The Office of PreK-12 Curriculum and Instruction and the Office of Language Acquisition collaborated with representatives of our IB schools, including IB coordinators, ESOL teachers, English teachers, and World Language teachers, to develop our language policy. This is a working document. 

The essence of human interaction is language and communication. The world that our students will encounter as adults will be vastly different from the one we know today. The rapid development of telecommunications will make the ability to communicate in more than one language a necessity. Therefore, it is important to prepare our students for this multilingual environment by ensuring that they are able to function in at least two languages. During the learning process, they will derive the benefits of developing insight into their own language and culture as they learn to communicate with others.

The primary goals of the language program in Fairfax County Public Schools are to ensure that students:

• Communicate in languages other than English
• Gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures
• Connect with other disciplines and acquire information
• Develop insight into the nature of language and culture
• Participate in multicultural communities at home and around the world

These goals include a comprehensive focus for instruction that takes language learners beyond the traditional confines of the classroom. In the world language curriculum, students will not only learn to communicate with native speakers of the language, but they will do so with the cultural knowledge necessary to interact in an appropriate way.

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) recognizes the diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds of our students and their families and is committed to providing an appropriate education for each of our students: supporting language acquisition, sustaining the mother tongue, and requiring English language arts instruction.  As a district, 29% percent of our students are language minority students; approximately 15% of our students are supported by ELL (English Language Learner) services, although that percentage is considerably higher in many of our eight diploma schools (four of which also offer the MYP), five middle schools, and six elementary schools with MYP sixth graders.  FCPS supports language minority families by providing adult English language instruction, resources in multiple languages, and translation services. Although the primary cultural home for many of our students is a language other than English, some do not have the linguistic structure; the students can speak, but not read and write fluently in their home language.  We offer language instruction to these students with courses when appropriate. 

FCPS also supports students with formal language instruction in other languages by offering credit by examination in 30 different languages including American Sign Language.  Students must demonstrate that they have reached the intermediate range of proficiency as described by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) K-12 Performance Guidelines.  To graduate from high school with the advanced diploma, a student must earn 3 credits in one language or 2 credits in two different languages.

Student Achievement Goals

The IB program supports the Fairfax County Public Schools newly adopted student achievement goals.  Two of these goals are directly related to our language philosophy:

• All students will communicate in at least two languages. This goal has two components: native English-speaking students will become competent in communicating in at least one other language in addition to English and English Language Learners (ELLs) of other world languages will become proficient communicators in English. 
• Students will understand the interrelationship and interdependence of the countries and cultures of the world.

It is also our goal that all students will take at least one advanced academic course (IB) before graduation; the IB program in FCPS is an open access program.  Our focus is on closing the achievement gap for all students, including our under-represented minority populations as well as our English Language Learners. 

FCPS Language Curriculum

Language A

English is the primary Language A instruction in FCPS.  Our IB schools have worked diligently to build strong vertical articulation to prepare students to complete their Language A studies successfully.  In addition to English language instruction, FCPS supports reading and writing across the curriculum; we believe that it is the responsibility of all teachers to improve our students’ ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.  In the diploma program, schools have the choice of offering English A at both the higher and standard levels.  FCPS has been monitoring the new Group 1 curriculum to insure a smooth transition. We feel strongly that the new Language and Literature courses have the potential of providing increased access to our students, including English Language Learners and students with special needs.

Fairfax County provides additional support in English language acquisition for our English Language Learners (ELLs).  The state of Virginia has adopted the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) as its assessment for students’ English language proficiency.  Students assessed as entering, beginning, developing, or expanding receive classroom instruction in English for speakers of other languages.  Students may access Transitional English 9 as a bridge to the general English classroom.  English teachers also coordinate with ELL teachers to provide appropriate differentiation in the English Language Arts classroom.   FCPS teachers are encouraged to give students the opportunity to reflect and communicate in their mother tongue as a scaffold to understanding.  We believe that allowing students to process the content in their native language is effective in building knowledge. 

FCPS also supports students in their mother tongue by offering the option of Language A self-taught.  Individual schools create the most appropriate course of study for their students with the guidance of student services and the IB coordinator. 

Language B

The content of the World Languages Program of Studies is organized around seven essential strands of language development and application for students: Person-to-Person Communication; Listening and Reading for Understanding; Oral and Written Presentation; Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products; Making Connections through Language; Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons; and Communication across Communities. The two strands for Latin in lieu of the Person-to-Person strand are Reading for Understanding and Using Oral and Written Language for Understanding.

In order to support our student achievement goal that all students will be able to communicate in two languages, FCPS continues to expand its world languages program, especially in elementary school.  In our partial immersion program, started in 1989, students learn mathematics, science, and health through the medium of a world language (French, German, Japanese or Spanish). Half the school day is spent learning math, science and health in the target language. Students receive instruction in English for language arts and social studies during the other half of the day. The FCPS program model is based on the highly successful immersion programs that were implemented in many school districts throughout Canada and the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. The uniqueness of an immersion program is that the world language is not taught as a subject. Instead, the language becomes the language of instruction for part of the curriculum. Children then acquire the second language through interesting and meaningful activities in the language as they learn the concepts of the various subjects included in the elementary curriculum. Research studies show that learning a second language at an early age has a positive effect on intellectual growth and leaves students with more flexibility in thinking, greater sensitivity to language, and improved listening skills.  The IB program builds on the partial immersion program by allowing students to continue their study of the language in high school; Spanish immersion students may choose to study Spanish A.  A limited number of students have been able to study French A.  Individual schools adopt their language B choices to meet the needs of their immersion students.  For example, if a boundary change brings an influx of students from a partial immersion program in a language not offered at the high school, the language will be introduced to the IB program.  

FCPS has also introduced the FLES program (Foreign Language in the Elementary School), beginning with first grade in selected schools.  FLES is an approach to language learning that allows students to develop basic communicative skills in a language while reinforcing and enriching content in other disciplines. The FCPS FLES model develops students' language proficiency by providing language instruction that supports the concepts taught in the subject areas at the respective grade level. Generally, programs have 30 minutes of instruction two to three times per week, which is articulated through middle and high school. FCPS FLES model is based on the research that shows that students are not only able to learn but are also highly engaged in learning content through the target language.  In addition, the culture of the target language is integrated into instruction in support of our student achievement goals.  FLES is being introduced progressively starting with the lower grades and eventually will become available to K-6, including our middle years sixth graders.   

In our six MYP elementary schools all students receive a minimum of 50 hours of language in sixth grade; each of the elementary schools has chosen one world language for instruction.  In the remainder of our MYP middle schools, students choose a world language for instruction beginning in the seventh grade.  Most seventh-grade students begin their study with a semester of instruction presented in a sustained delivery model over the course of an academic year.  Eighth grade students continue their course of study, receiving high school credit for successfully completing a year of instruction at the high school level.  Students in the IB diploma program who were not a part of the Middle Years Program are counseled to begin their study of a second language no later than eighth grade.  Students who do not have the opportunity to study a second language by ninth grade (i.e., transfer from another school district) may study language at the standard level; students with three or fewer years of a language may study language ab initio.   

Each school has the option to choose its world languages for instruction.  We currently offer language instruction in Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, and Classical Languages.  Our world languages program is fluid, recognizing changes in the global community.  FCPS continues to offer European languages and Latin, but we are also including more opportunities to study Japanese, Chinese, and Arabic.  In adding or changing a language for study, schools usually survey the community, including parents and students.  Changes are also instituted when necessary to allow students to continue their studies from elementary and middle school.

Language Policy in Action at Annandale High School

Introduction

Annandale High School is fortunate to have a very diverse student body.  45.5% of AHS students are language minority students (Limited English Proficient) and 59.2% are on free and reduced lunch.  The AHS student population is 21% Asian, 16% Black (not of Hispanic origin), 46% Hispanic, 15% White (not of Hispanic origin), and 2% registered as “other.”   We pride ourselves on the fact that our student body reflects a diversity not found in many schools.  There are 75 countries represented by our student population.  The majority of our students, 81%, come from families whose native language or the language spoken at home is not English.  There are 58 languages in addition to English that are considered the primary language spoken by our students.  As such, it is not uncommon to hear them conversing in the hallways, in the cafeteria, and in the classroom in a multitude of languages.  Our students value the importance of being effective communicators in more than one language which is supported by our Superintendant who included as a student achievement goal that all graduates of FCPS will be able to communicate in at least two languages.   We are an open-enrollment program, and we encourage all students to challenge themselves academically.

Support of Mother Tongue

Annandale High School values the cultures of our students and supports them to grow in both their native and emerging languages.  The following is a list of how we support students to develop in their mother tongue.

• Library/Media center includes a collection of authors and diverse fiction/non-fiction titles
• French/Spanish Honor Societies tutoring
• Heritage Night
• Translators available at Parent Information Sessions
• Spanish speaking staff in the main office, attendance & student services offices
• Neighborhood Center/Parent Resource Center
• Full-time parent liaisons
• Various Groups: Hispanic Leadership Organization, Arabic Club, Japanese Culture Club, Model United Nations, Vietnamese Culture Club
• Language support through subscriptions service through FCPS public libraries
• Library contains language dictionaries

Implementation of Language A

Annandale High School is both an IBDP and IBMYP school.  Accordingly, many students are introduced to the IB Learner Profile before they even enroll at Annandale High School.  Additionally, all 9^th and 10^th grade teachers throughout all the departments are charged with building a common language through the IB Learner Profile and Global Contexts.

The English department of AHS offers a number of choices at each grade level to fulfill state as well as IB requirements.  Specifically, in the English Department, the following core courses are offered at the 9^th and 10^th grade levels: English 9, Honors English 9, English 10 and Honors English 10.  All students enrolled in these courses complete the Language A - IBMYP assessments. The Honors courses are designed to allow intellectually curious, highly capable and motivated students to move at a faster pace, deal with more abstract and complex material and begin to focus on the writer’s use of language.  The Honors courses are open access and students seeking a challenge are encouraged to take one or both courses.  Additionally, we offer Transitional English 9, a course taken concurrently with the final year of ELL education.  It is a modified English 9 course, designed for students who are still learning English. 

IB English is, of course, a two-year program offered in grades 11 and 12.  Students may move into IB English I from regular English 10, although students planning to take IB English are encouraged to take the Honors courses.  Additionally, AHS now offers Honors English 11 and Honors English 12 for students not ready for IB English but who demonstrate an interest in a greater challenge in language arts.

In 11^th grade, students have the option to enroll in IB English Literature I, IB English Language and Literature I, Honors English 11 (online) or English 11.  In 12^th grade, students are encouraged to finish off the course they began in the previous year. Students are counseled for course selection by the guidance counselors and their English teachers.

Collaboration is heavily emphasized at AHS.  Consequently, best practices for instruction are being shared between teachers of honors classes and teachers of general education classes.  This ensures that students in general education courses are being introduced to skills that will help them in IB coursework.

English instruction is a whole language approach and follows the standards set forth by the National Council of Teachers of English.  Students are actively engaged in reading, writing, speaking and listening, both informally and formally.  AHS teachers embrace the importance of drafting, feedback, revision and publishing and student portfolios are commonplace.  Students are taught how to talk about writing in peer revision groups and how to make substantive changes to their own work based on the feedback of others.  Students are invited to revise multiple times, learning to refine their language, clarify ideas, and develop their thoughts in detail.  Opportunities for writing and speaking for different purposes and different audiences are provided throughout the four-year program.

The English Department also teaches elective courses:  Creative Writing, Journalism (A-Blast), Advanced Composition, Photojournalism (Yearbook) and IB Film Study.  These courses may be taken in addition to the regular required courses.

IB Language A Offerings

AHS has elected to offer the Language A program at both the standard and higher levels.  Students enrolled in IB English Literature are classified as either HL or SL, but all students complete the HL curriculum, with HL classified students being given ample opportunity for further extension activities.  IB English Language and Literature originally was introduced to meet the needs of 11^th graders that had previously not been exposed to the honor’s English curriculum.  IB Language and Literature has only been run as SL offering.  The only exception has been made for a full IBDP candidate that is in need of another HL due to course scheduling conflicts.  These students meet regularly beyond normal class time with the instructor to complete additional HL requirements.

In addition, a double block of IB English Language and Literature SL is offered to our English Language Learners in 12^th grade.  These students meet the course seat hours by attending class every day (usually first block) for the whole year (whereas all other courses meet every other day).  These English Language Learners have been quite successful at accessing the IB curriculum.

AHS also offers Spanish Language and Literature as a Language A course to meet the needs of our fluent and heritage speakers.  It is currently offered as an SL or HL option.  Students that earn an IB score of 3 or higher in two Language A courses are eligible for the IB bilingual diploma.

Literacy Remediation/Student Support

Annandale High School provides multiple supports for students in English literacy.  Literacy Lab (levels 1-3) provide English language development to students that are either not on reading grade level or have difficulties in passing the Reading and Writing mandated Standard of Learning exams needed to graduate.  In addition, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) and Strategies for Success classes help support student learning.  Lastly, every other day for one hour students have a remediation/invention block in which they can seek assistance from a teacher, be tutored by a peer, or go the library to acquire resources.

Implementation of Language B and ab initio

The IBDP at Annandale High School, as applied to the World Languages Department, currently offers language instruction in Language B and ab initio in French, Spanish and Arabic.  French and Spanish are offered at the SL and HL levels.  Arabic currently is offered at the SL level with the possible expansion of HL in the future if student interest and ability arise.  Due to decreasing Latin enrollment and lack of availability of Latin at our feeder middle schools, the last year we will exam in Latin will be the 2021 testing season.  Our IBDP classes include both SL and HL students.  As such, all students are exposed to the additional rigors of the HL requirements.  This gives them the opportunity to better choose which level is best for them as they complete the second year of the course during the 12^th grade.  As with our Language A colleagues, the Language B teachers ensure that the HL students are given ample opportunity within the two years of the course to explore the unique aspects of their curriculum.

The ab initio level is provided for those World Language students that are only able to complete up to 3 years of a language.  We offer Spanish, French, and Arabic at the ab initio level.  These students do not sit in a specialized ab initio class.  They will sit for instance, in a regular Spanish 2 or 3 class.  Students are required to meet with their language instructor during Pride Time (remediation/enrichment block) which occurs for an hour every other day to take released tests, practice their oral skills, work on their writing, as well as any other skills to prepare for IB assessments.  A very small number of students test at the ab initio level each year.

We focus our efforts on helping our students to become conversant in their Language B and to be effective writers as well.  In order to accomplish this, they are expected to demonstrate appropriate and accurate use of vocabulary, grammatical structures and idiomatic expressions; to obtain and to process information from written, aural and visual sources; to be culturally aware through gaining an understanding of and an appreciation for cultural and linguistic diversity; and to communicate in formal and informal settings (accurately and effectively in writing and speaking).  Students learn to use appropriate register in written and oral communication; develop the ability to understand and respond to language demands of social contexts; use their linguistic base for further study, work and leisure; and use the target language in social, academic and cultural arenas.  All aspects of the IB Learner Profile are incorporated in our classes which further help students in their development of effective communicative skills.

The success of the IB Language B program at AHS is due to a collaborative effort by all stakeholders.  Our teams of teachers work with one another to help our students be successful as they progress from their IBMYP Language B courses to their IBDP courses.  Students are encouraged to be risk takers, knowing that they do not need to be perfect with regards to their use of vocabulary and grammatical structures in order to be effective communicators.  We encourage our students to extend their language learning to other areas and to allow them to participate in different activities in and out of the classroom.  Many of our students take part in immersion programs in the summer (such as Governor’s School) to improve their language skills, and many others travel abroad to a target language country where they engage in volunteer work while immersing themselves in the target culture.

In addition to IBMYP assessments, the World Language Department of FCPS has designed formative and summative common assessments that focus on reading, writing, speaking and listening skills (PALS – Performance Assessment for Language Students).  These further prepare our students for the rigors of the IBDP courses as they learn to be more confident, effective communicators as they progress in the stages of language acquisition.

Fluent speakers of Arabic, French and Spanish, as well as students whose families speak one of these languages at home are assessed to identify their level of proficiency in the target language.  We currently offer three years of Spanish for Fluent Speakers courses which allow students who either come from a Spanish-speaking country or are considered heritage speakers to focus on the skill development necessary to prepare them for the rigors of the Spanish A Language and Literature course.  When native and heritage speakers of French are enrolled in our program, they are encouraged to take their DP course at Higher Level as we do not offer the French A option. With the growth of our Arabic program, we hope in the future to have enough students to test in the HL level. Many of these students also choose to study another Language B in our IBMYP program.  Students working towards the IB diploma are able to test in a second language in replace of a Group 6 subject.

All languages have honor societies and students from those societies are actively engaged in tutoring younger students.  The school hold an annual Heritage Night to celebrate the diverse cultures of our student body through fashion and performance.

Teacher Support

Teachers of both Language A and Language B courses are regularly sent for IB training and they participate in networking sessions sponsored by the IB Mid Atlantic Association of schools, the regional IB organization.  Vertical collaboration with our feeder middle school occurs frequently as well.  Annandale High School has two full-time instructional coaches to provide assistance to teachers.  These coaches help teachers in data analysis, best practices, and collaboration to improve student learning.  Annandale’s literacy focus has been “Read, Write, Think- Every Day.”  Multiple professional development opportunities have been provided around this focus.

Extended Essay and Support of Language A

Traditionally students write their extended essays in English, but each year 1-2 students opt to write it in Spanish.  Students chose this because they find writing in Spanish is more natural as a researcher and thinker. Students are supported with a supervisor that is fluent in the language.

Implementation of the AHS ELL Program

Philosophy

As one of the most diverse schools in Fairfax county, Annandale High School takes great pride in the rich cultural and linguistic backgrounds of our students and their families.  AHS is a true international school both demographically and philosophically.  For this reason, AHS seeks to provide an education that combines intellectual challenges while supporting language acquisition in English and preserving our students’ knowledge of their native language. 

As per the World Languages curriculum of Fairfax County Public Schools, the goals for English language learners at AHS are to: 

• Communicate fluently in at least two languages (English and their native language)
• Gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures
• Connect with other disciplines and acquire information
• Develop insight into the nature of language and culture
• Participate in multicultural communities at home and around the world

To understand the academic challenges faced by ELLs and better meet their instructional needs, AHS provides administrators, teachers, librarians, technical and other school-based staff with annual professional development.  Central to this training are effective use of accommodations in teaching/ learning content material to ELL students and the role of differentiation in instruction.

The English Language Learner (ELL) program at AHS makes language central to all learning and teaches language through the content of the subject of instruction. At AHS the role of all teachers, not just language teachers, is to facilitate interpersonal and global communication.  Our teachers employ best professional practices and actively collaborate across disciplines to facilitate and enrich the learning experience for our students.  ELL teachers regularly collaborate with content teachers in Collaborative Learning Teams (CLTs) in English, Biology, Math and Social Studies.  Collaboration helps bridge the transition from a sheltered ELL environment to mainstream content classes.

Inclusiveness and Integration

The ELL Program at AHS is a vital part of our profile as an IB World school.  The result of efforts outlined above is the inclusion of the ELL population in school activities and programs, including honors and IB courses, and the IBMYP assessment regimen.  It is our hope that like all FCPS students, our ELL graduates will leave AHS having acquired both the linguistic ability to communicate effectively as well as the cultural knowledge needed to engage and interact in society as good world citizens.

Policy Review

The language policy is located on Annandale’s IB webpage.  The policy is reviewed annually by teachers in the English, World Language, and English Language Learners Departments (formerly ESOL).