Reported by: KARK 4 News
Monday, Oct 6, 2008 @03:25pm CST
The Foreign Language Teacher Education Program at Searcy’s Harding University has been awarded nationally recognized status from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and the National Council for Accreditation on Teacher Education (NCATE).
This program is among only 56 other schools in the nation to receive this recognition. This puts the Foreign Language Department in the top two percent of foreign language departments of colleges and universities across the United States. It is the only program in Arkansas and Tennessee with this recognition. It is also the only one among institutions associated with Churches of Christ with this distinction.
“This was one of the most challenging tasks with which we have been confronted,” said Ava Conley, chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and International Studies.
Harding was required to submit eight key assessments with criteria and data on student performance for the last three-years. This data included results from national licensure exams, institutional comprehensive content exams, unit plans and student work sample portfolios from student teachers, oral proficiency results, linguistic samples, and professional development/involvement assessments.
A major component was the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI). The OPI is a carefully structured conversation between a trained and certified interviewer and the person whose speaking proficiency is being tested. The interview is interactive and continuously adapted to the speaking ability of the individual being interviewed.
“I feel honored but accountably challenged,” Conley said. “Having reached this status, the challenge for maintaining this level is even greater. There is the challenge of building confidence in the students and creating the desire to achieve the levels of proficiency required.”
The mission of the Department of Foreign Languages and International Studies is to prepare students for life and work in the modern world where communication with people of other cultures and languages is becoming increasingly important.
Harding had a record enrollment this year of more than 6,500 students from 48 states and 51 foreign countries. It is the largest private university in Arkansas and attracts more National Merit Scholars than any other private university in the state. Harding also maintains campuses in Australia, Chile, England, France/Switzerland, Greece, Italy and Zambia.
