Language education – the process and practice of teaching a second or foreign language – is primarily a branch of applied linguistics, but can be an interdisciplinary field. There are four main learning categories for language education: communicative competencies, proficiencies, cross-cultural experiences, and multiple literacies.
Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including maths, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction are referred to as the L1 and the L2 for each student, with L1 being the student's native language and L2 being the second language to be acquired through immersion programs and techniques. There are different types of language immersion that depend on the age of the students, the classtime spent in L2, the subjects that are taught, and the level of participation by the speakers of L1.
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, abbreviated in English as CEFR, CEF, or CEFRL, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingly, in other countries. The CEFR is also intended to make it easier for educational institutions and employers to evaluate the language qualifications of candidates for education admission or employment. Its main aim is to provide a method of learning, teaching, and assessing that applies to all languages in Europe.
Millbrook Magnet High School, commonly known as Millbrook High School (MHS), is a public magnet high school located in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is one of thirty-two high schools in the Wake County Public School System. In 2006, Millbrook finished the renovation of its campus which includes a new three-level building, a courtyard for students, and a larger cafeteria making MHS one of the largest and up to date facilities in the area. In 2009, Millbrook High School was granted International Baccalaureate status by the North Carolina Board of Education. The school was named a Magnet School of Excellence by Magnet Schools of America in 2020 and 2024 for its innovative curriculum, strong community building, and success in removing barriers to student success.
Advanced Placement (AP) Chinese Language and Culture is a course and exam offered by the College Board as a part of the Advanced Placement Program in the United States. It requires proficiencies throughout the Intermediate range as described in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines. The course interweaves language and culture learning and is conducted mostly in Mandarin Chinese. The first AP Chinese courses were offered worldwide in the fall of 2006, followed by the exam in May 2007.
B1 Preliminary, previously known as Cambridge English: Preliminary and the Preliminary English Test (PET), is an English language examination provided by Cambridge Assessment English, one of the examinations in the Cambridge English Qualifications.
Language proficiency is the ability of an individual to use language with a level of accuracy which transfers meaning in production and comprehension.
English-language learner is a term used in some English-speaking countries such as the United States and Canada to describe a person who is learning the English language and has a native language that is not English. Some educational advocates, especially in the United States, classify these students as non-native English speakers or emergent bilinguals. Various other terms are also used to refer to students who are not proficient in English, such as English as a second language (ESL), English as an additional language (EAL), limited English proficient (LEP), culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD), non-native English speaker, bilingual students, heritage language, emergent bilingual, and language-minority students. The legal term that is used in federal legislation is 'limited English proficient'.
The Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB), or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadien (NCLC) in French, comprise a 12-point scale of task-based language proficiency descriptors used to guide the teaching and assessment of ESL learners in Canada. Like the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, the Canadian Language Benchmarks describe ESL learners' successive levels of communicative achievement.
B2 First, previously known as Cambridge English: First and the First Certificate in English (FCE), is an English language examination provided by Cambridge Assessment English (previously known as Cambridge English Language Assessment and the University of Cambridge ESOL examinations).
Pearson PLC offers various international standardized tests of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers. The tests include the Pearson Test of English Academic, the PTE General, and PTE Young Learners. These are scenario-based exams, accredited by the QCA and Ofqual, and are administered in association with Edexcel.
The Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language is the Republic of China (Taiwan)'s standardized test of proficiency in ROC Standard Chinese for non-native speakers such as foreign students. It is administered by the Steering Committee for the Test Of Proficiency-Huayu (SC-TOP). The committee is under the direction of Taiwan's Ministry of Education. The test was formerly known as the TOP or Test Of Proficiency-Huayu.
The WIDA Consortium is an educational consortium of state departments of education. Currently, 42 U.S. states and the District of Columbia participate in the WIDA Consortium, as well as the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, Palau, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Department of Defense Education Activity. WIDA designs and implements proficiency standards and assessment for grade K-12 students who are English-language learners, as well as a set of proficiency standards and assessments for Spanish language learners. WIDA also provides professional development to educators and conducts research on instructional practices.
An Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) is a standardized, global assessment of functional speaking ability. Taking the form of a conversation between the tester and test-taker, the test measures how well a person speaks a language by assessing their performance of a range of language tasks against specified criteria. In the United States, the criteria for each of ten proficiency levels are described in the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, devised by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).
Wilga Marie Rivers was an Australian linguist and Professor of Romance Languages. While she taught at both the secondary-education and college level throughout her life, she spent the majority of her career on the faculty of Harvard University. There, she served as a Professor of Romance Languages and Coordinator of Language Instruction in Romance Languages, fulfilling these roles until her eventual retirement in 1989.
The term Spanish as a second or foreign language is the learning or teaching of the Spanish language for those whose first language is not Spanish.
Teaching English as a second (TESL) orforeign language (TEFL) and teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) are terms that refer to teaching English to students whose first language is not English. The terms TEFL, TESL, and TESOL distinguish between a class's location and student population, and have become problematic due to their lack of clarity. TEFL refers to English-language programs conducted in countries where English is not the primary language, and may be taught at a language school or by a tutor. For some jobs, the minimum TEFL requirement is a 100-hour course; the 120-hour course is recommended, however, since it may lead to higher-paid teaching positions. TEFL teachers may be native or non-native speakers of English.
Leo Benardo was a foreign language educator and the second president of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR) Companion Volume is an extension and update of the original CEFR, first published in 2001. The CEFR provides a standardized way of describing language proficiency levels. It is widely used in language education and assessment globally.
