In the 21st Century, communication among the peoples of the world will be facilitated by advanced technology. This new ease of communication, combined with a global economy, will make knowledge of other languages and cultures a vital skill for all Americans. The primary goals of the Foreign Language Department are to ensure that students should know and be able to: communicate in the target language, understand other cultures, develop insight into their own language and culture, and participate in the global community.
Assessment is an integral part of instruction. Traditional pencil and paper tests assess the receptive skills (listening and reading - discrete points of knowledge), while the productive skills (speaking and writing) are more fully tested using performance-based assessments. These assessments require students to show, in an authentic context, what they have learned.