Before I take off on some long rant about the American
Language Course (ALC), I have to honestly say that I have never used this
course material before. I have used many
products from the Defense Language Institute (DLI), just not this specific
one. Over the next couple weeks, as I
prepare to teach, I will get a chance to go through all the materials and will
write a bit more as I become more familiar.
I am including a link to a web site/pdf that will explain
the ALC in greater detail than I will here.
I hope to sort of talk through some of the specific items that I like or
dislike about the material versus writing some exhaustive monologue on the ALC
in general.
http://www.dlielc.edu/prod/Catalog.pdf
- The ALC is mainly described in pages 1 -23.
The other part of the site discusses other materials and courses
provided by DLI. Also, one will find a
decided emphasis on military vocabulary and familiarization in some of the
additional, specific-purpose modules as this course is designed to teach
military personnel. They are primarily
supplemental materials, and overall the basic ALC is more generic in its
presentation.
The general structure of the course consists of six
levels. Levels One through Five each
have six course books; level Six has four.
The books are designed to correspond to an assessment range which is
derived from a student’s placement score.
Fittingly, the assessment tool is the American Language Course Placement
Test (ALCPT). The test scores students
in listening and reading skills using a raw score of X correct out of 100
questions. I will discuss the ALCPT a
bit more in another post. Basically the
score is compared to a simple chart which indicates a range for placement into
each of the six levels. For example, a
score between 50 and 60 would indicate a student should be placed into Level Three. The levels are also given titles reflecting their
relative degree of skill; Level Three being “Intermediate”. Obviously there are debates about what the
titles mean, but DLI tries to follow the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR)
definitions and level descriptors. Below
is a link to their web site.
Again, this is a government entity and one may or may not
agree with their products
Regardless, each level of the ALC is backed up with materials
in abundance. The books in Levels One to
Five introduce four new lessons each and have numerous activities, a review
lesson and even pre-made flash cards in Levels One and Two. The instructor materials include ideas for
class management, recommendations for teaching practices, and tips and
strategies to aid in your instruction.
Level Six becomes more thematic and the books in this level have eight
new lessons instead of the four. There
are also two review lessons in each text at this level. The instructor text becomes more
comprehensive as well and includes areas discussing assessment specific to the
lessons. All the levels are supported by
audio materials which serve to amplify and reinforce the classroom
instruction. Of course, there are
homework activities and several quizzes throughout to aid in ongoing formal or
informal assessment as students progress through the course.
I encourage everyone to take a look at the DLI catalog web
site/pdf for more information. In the meantime,
I will delve a bit more into the specific texts and report back.
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