Post 304: What is the Intermediate level of Language Learning?

Post 304: What is the Intermediate level of Language Learning?

Listening and Speaking (Interpersonal Skills--How well does the LL understand and respond to target language questions?)

Students in the intermediate level can understand both native speakers of the target language and non native speakers of the target language. While novice language learners understand their teachers and their classmates, the intermediate level student can understand the teacher, fellow students and start to mingle with native speakers of the language and start to socialize with native speakers to immerse themselves as much as possible into the culture of the target language.

Reading (Interpretative Skills--How well can the LL comprehend main ideas of what he reads?)
Instead of just reading simple scripted text about the target language culture, intermediate students can start to read the actual newspapers, magazines and books of the target language without translation and without reading simplified French versions. However, really complex issues can still be taught in a sheltered version of the target language with some translation into the native language only when needed.

At the intermediate level, I recommend students read France 24 English version and then read France 24 French version of that same exact story to gain vocabulary and sentence structure. At the intermediate level, learners should understand the main idea and supporting points of an article in the target language. The more students read, the faster they will learn the target language.

Writing (Presentation Skills--How well can he present what he has learned?):
At this stage, students should be able to write a short 3 paragraph essay or if you are in France, you should be able to write a commentaire compose which is a literary analysis essay if you are a literature major in France.  At the intermediate level, students can write a short essay in the target language without need of translation into the native language. There will be some grammar mistakes along the way.  At this level, students can present a simple presentation or conduct debates with classmates in the target language.

Language Control: How accurate is the language learner language? The student will make a lot of mistakes in pronunciation like the beginner student especially with sounds that occur in the target language that do not occur in the student's native language. Students can understand topics beyond biographical topics. Students speak interlanguage--Interlanguage is the type of language or linguistic system used by second- and foreign-language learners who are in the process of learning a target language. The student will still make mistakes by transferring grammatical structures from their native language into the target language.

For instance, Spanish learners of English will write in English, Is a good day because in Spanish Es una buena dia is a complete sentence, but in English that is not a complete sentence as in English, the sentence is missing a subject. Intermediate language learners speak a language that is a mixture of their native language and the target language just like small children who are exposed to multiple languages.

Vocabulary: How extensive is his vocabulary?  Intermediate learners can learn about Francophone cultures in the target language, they can read about politics, work issues, controversial issues in the target language. American students start hanging out more and more with French native speakers as the French native speakers speak slowly while the intermediate learner tries to understand what the native speaker is saying.

Communication Strategies: How does he make meaning? Intermediate learners make meaning by talking to the native speaker face to face. Watching the native speaker's mouth, context of the conversation, and body gestures help the language learner understand what the native speaker is saying.  However, the intermediate learner may have trouble understanding the native speaker on the telephone because without body language and the native speaker talking too fast, the language learner may not understand the entire phone message.

Cultural Awareness: What is his knowledge of the target language culture?
The intermediate learner can read about the culture in the target language. He can immerse himself in the culture to understand cultural values and learn target language body gestures.  He can start making native speaker friends who will tell the language learner about life in the target culture. Increasingly, as the intermediate learner becomes immersed in the target culture, about a year or so, the intermediate learner becomes an advanced language learner.