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Keeping the Optic Constant: A Framework of Principles for Writing and Specifying the AEI Definitions of Language Abilities
Author(s) -
Lowe Pardee
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
foreign language annals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.258
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1944-9720
pISSN - 0015-718X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1944-9720.1998.tb00582.x
Subject(s) - constant (computer programming) , variety (cybernetics) , computer science , curriculum , linguistics , second language writing , foreign language , psychology , natural language processing , mathematics education , artificial intelligence , programming language , second language , pedagogy , philosophy
This article examines the need to keep constant the optic, the framework within which the AEI definitions, both the ILR Language Skill Level Descriptions and the ACTFL Guidelines, are revised and more fully specified. Although the definitions have been used for a variety of purposes, such as curriculum development, the discussion below focuses on their use in describing and assessing foreign language user abilities. The author raises issues concerning the delimiting of the AEI ranges, parsimony, and more fully specifying the criterion‐referenced nature of the definitions as well as those concerning their use for assessing the abilities of target language natives and of heritage speakers. In the following, seventeen principles are presented and their utility examined for keeping the optic constant.