By SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
Alabama education officials are considering changes to the state’s world language curriculum that would expand language offerings and place greater emphasis on communication skills and cultural understanding.
The Alabama State Board of Education received an update Thursday on proposed revisions to the World Languages Course of Study, which was last adopted in 2017. If approved, the new standards would take effect in fall 2028.
Among the proposed changes is the addition of federally designated “critical languages,” including Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Russian. State officials say these languages are important for diplomacy, government, national security, and workforce development.
“It is the U.S. government identifying those critical languages because of the importance in diplomacy, government and national security,” said Teresina Vazquez, world languages and Seal of Biliteracy education specialist for the Alabama State Department of Education.
The revisions would also shift instruction from traditional grammar-focused lessons to proficiency-based learning that emphasizes real-world communication through speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
“We wanted to put attention closely on those areas, such as increasing target communication, using authentic resources and also proficiency-based assessments,” Vazquez said.
The proposed standards would continue emphasizing the “five Cs” of language instruction: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities.
A draft of the revised standards will be released for public review in August. State officials plan to gather feedback from teachers, university professors, and the public before presenting a final draft to the board in November. A final vote is expected in December.