and methods of teaching foreign languages, and cultural and literary studies. Given this wide range of subjects and the small number of graduates per language, which render normed tests results questionable, the department uses a variety of assessment methods.

1. Embedded exercises, portfolios, performance in the capstone course, assessment of individual projects, service learning surveys, and participation in conversation hour as well as other co-curricular activities indicate that students’ skills and proficiency have improved significantly during the course of their program of study; however, in some cases student projects in portfolios reveal a need to further improve students skills in written communication in the target language with additional practice in correct vocabulary and grammar usage and in writing for real world audiences. The capstone course was offered for the first time in Fall 2004, with two students completing the course (one in Spanish and one in French). Six students have now completed the capstone course. While their oral performance was satisfactory, in some cases the written papers did not reflect the level of research that was expected (1 goals and 3).

2. Since Spring 2003, all secondary education majors with a specialty area in foreign languages have passed the Praxis II test in the subject area. The table below contains results of the exam for all graduates since Fall 2001. (goals 1 and 2)

3. The I.D.E.A. results indicate that the frequency with which faculty select the “cultural” and “communication” objectives is less than 40% and student responses indicate that the Adjusted T score for progress on these goals ranges from 41-43 (goal 1 and 2, assessment method 6).

4. On the Self-Assessment Form, students indicate that they satisfied or highly satisfied that they were given opportunities to meet course objectives (goal 1 and 2).

5. Students maintain contact with the department by responding to requests for information about their activities after graduation and report success in their careers or graduate studies. These testimonies, which are posted on the Alumni Page of the departmental website, indicate student success in fields requiring foreign languages and in graduate school (goal 1).

6. Department of Foreign Languages students’ scores for the College Base Exam have generally been higher than the College of Arts and Sciences and the overall university scores. For the five years in which data for the department, the college, and the university are all available, students scored higher than the college and the university average for two years and higher than either the college or the university average for another two years (goal 1).

Process for Analyzing and Using Assessment Results to Improve Learning Outcomes

Improvements Based on Results

1. French faculty members initiated two major changes the French curriculum in response to results in the student portfolios. While students were making progress in their written work, more improvement was needed. As a result, students now write more than previously in all upper level course, including the Conversational French course, which has been renamed Communication in French to reflect this change. In addition, the department created a quality enhancement plan (QEP) to improve student writing in the target language and also improve students’ ability to write in different registers for different target audiences, to organize material, and to think critically. The QEP will seek to improve students’ ability to communicate in their own as well as in the target language. In a series of workshops, faculty members will learn how to apply writing theory to second language writing.

2. The results of the first capstone courses, offered in Fall 2004, were discussed extensively in a departmental meeting, and changes were made to the course requirements in order to address the problems that were noted. Faculty members created more specific assignments aligned with the Tennessee Skills and Goals Requirements for Foreign Language Programs. Students are now selecting more appropriate topics, organizing their paper better, and using more correct grammar and citations than in previous semesters. The portfolio and a student self-assessment paper have recently been added to the requirements of the capstone course to encourage students to critically evaluate their own work and identify areas for on-going improvement.

3. Significant changes were made to the program after each of the last two peer reviews. As a result of the last Self Study (2002), the Department discussed strategies for raising students’ proficiency levels in response to the higher proficiency levels required by NCATE and for assessing program and student learning outcome goals more effectively.
This plan included:

1. maintain effective communication and collaboration with foreign language teachers in the Upper Cumberland in response to the P-16 initiative to improve the transition between secondary and higher education in foreign languages by participating in the P-16 Mini Workshop, Rural Educators’ Alliance for Languages (R.E.A.L.), and the Upper Cumberland Teachers’ Council

2. increase the number of classes in which appropriate learning technologies, in addition to textbook lab assignments, are used to enhance foreign language learning to at least 50%.

3. create a Student Placement Satisfaction Survey for students who were placed into a language class by taking the WebCape Placement exam or in consultation with the chair and/or faculty members

4. develop a standardized rubric for assessing the capstone final project

5. increase number of students studying abroad since results from the National Survey of Student Engagement indicate that only 23% of freshman at TTU plan to study abroad compared to 40% for the national average

Assessment Methods

1. Assessment of collaboration with high school teachers is based on the number of faculty and high school teachers participating in R.E.A.L. (Rural Educators' Alliance for Languages), the Upper Cumberland Teachers’ Alliance, and TFLTA (Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Association. The P-16 Mini Workshops standard evaluation form is given to the participants when the R.E.A.L collaborative is scheduled as part of the Mini Workshops. An alternative evaluation form will be used when R.E.A.L is scheduled independently.

2. Assessment of learning technologies will be based on number of courses in which learning technologies are used for in-class and homework assignments.

3. A Student Placement Satisfaction Survey will be administered each semester to students who were placed into a language class by means of the WebCape placement exam or in consultation with the chair.

4. The development of the rubric for the capstone course and consistent use of this rubric will serve as an assessment measure.

5. The number of students studying abroad each year and the percentage of students who indicate that they plan to study abroad on the National Student Engagement Survey.

Assessment Results

1. High school teacher participation in R.E.A.L. had declined in the past two years. The Department requested and received funds to invite Dr. James Davidheiser (Professor of German, University of the South) and his wife, Ms. Marilyn Davidheiser (Teacher of Spanish and German, Franklin Co. H.S.) to present their successful workshop on Total Physical Response Storytelling, and attendance increased from 6 to 20. Attendees gave very positive feedback. Participation in the Fall 2004 collaborative dropped to 4 attendees, reflecting a significant drop in high school teacher and Department of Foreign Languages faculty participation. The number of faculty participating in the P-16 Mini Workshops increased from 20% to 80% of the faculty. The number of participants increased from 4 to 5 and the evaluations indicated that all participants were “very satisfied” with the program. The Department has created an evaluation form for R.E.A.L. collaboratives that are held independently of P-16 Mini Workshops.

2. The number of courses that are Web-enhanced increased from two in Fall 2003 to four in Fall 2004 and to eight in the fall of 2005. In Spring 2003, a faculty member received the innovative teaching award for use of technology in foreign language teaching and in Fall 2004, another faculty member became involved in a tablet-PC project. Faculty members are also creating files for the Sony Soloist software in the departmental Language Lab to be used for oral/aural testing and assignments outside of class and are using some components of WebCT. The number of classes in which learning technologies, other than textbook lab assignments, are used has increased from approximately 10% to 50% in the last three years. Multimedia equipment was installed in one classroom and another successful Technology Access Fee proposal will provide funding for the same equipment in another classroom. Two brief training sessions were held, one on how to use the new multimedia technology and the other on how to improve the efficiency of the language lab.

3. The Department has created a Student Placement Satisfaction Survey, which will be administered for the first time in the spring of 2006.

4. The Department created a standardized rubric to be used for evaluating the capstone project.

5. The number of students studying abroad has increased from 16 for the academic years 2003-2004 (including summer 2003) to 20 for the academic year 2004-2005 (including summer 2004). Student scores on the National Exam of Student Engagement for the item related to plans to study abroad will be evaluated when the exam is administered again in three years.

Analyzing and Using Assessment Results for Improving Program Outcomes

Faculty members discuss assessment results in regular departmental meetings and adjust strategies based on these results.

Improvements Based on Results

After participation in R.E.A.L. had dropped significantly, faculty members decided a more focused program, the TPRS workshop, would attract more participants. The workshop meeting was very successful with a significant increase in participation by high school teachers and Department of Foreign Languages faculty. Since participation by both groups dropped significantly the following semester, REAL was scheduled with the P-16 Mini Workshops with improved participation and new names and addresses were added to the mailing list. The Department has implemented the following strategies to increase the number of students who take the placement test rather than placing themselves, to improve students’ satisfaction with their placemen, and to improve their attitudes toward foreign language study: the Dean is providing information about the placement test at his orientation for incoming freshman; the department has increased its efforts to encourage students to take the test; faculty members are administering Student Placement Satisfaction Survey to students in their classes who took the placement test. In response to faculty requests, another training session on the new multimedia equipment has been scheduled for the beginning of the spring semester of 2006 early The new assessment rubric for the capstone project will be used to evaluate all capstone projects in the spring of 2006.