CAAP Common Core: French, German, Spanish - Speaking

  • Assumes face-to-face interactions with listeners, native where possible, accustomed to dealing with nonnative speakers. Contexts focus on students' lives and experiences.
  • Functions include: greeting, introducing, telling, listing, complaining, stating likes and dislikes, and describing.
  • Formats include: conversations, dialogues, short narrations and descriptions, role plays (e.g., phone calls), etc. Exercises include: conversations, dialogues, short narrations and descriptions, role plays (e.g., phone calls), etc.
  • Strategies targeted: supplying basic information about one's life and engaging in everyday pleasantries with others with heavy reliance on high-frequency vocabulary and structures.
  1. I can say hello to friends, ask how friends are doing, introduce new friends to a group, and say good-bye.
  2. I can describe myself, family members, or friends (e.g., what they are like, what they look like, what they like to do, and their personalities) and ask another person about someone he/she knows.
  3. I can describe my family (number of brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.) and explain the relationships among them (Paul is Carol's brother) and ask someone else questions about his/her family.
  4. I can talk about my school schedule (e.g., favorite classes and teachers, courses I am going to take next year, at what time and on what days, and who the teachers are) and ask someone else about his/her schedule.
  5. I can order food or beverages for myself and/or friends in a restaurant or café and ask someone else what beverages he/she wants to order.
  6. I can talk about the activities I have planned for the week (e.g., places to go, what day, and at what time) and ask someone else about his/her activities.
  7. I can talk about a social activity (e.g., party, picnic) and tell who's going, what I am going to wear, what myself and others are going to bring and ask someone else questions about a social event.
  8. I can talk about my possessions (what I have and do not have, what I need and do not need, what I want and do not want, what I like and dislike) and ask someone else about his/hers.
  9. I can describe a picture with classroom objects, explaining the location of each item in relation to others and each item's function.
  10. I can complain about my friend or a family member (e.g., what they do and do not do, etc.).
  • Assumes face-to-face interactions with listeners, native where possible, accustomed to dealing with nonnative speakers. Contexts tied to students' lives and community.
  • Functions include: explaining, giving directions, comparing, contrasting, selecting, making excuses, negotiating, and bragging.
  • Formats include: conversations, dialogues, narrations and descriptions, role plays (e.g., phone calls), etc.
  • Exercises include: conversations, dialogues, narrations and descriptions, role plays (e.g., phone calls), etc.
  • Strategies targeted: supplying information about one's past, present, preferences, and opinions and interacting with others for the purpose of giving and getting information with some recombination of vocabulary and structures.
  1. I can talk about my daily routine (e.g., when I get up, when I brush my hair and teeth, when I get dressed, when I go to school or work, when I go to bed) and ask someone about his/her routine.
  2. I can talk about past experiences (e.g., where I used to go on vacation, what I did, activities I used to like, what my friends were like) and ask someone about his/her past experiences.
  3. I can talk about past events (e.g., vacations, birthdays, weekend activities) and ask someone else about a past event.
  4. I can talk about television and/or radio programs that I watch (e.g., why I like them, what times/days they are on, etc.) and ask someone else about his/her preferences.
  5. I can talk about the weather in my area in different seasons and activities that people typically do and ask someone about the climate/activities in his/her country or area.
  6. I can give directions to a place, including means of transportation, directions, landmarks, and distance and ask someone for directions.
  7. I can negotiate the selection of a restaurant with a friend. Talk about food preferences (e.g., the kinds of cuisine I like best, worst, or more than others; the restaurants that have faster or better service, friendlier employees, etc.) and ask someone about his/her preferences.
  8. I can talk about my vacation plans (e.g., tickets, means of transportation, possible vacation sites) and ask someone about his/her plans. Discuss which locations I like the best and which ones I like better than others.
  9. I can talk about my leisure activities (e.g., things I can do well and things I cannot do well), in particular sports or music (including what I like the best or hate the worst), and ask someone about his/her preferences.
  10. I can describe someone (e.g., clothing, physical characteristics) and ask a friend about someone else.
  11. I can describe a house or apartment (e.g., number of rooms, location, what is in the neighborhood, what is in different rooms) and ask someone else about a house or apartment.
  12. I can describe my present life (school, job, social life), and explain what I like or dislike about my current situation and ask someone else about his/her situation.
  13. I can give advice and suggestions to someone complaining about his/her school, family, friends, job, etc.
  • Assumes face-to-face interactions with native speakers, where possible. Topics, although generally familiar, move students into future and hypothetical modes.
  • Functions include: apologizing, persuading, making requests, predicting, hypothesizing, giving excuses and advice, and blaming.
  • Formats include: discussions, narrations and descriptions, oral presentations, role plays, etc.
  • Exercises include: discussions, narrations and descriptions, oral presentations, role plays, etc.
  • Strategies targeted: given potentially awkward situations, can creatively combine vocabulary and structures in order to supply facts and opinions.
  1. I can tell what myself or others will be doing in the future (e.g., five years from now) and ask someone else about his/her future plans.
  2. I can talk about the general plot of a television program or movie that I have seen and ask someone about a program or movie.
  3. I can give a supported opinion about a television program, movie, short story that I have seen or read and ask someone else his/her opinion.
  4. I can describe what my life would be like if I were living in a country whose language I am studying (or if I won the lottery, if I could travel around the world, if I were the President, etc.). Compare and contrast to my real life (e.g., would I be happier, healthier, worse off, etc.).
  5. I can talk about personal experiences (past, present, and future) and ask someone about his/her experiences.
  6. I can give excuses and explanations for why I was late for class, didn't do my homework, was unable to contact a friend, etc., and ask someone else for the same information.
  7. I can persuade someone to do something (e.g., a friend to accompany me to the movies, on a trip, do me a favor, etc.).
  8. I can describe, in detail, friends, family members, towns/cities, school, interests and compare and contrast them to others' lives.
  9. I can describe a significant life event (e.g., obtaining my driver's license, school sporting or social event, and important exam, etc.) and ask someone else about the same.
  10. I can request information (e.g., travel information, job opportunities, etc.).
  11. I can talk about my job, or that of a friend or family member, comparing and contrasting it to other jobs (e.g., satisfaction, salary, type of job, advantages, disadvantages, etc.) and ask someone about his/her job.
  12. I can give instructions to do something (e.g., simple recipe, how to study for a test, what to do in case of an emergency, etc.).
  13. Negotiate an outing with a friend, deciding the event, time, place, day, and method of transportation.
  14. I can narrate a sequence of events in the past.
  15. I can explain what I can do, what I have to do, and what I am allowed to do at home, school, or on the weekend.
  16. I can give advice and suggestions about how to get a date, how to succeed in a job, how to maintain good health, etc.
  • Students move outside themselves to the world at large. The literature and culture of the target language provide opportunities for sustained discourse. Student-initiated discussions should be encouraged.
  • Functions include: justifying, convincing, arguing, hypothesizing, giving details, and critiquing.
  • Formats include: controversial discussions, in-depth descriptions and narrations, extended conversation, etc.
  • Exercises include: controversial discussions, in-depth descriptions and narrations, extended conversation, etc.
  • Strategies targeted: using a variety of syntax and rich vocabulary, express fact and opinion in order to substantiate one's position and persuade others.
  1. I can state, and support with examples and reasons, my opinion on a controversial topic (e.g., prayer in school, gun control, environmental issues, etc.).
  2. I can describe in detail the role played by sports, television, entertainment, and other leisure activities in my country.
  3. I can retell or discuss a familiar fairy tale or short story (e.g., Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, etc.).
  4. I can discuss my opinion about a cultural topic in the target culture (e.g., holidays, foods, sports, tolerance of foreigners, etc.).
  5. I can present myself in a job interview, explain my qualifications, why I want the job, why I would be better than other applicants, etc.
  6. I can narrate a story, providing descriptions, based on a series of pictures.
  7. I can initiate and sustain discourse about a literary or cultural topic of interest in the target culture.