Curriculum

Hills Learning prides itself on having multiple levels for all languages for its classes. We want to make sure that students will have enough curriculum in our classes to build speaking skills, and develop the grammar and vocabulary that is necessary for fluency. We also want to make sure that the label we give classes accurately describes student proficiency levels.

Here is a quick synopsis of our levels for every language:

Here's some sample timelines to help visualize how long it would take for each level:

• January through March - Beginner 1
• April through May - Beginner 2
• June through July - Beginner 3
• September through October - Adv Beginner 1
• November through December (possibly January) - Adv Beginner 2

We like to say that it's possible to take about 5 levels of classes a year with us. So in other words, students can take about 7 years of classes with us (in the group setting) that will reach through the top proficiency of an intermediate speaker with us. We then have another 7 years of advanced class levels.

Our classes line up with the ACTFL proficiency guidelines, which are proficiency based standards that are common through the United States in foreign language education. Most universities and colleges reference these standards. Here's a breakdown of how (generally), our curriculum matches up with the ACTFL standards:

Beginner + Adv Beginner 1,2,3 - - ACTFL NOVICE MID

Pre-Intermediate 1-6                 - - ACTFL NOVICE HIGH

Intermediate 1-8                         - - ACTFL INTERMEDIATE LOW

Intermediate 9-16                      - - ACTFL INTERMEDIATE MID

Upper Intermediate 1-12           - - ACTFL INTERMEDIATE HIGH

Advanced                                     - - ACTFL ADVANCED LOW

Advanced                                     - - ACTFL ADVANCED MID

Advanced                                     - - ACTFL ADVANCED HIGH

It is important to Hills Learning that in our curriculum we set specific goals for each level of class for students to achieve. In the group classes, we have six can-do statements that have been created per semester to facilitate learning and have a focus of the class time. It is used by teachers to focus their teaching time, but also for students to refer to and self assess themselves throughout the language classes.

Although the can-do are generally for the group classes and follow the 12 hour semester schedule, they can also be applied to private classes. However we would also recommend especially for private lesson students to have their own goals and objectives in mind, and keep these in place throughout their lessons.