What Exactly are the...
Hawai'i World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages
The Hawai'i World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (HI WRSLL) provides a framework for schools to plan and deliver language
instruction that is standards-based, proficiency-based, and designed for
students to develop language proficiency through an extended period of
study. It is aligned to the national standards and is a synthesis of current research in
second language acquisition and best practices in proficiency-based
language instruction.
The HI WRSLL incorporate the Five C's and corresponding standards from the national standards. The K-12 World Languages program also incorporates proficiency targets specific for languages with alphabetic writing (French, German, Ilokano, Italian, Latin, ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i, Portuguese, Sāmoan, Spanish, Tagalog), non-alphabetic writing (Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Russian), and signed languages (American Sign Language).
The proficiency target for each mode of communication establishes the minimum level for students to strive for upon completion of the course. These targets are intended to be used by teachers to guide instruction and inform assessment for the course levels. Based on the proficiency targets for their courses, teachers refer to the appropriate indicators from the HI WRSLL and use the backward design model (see ACTFL, Plan with Backward Design) to inform instruction and assessment.
