Prerequisite: Beginning Bengali Course I or demonstrated equal proficiency
1. Course Description: This course is based on the integration of learning outcomes across Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational Modes of Communication. Students accomplish real-world communicative tasks in culturally appropriate ways through Standard Bengali and through colloquialisms as they gain familiarity with products, practices, and perspectives of the target culture(s). Students learn grammar, vocabulary, and structures to enable them to meet functional performance goals at this level and to build a foundation for continued language learning. During this course, students perform better and stronger in the Novice range while some abilities emerge in the Intermediate range.
2. Learning Outcomes(Learning outcomes with an asterisk are essential.)
A. Interpersonal Communication:Students initiate and sustain meaningful spoken, written, face-to-face or virtual communication by providing and obtaining information, expressing feelings and emotions, and exchanging opinions in culturally appropriate ways with users of the target language at home or abroad. Students actively negotiate meaning across languages and cultures to ensure that their messages are understood and that they can understand others.
*By the end of the second beginning Bengali course, students can show evidence of the ability to create with language in various timeframes to exchange information on familiar topics and to handle short, social interactions in culturally appropriate ways using contextualized words, phrases, common idiomatic expressions, and sentences, sometimes still supported by highly practiced language.
Functional ability includes:
- asking and answering basic questions;
- giving simple explanations and excuses;
- asking for and giving simple directions and advice;
- stating simple comparisons and contrasts;
- making selections and participating in basic negotiations; and
- stating what people, places, and things are like with some details.
Students use culturally appropriate gestures and formulaic expressions in highly practiced situations and show awareness of the most obvious cultural differences or prohibitions.
Sample Contexts, Tasks, and Topics: Students can:
- exchange some personal information (e.g., address, e-mail address, nationality, people’s characteristics and personalities).
- exchange some information using texts, graphs, or pictures (e.g., dates, times, places, and events on schedules, posters, and tickets; weather maps; numbers or statistics in graphs).
- ask for and give simple directions to a place or event.
- make plans, share opinions and preferences, and interact with others in everyday situations (e.g., accept or reject invitations, invite and make plans with someone, order a meal, make purchases).
- work towards participating in conversations in various timeframes on a greater variety of familiar topics and handling short, social interactions in culturally appropriate ways in everyday situations by asking and answering questions.
- have conversations on a greater variety of familiar topics (e.g., role of family, household tasks, hobbies and interests, school or work).
- ask and answer questions on factual information familiar to them (e.g., questions related to arts and literature, social sciences, sciences, current events).
- use the language to meet basic needs in familiar situations (e.g., ask for help at school, work, or in the community; make appointments or reservations; arrange for transportation, such as by train, bus, taxi, or a ride with friends).
C. Interpretive Listening/Viewing: Students demonstrate comprehension of the gist and simple relevant details in a variety of live and recorded texts ranging from messages, songs, personal anecdotes, narratives, film segments, plays, videos, and information from other media sources. By using a variety of listening/viewing strategies, students are able to understand the gist and the meaning beyond the literal and understand the cultural mindset of text creators at home and abroad. Students reinforce and expand their knowledge across disciplines and cultures as they acquire information and distinctive viewpoints from a variety of media.
*By the end of the second beginning Bengali course, students can demonstrate understanding of the main idea, as well as some details, loan words, and idiomatic and formulaic expressions, in a variety of oral texts and media on familiar topics.
- Students can use keywords and phrases to understand simple oral texts and media on familiar topics, with or without visual support.
- Students use context cues for basic comprehension.
- Students use their own cultural background and some easily recognizable elements from the target language culture(s) to derive meaning.
Sample Contexts, Tasks, and Topics: Students can:
- demonstrate understanding of the main idea and some details in simple exchanges on familiar topics (e.g., conversations between a student/instructor, customer/sales clerk, parent/child, friend/friends; where one lives or works; free-time activities, interests).
- demonstrate comprehension of the main idea and some details in simple, short reports on familiar topics (e.g., news programs, student presentations; documentaries on historical, artistic, social, or political topics).
- demonstrate understanding of the main idea and some details about people, places, and things, as well as products, practices, and perspectives of the target culture(s).
- work towards demonstrating understanding of the main idea and many details on a greater selection of familiar topics in a variety of oral texts and media.
- demonstrate understanding of the main idea and many details of an event or news report (e.g., expositions, concerts, job fairs, cultural events; current or historical events; stories about social or political issues, such as the role of religion).
- identify the main idea and many details about an unfamiliar film on a familiar topic (e.g., in movie trailers, online videos, radio broadcasts).
- Students can demonstrate understanding of the main idea and many details of an exchange between speakers (e.g., conversations about art and literature, social sciences, sciences, or current events).
D. Interpretive Reading:Students demonstrate comprehension of the main idea and relevant details in a variety of written texts, ranging from messages, personal anecdotes, and narratives in contemporary magazines, newspapers, and Internet sources to classical literary texts in a variety of genres. By using a variety of reading strategies, students are able to glean meaning beyond the literal and understand the cultural mindset of text creators at home and abroad. They reinforce and expand their knowledge across disciplines and cultures as they acquire information and distinctive viewpoints from print and digital sources.
*By the end of the second beginning Bengali course, students can recognize and identify all the diacritical marks of Bengali. Students can demonstrate understanding of the main idea, as well as a few details and idiomatic expressions, in simple, short, and highly predictable texts on very familiar topics, with or without visual support.
- Students begin to use context cues for basic comprehension.
- Students begin to use roots and patterns to figure out the meaning of words.
- Students use their own cultural background to derive meaning from texts.
Sample Contexts, Tasks, and Topics: Students can:
- demonstrate understanding of familiar words, phrases, short, simple sentences, and a few idiomatic expressions (e.g., numbers and time expressions on a schedule, family members on a family tree, a list of educational materials, sports teams and events, categories on a food pyramid, information on a weather map).
- identify a few distinguishing features (e.g., type of resource, intended audience, purpose) of texts (e.g., brochures, posters, real estate ads, categories on a graph).
- demonstrate understanding of the main idea and a few details about people, places, and things (e.g., personal characteristics, places on a map, music genres) in a variety of texts (e.g., brochures, ads, titles, captions, couplets).
- demonstrate understanding of the main idea and a few details about products, practices, and perspectives of the target language culture(s) in very simple, short texts. Students are also working towards demonstrating understanding of the main idea and some details and idiomatic expressions on familiar topics in a variety of short, simple texts.
- demonstrate understanding of simple forms and descriptions (e.g., locations on a map, hotel registration, passport and visa applications, menu selections, calendars, invitations, catalogues).
- demonstrate understanding of simple exchanges between a student/instructor, parent/child, or friend/friend on social media postings (e.g., free-time activities, interests, plans).
- demonstrate understanding of the main idea and some details about well-known individuals (e.g., sports stars, actors, singers).
- demonstrate understanding of the main idea and some details in short texts that introduce them to the target language culture(s) (e.g., art, architecture, folklore of ancient or modern cultures).
D. Presentational Speaking:Students give live or recorded presentations to diverse audiences at home or abroad for varied purposes using information, concepts, ideas, and viewpoints on a variety of topics, sometimes supported by props, pictures, realia (objects from everyday life used in instruction), or media. Students demonstrate linguistic and cultural competence through academic endeavors, creative undertakings, and artistic expressions. Students incorporate their understanding of the target culture into presentations in a manner that facilitates comprehension where no direct opportunity for interaction between the presenter and audience exists.
*By the end of the second beginning Bengali course, students can make simple presentations on familiar topics using phrases and sentences that they have practiced.
Functional ability includes:
- giving simple explanations and directions;
- presenting simple comparisons and contrasts; and
- stating what people, places, and things are like with some details.
Students use practiced, culturally appropriate gestures and formulaic expressions.
Sample Contexts, Tasks, and Topics: Students can:
- present some basic information about themselves and others (e.g., family, friends, and school; where they work and what they do; likes and dislikes, such as free-time activities).
- Students can present some basic information about familiar people, places, or things (e.g., historical figures, favorite musical groups, actors, or authors; landmarks, vacation locations; weather; clothing; useful websites).
- Students can give some basic instructions on how to make or do something (e.g., preparing something simple to eat, giving simple directions to a nearby location or online resource, how to plan a trip).
- Students can present some basic information about things they have learned (e.g., simple science experiments; some basic cultural products, practices, and perspectives; historic or academic facts). · Students can present simple songs, skits, or dramatizations (e.g., children’s stories, proverbs, poems, or nursery rhymes; skits, practiced dialogs, or speeches).
- work towards creating with language in various timeframes to make simple presentations on familiar topics using phrases and sentences that they have practiced.
- present basic information about people, activities, events, and experiences with many details (e.g., physical appearance, personality, and biographical information about friends, family members, or well-known people; school or workplace; places they have visited or want to visit).
- present basic instructions, plans, and directions (e.g., the rules of basic games; multistep directions for preparing a basic recipe; weekend, summer, holiday, or vacation plans; how to access medical care or other services; future work or personal pursuits).
- give basic presentations where they express thoughts and reactions on topics of interest (e.g., movies or television shows; well-known athletes, celebrities, historical figures, or authors; events they have learned about or researched).
E. Presentational Writing:Students write presentations in print and digital formats for diverse audiences at home or abroad using information, concepts, ideas, and viewpoints on a variety of topics for varied purposes. Students demonstrate linguistic and cultural competence through academic endeavors, creative undertakings, and artistic expressions. Students incorporate their understanding of the target culture into texts in a manner that facilitates interpretation where no direct opportunity for interaction between the author and audience exists.
*By the end of the second beginning Bengali course, students can write basic information on very familiar topics using highly practiced words, phrases, and simple sentences.
Functional ability includes:
- giving information, listing;
- expressing simple likes and dislikes; and
- stating what people, places, and things are like with a few details.
Students may use highly practiced, culturally appropriate idiomatic expressions and basic writing conventions.
Sample Contexts, Tasks, and Topics: Students can:
- fill out very simple forms or schedules with very basic personal information (e.g., name, address, phone number, birthday, nationality, work or course schedules).
- write about themselves and others using learned phrases and expressions (e.g., likes and dislikes, such as favorite subjects, sports, or free-time activities; family members, their ages, relationships to each other, and what they do; courses and what time they start and end; very simple statements about where they live).
- write lists that help them in day-to-day life (e.g., activities and times in planners; to-do lists; shopping lists).
- write brief notes about something learned using lists, phrases, expressions, and short, simple sentences (e.g., main cities of a specific country, holiday greetings and celebrations in a specific country, topics or categories related to what they have learned).
- write short, simple skits and poems (e.g., inviting someone to do something, ordering food, shopping for something, answering a call; writing simple concrete poems).
- work towards writing short, guided messages and notes on familiar topics using phrases and sentences.
- write about daily life in sentences with some details (e.g., introduce themselves; describe family, friends, school, where they work).
- write short notes using phrases and sentences (e.g., postcards; messages for special occasions, such as birthdays or congratulatory notes; announcements; invitations; thank-you notes).
- write about familiar experiences or events using practiced material (e.g., what they do in class or at work, what happens after school or on weekends, or about excursions or activities).
- make basic requests for information in writing (e.g., meeting or event details, brochures, sign-ups for digital subscriptions or social media).
- create short, simple multimedia presentations using phrases and sentences related to familiar topics (e.g., personal and general interest; cultural products, practices, and perspectives)
(Based on Ohio Higher Ed Guidelines)