Criteria
The following tables reproduce the ACTFL descriptors for Intermediate and Advanced writing proficiency. Use them to understand what an Intermediate writer can do and what this writer needs to master to become an Advanced writer. We recommend you explore the complete publication of the ACTFL Guidelines 2012, available on the ACTFL site as well as the ACTFL Performance Descriptors for Language Learners.
Intermediate level
Writers at the Intermediate level are characterized by the ability to meet practical writing needs, such as simple messages and letters, requests for information, and notes. In addition, they can ask and respond to simple questions in writing. These writers can create with the language and communicate simple facts and ideas in a series of loosely connected sentences on topics of personal interest and social needs. They write primarily in present time. At this level, writers use basic vocabulary and structures to express meaning that is comprehensible to those accustomed to the writing of non-natives.
Advanced level
Writers at the Advanced level are characterized by the ability to write routine informal and some formal correspondence, as well as narratives, descriptions, and summaries of a factual nature. They can narrate and describe in the major time frames of past, present, and future, using paraphrasing and elaboration to provide clarity. Advanced-level writers produce connected discourse of paragraph length and structure. At this level, writers show good control of the most frequently used structures and generic vocabulary, allowing them to be understood by those unaccustomed to the writing of non-natives.
Find here a simplified rendition of the descriptors organized by the four assessment criteria: Functions, Context/Content, Accuracy/Comprehensibility, and Text Type. This table and the profiles that follow are designed to assist in identifying strengths and weaknesses of writers in support of specific pedagogical approaches and interventions. Always keep in mind that proficiency is global, and all criteria develop interdependentlyโa writer moves to a higher proficiency level only by mastering all criteria (i.e., demonstrating the evidence to sustain all criteria across the topics and tasks of the level all the time).
| Criteria | Intermediate | Advanced |
|---|---|---|
| Functions | -Writes simple messages and letters, requests for information, and notes. -Asks and responds to simple questions in writing. -Creates with the language. | -Narrates and describes on topics of a factual nature in all major time frames. |
| Context/Content | -Topics of personal interest and social needs. | -Informal and some formal topics and contexts. |
| Accuracy | -Basic vocabulary and structures. -Comprehensible to those accustomed to the writing of non-natives. | -Control of major time frames of past, present, and future. -Control of the most frequently used structures and generic vocabulary. -Understood by those unaccustomed to the writing of non-natives |
| Text Type | -Loosely connected sentences | -Connected discourse of paragraph length and structure |
General Considerations
While considering the profiles that follow, keep in mind that:
- Proficiency is global, and all criteria develop interdependentlyโa writer moves to a higher proficiency level only by mastering all criteria (i.e., demonstrating the evidence to sustain all criteria across the topics and tasks of the level all the time).
- While the elements of proficiency cannot be taught or learned discretely, an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of learners in discrete domains allows instructors to use strengths to scaffold and develop targeted activities to address specific weaknesses.
- Moving from one sublevel to the next may be a lengthy process; one semester might not be enough to observe such advancement, and as such, instructors and learners must set realistic expectations for both short term and long term growth.
- Levels (with the exception of Superior) are divided in sublevels: Low (minimal performance at level), Mid (quantity and quality at level), and High (showing ability at the next major level, but unable to sustain it). The strengths and needs of learners at the different sublevels are diverse; and it follows that writers at the High sub-level attempting the functions of the next major level will show less breakdown than their Low and Mid counterparts. These writers might require less time to move to the next major level than their Low and Mid peers. Differentiated instructionโusing, for example, an increasing complexity of writing promptsโis essential for a curriculum that is aligned with realistic and equitable goals for growth.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of Intermediate heritage Mandarin Chinese writers when they attempt Advanced level functions?
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