The Missouri Reader Vol. 37, Issue 2 | Page 42

Foreign language instruction.
The national standards for foreign language
education in the United States is the result of a
collaborative project completed by the
following institutions: the American Council on
the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL); the
American Association of Teachers of French
(AATF); the American Association of Teachers of
German (AATG); the American Association of
Teachers of Italian (AATI); the American
Association of Teachers of Spanish and
Portuguese (AATSP); the American Classical
League (ACL), for the teaching of classical
languages such as Latin and Greek; the
American Council of Teachers of Russian
(ACTR); the Chinese Language Association of
Secondary-Elementary Schools (CLASS); and the
National Council of Japanese Language
Teachers (NCJLT), Association of Teachers of
Japanese (ATJ). According to the American
Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
(n.d.), foreign language teachers and curriculum
developers nationwide now use these
standards, which are divided into five
categories:
1. Communication (“communicate in
languages other than English” para. 4);
2. Cultures (“knowledge and understanding
of other cultures,” para. 5);
3. Connections (“connect with other
disciplines and obtain information” para. 6);
4. Comparisons (“develop insight into the
nature of language and culture” para. 7); and
5. Communities (“participate in multilingual
communities at home and around the world”
para. 8).
Each of the standards has two or three
more specific sub-standards. Of particular
interest for this study are two standards.
Standard 3, Connections, and more to the point,
Standard 3.1, states: “Students reinforce and
further their knowledge of other disciplines

through the foreign language” (para. 6).
Standard 4, Comparisons, specifically 4.1,
students are expected to “demonstrate
understanding of the nature of language
through comparisons of the language studied
and their own” (para. 7).

Impact of Foreign Language
Learning on the English Section of
the ACT
In an effort to answer our second research
question regarding the impact of foreign
language learning on the English section of the
ACT, we developed a survey utilizing a Likert
scale. An email with a link to the survey was
sent to approximately 1,500 students; 230
freshman and 168 sophomores responded to
the survey. Of the 398 students who responded,
57.8% (230) were freshmen and 42.2% (168)
were sophomores. The grade point averages
ranged on the 4-point scale (1=D, 2=C, 3=B,
4=A) from 1.0 – 4.0 with: <1% (3) in 1.0-1.99
range; 16% (63) in 2.0-2.99 range; 73% (290) in
3.0-3.00 range; 10% (40) in 4.0 combined GPA.
English was the primary language of 390
students, while Spanish was for 4 students,
French for 2 students, and Greek for 1 student.
The ACT scores reported by students ranged
from 15-19 (3%), 20-25 (35%), 26-30 (47%), and
> 31 (14%). The university in this study is a
selective institution (a state designation) with
minimum ACT of 22 required. Exceptions to
admission are allowed based on additional
factors. Only 4% of the students reported not
taking any foreign language training during their
high school years. Table 1 shows the languages
students reported studying in school. It is
important to note that some students
participated in multiple language learning.

©The Missouri Reader, 37 (2) p.42