A Rosetta Stone Base Language Curriculum 1

A Rosetta Stone Based Language Curriculum Laura Ann Piraino North Carolina State University

Running Head: A Rosetta Stone Based Language Curriculum

A Rosetta Stone Base Language Curriculum 2 Abstract The basis for this report is founded on leadership based practices discussed in North Carolina State Universitys ECI 508 Teacher Leadership Class. It explains the research behind and the process of implementing a proposed language curriculum shift at Exploris Middle School. This report provides research concerning the Rosetta Stone Language Program. It synthesizes reviews from various sources concerning the pros and cons of the Rosetta Stone Program. The report also discusses the means by which Exploris Middle School has researched, planed and considered the curriculum change as well as discusses Laura Pirainos and Matt Friedricks role in the process.

A Rosetta Stone Base Language Curriculum 3 Exploris Middle School is an urban charter school located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The mission of Exploris Middle School is, to create a challenging and supportive learning community that engages each student in understanding and building a connected, just, and sustainable world (www.exploris.org). Exploris has partner schools in both Japan and Germany. Students are exposed to and engaged in an exchange with students from Germany and Japan at least four times throughout their 3-year school at Exploris Middle School. Because of its global focus, Exploris Middle School requires each student to study a foreign language. Since its inception in 1997, Exploris has offered students the choice between taking Spanish I and French I. While these languages are among the most common languages offered in high schools, they do no align well with the current school partnerships. As a result of funding, student experience, and Exploris school culture, the Education Committee met numerous times to discuss how to better meet student and school community needs. The topics discussed included the school budget, curriculum, school model, and language curriculum. The education committee at Exploris Middle School is made up of both board and faculty members. Its purpose is to enhance and organize the educational model of Exploris. The 2011-2012 members of the education committee include: Karen Rectanus (teacher), Sonja McKay (teacher), Frank McKay (teacher), Laura Piraino (teacher), Shannon Hardy (teacher), Matt Friedrick (board member) and Barrett Koster (board member). Committee members recognized that studying a foreign language enhances cognitive development and basic skills performance (Kwan p. 124). During a committee meeting regarding school model and curriculum, members explored the option of meeting student language learning needs through the program, Rosetta Stone. Laura, the current

A Rosetta Stone Base Language Curriculum 4 Spanish teacher, was asked to research and provide academic, financial and curricular details of the Rosetta Stone web-based program. Rosetta stone is a computer-based program, which includes a verbal and written component. As described by Phyllis E. Van Buren (2008), Rosetta Stone: Incorporates two pedagogically sound principles: immersion in the target language to replicate as much as possible the learning of one's first language; and meaningful contexts, as opposed to flash cards and prescriptive grammar rules. The program begins with the match of vocabulary items with colorful images. Learners apply their intuition in matching words and images learned. Learners click on images to match what they hear and/or read with what they see. Later, the learner selects the phrase and image that answer the prompt. (p. 633) Naturally, as with all language learning programs, there are pros and cons to the instructional platform. After reviewing several publications, the committee was able to recognize that cons of the program revolve around the lack of culturally significant images, a certain degree of inefficiency of the voice recognition tool, and inadequate directions. Van Buren discusses gaps in assessment by stating: According to advertising claims, students achieve advanced proficiency, but there is not way to determine if that is the recognized Advanced level proficiency, as defined by the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Guidelines, or as the lay person interprets the term of going beyond basic greetings, numbers to 20 and a dozen nouns. (p. 633) While Rosetta Stone does not offer a way to determine if students achieve Advanced level proficiency as determined by the ACTFL, Van Buren suggests that schools without licensed teachers, particularly in mandated programs at the primary and/or intermediate

A Rosetta Stone Base Language Curriculum 5 levelsRosetta Stone provides an avenue of controlled input and essentially accurate evaluations (p. 634). A study done in 2011 by Amoroso, Mackey, Andrea Rvsz , and Nicole Ziegler touches on a newly developed assessment which is similar, but not identical to, the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview and that, analyses revealed that post test OPI ratings were substantially and significantly higher than the ratings they received on the pretest. (p. 6) At the middle school level, with exposure and introduction to a foreign language as our primary mission, Rosetta Stones web-based program offers enhancement to our curriculum. Because there is no software to install, students may log on from any computer with an Internet connection. If the web-based program were implemented, our students would be able to choose from a variety of different languages, naturally differentiate their instruction, and increase their interaction and instructional time with the language they choose to study. In Van Bureans Review she states, [Rosetta Stone] builds up the learners ability to comprehend the spoken and visual input and leads them to make visual choices, spoken responses, and written words with images. Then the learners intuitively select the image described by a sentence. If the learners are able to math their voiceprint with that of the native speaker input, it affords them visual and auditory feedback (p. 634). Students at Exploris Middle School currently study foreign language four times a week for a class period of 45 minutes. There is an average of 17 students in the foreign language classes. Realistically, at least ten minutes of this class time is used for classroom administrative tasks such as handing out papers, taking attendance, and organizing instructional activities. As a result, students receive around 35 minutes of language

A Rosetta Stone Base Language Curriculum 6 instruction per class period, which calculates to 140 minutes per week. Due to funding constraints, 16 textbooks are used for around 100 students; therefore, students may not take these textbooks home. If implemented, students can use Rossetta Stone at home or the public library. Rosetta Stone has also aligned its curriculum with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for Foreign Language. This can be accessed at the following website: http://www.rosettastone.com/schools/solutions/standards. Teacher Leadership Role: Currently Exploris, like most schools, is financially strained. Next year, with one of our teachers retiring due to pregnancy, the education committee suggested that Rosetta Stone might be able to provide a financial benefit to our school. Because I am the current Spanish Language teacher and an active member on the Technology Team, I am able to recognize both the pitfalls and attributes to Exploris current language program as well as gauge our technological capabilities. For these reasons, I was chosen to spearhead the initial Rosetta Stone research. I contacted Rosetta Stones main office for possible solutions to our Schools needs and spoke with Drew Hauser who put me in touch with Zane Bloom, the sales representative for our region. I was able to discuss price point, curriculum standards, and computer requirements before setting up a joint meeting between the Rosetta Stones sales team and the Exploris Education Committee. The Exploris Education Committee was impressed with the presentation given by Mr. Bloom and decided that it was an idea worth researching further and possibly presenting to the Exploris Board. Once this decision was made, Matt Friedrick, an Exploris Board Member and former Exploris teacher, and I teamed up in order to expand our knowledge about the program. Matts research and interest about Rosetta Stone as an educational tool at the

A Rosetta Stone Base Language Curriculum 7 North Carolina State and national level, coupled with my knowledge of the language program at Exploris, previous research of the Rosetta Stone program, membership on the technology team created a fantastic research team. In order to further our research, Matt contacted Dr. Andy Bryan, the assistant superintendent of Lee County schools. On Wednesday, April 4th, Matt and I met with Dr. Bryan, the Sanlee Middle School Principal, Ms. Wilson, and the Rosetta Stone coordinator of Sanlee Middle, Mr. Keller. During this interview my questions focused on the implementation of Rosetta Stone at the school level, while Matts questions focused how Rossetta Stone might be used in the state of North Carolina as well as nationwide. Questions that I asked at the meeting focused on two main concerns, technology and student records (assessment). In regards to the concerns mentioned above, I presented the following questions

Technology: 1. What are the most common technology glitches that Lee County experiences with Rosetta Stone? 2. Has the web-based program been up and running the whole time? Has there be any problems that can only be solved by Rosetta Stone? 3. Is Band with an issue? 4. How easy is the administrator interface to use?

Student Records and Progress:

A Rosetta Stone Base Language Curriculum 8 1. Who is responsible for the administrative functions of Rosetta Stone? How many students are teachers responsible? 2. How have you all touched on the cultural aspect of the language? 3. Has this replaced your high school language programs? 4. Is behavior management a problem with 30 students using Rosetta Stone at the same time? 5. How have parents reacted? The major themes reflected in our discussion involved the necessity of access to computers, choosing a small number including 5-7 languages for the pilot year, and that the person in charge of implementing the program should be 100% behind it. When the Rosetta Stone project was first introduce to the community there was some resistance from parents. However, Dr. Bryan and the personnel from Sanlee Middle School were overwhelmingly positive about the implementation of the program, and gave Matt and I the advice to remove all excuses. In order to remove all excuses we must present a well thought out curriculum structure. When asked, Dr. Bryan said he thought it would increase program value if Exploris was to add a cultural component; though, at this time, Lee County does not have the means to do so. Dr. Bryan gave us permission to survey 12 of the Sanlee Middle School teachers about their experience with the Rosetta Stone program. Matt Friedrick developed a survey which we were able to distribute to twelve of the Sanlee Middle School teachers who use Rosetta Stone in their classroom daily. The survey covered a variety of topics related to the use and effectiveness of the program. A few of the responses that were relevant to our school level research were:

A Rosetta Stone Base Language Curriculum 9 The kids will react to Rosetta Stone the way their teachers do. Our teachers who are passionate about the program and regularly relate its benefits to their students have the least problems with getting their students to practice their Rosetta Stone. ~ Sanlee Middle School Teacher

I enjoy the product because I use it. It is hard to keep the students engaged in the program because it is very repetitive. The best thing to do is to set goals for the students and offer rewards. ~Sanlee Middle School Teacher

Headphones seem to be a big issue with how to store, and their durability. Speech installer seems to be problematic for select students. The students who tried to move through the program quickly, now are haunted by their lack of understanding for the more advanced material. On the other hand, some of our beginning users have really enjoyed using it and it is amazing to listen to them converse in their language. It seems that the students either really enjoy using the program or they don't. There seems to be no middle ground there. I dislike having to prod students to use the program.~Sanlee Middle School Teacher (M. Friedrick, Rosetta Stone Survey- Lee County Schools)

The information obtained from the interview and the survey results will be shared will be shared with the Exploris Board in the coming months. Before any curriculum changes can be made, financial and personnel issues must be settled. Future of the Rosetta Stone Initiative at Exploris Middle School and My Leadership Role:

A Rosetta Stone Base Language Curriculum 10

As Exploris continues to explore whether or not Rosetta Stone will fit our students needs, my role in the process will become less critical. As a teacher leader, I have learned that it is important to know when to step back. Barth states: Differences often bring with them unevenness, expense, tensions, even conflict. But the objective of our work as educators is not to create a dissonance-free environment but rather to create a learning-full environment, to build a community of learners. (p. 71) I have learned through this project that no matter how great the curriculum change may be there will always be faculty, parents and administrators that disagree with the proposed change. Furthermore, it is possible they disagree for an extremely valid reason. Throughout this process, I have learned to be open to constructive feedback and other faculty members perspectives. I have also learned how to be diplomatic in my choice of words. While I have invested much of my time researching this program, it is ultimately not my decision. The board will decide what is best for our school to move forward, and it will be my role to support whatever decisions they make. Barth quotes Alivn Toffler when he states, The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn (Barth, 2001). I recognize what this quote means at the surface level, but I also recognize the light it sheds on my current situation. My positive feelings about this program and the effort that I have spent learning about it, might have to be unlearned, and I will have to be open to learning something else. I am elated to have been afforded the opportunity to research an idea that I believe will be able to add value to the education that Exploris Middle School provides. It has been an enriching experience to work with the Exploris board and the faculty members

A Rosetta Stone Base Language Curriculum 11 apart of the Education and Technology Committees. I am aware that in most schools, curriculum changes rarely begin at the classroom level. Exploris Middle Schools culture is unique because of its ability to empower teachers. Teachers at Exploris Middle School are encouraged to think outside the box and create the curriculum that they believe will have the greatest influence on their students.

Annotated Bibliography Barth, Roland S. Learning by Heart. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2001. Print.

A Rosetta Stone Base Language Curriculum 12 This book discusses the premises of teacher leadership from the personal experiences of Roland Barth. The book is a fantastic read on leadership and provides powerful topics for discussion.

Bryan, Andy (2012) Interview: Lee County Schools.

This interview was conducted in April of 2012. It focused on the implementation of Rosetta Stone in Lee County Schools and the possible adoption of the Rosetta Stone program at Exploris Middle School. Both the pros and the cons of the program were discussed. The interview also touched on the benefits and drawbacks of Rosetta Stone school, county, state and nationwide.

Chen, J.-, & Dym, W. (2003). Using computer technology to bridge school and community. The Phi Delta Kappan,85(3), 232-234.

This article provided a story about a school in a Chicago neighborhood with an increasing Hispanic population. The Rossetta language program was provided to parents of students in the community. The report is overwhelmingly positive. The Rosetta Program was considered provide an even better instructional platform than the adult ESL class that met face to face.

Delgado, J. F. (1995). The Rosetta Stone language library: Espaol level IA. Hispania, 78(2), 331-332.

A Rosetta Stone Base Language Curriculum 13

This article serves as a review of the Rosetta Stone program: Espanol level IA. It infers that Rosetta stone is a great way to supplement classroom curriculum, but that this particular facet of the program would not be enough for standalone instruction.

Dulfano, I., & Jill, K. (2007). Flame - foreign language alternative mastery example: the flame approach in its evolution .Hispania, 90(1), 123-130. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20063471 .

This article describes the implementation of a program called FLAME. It touches on the important aspects of language curriculum. I used it as a comparison article. This article was able to provide a view of language instruction from a different perspective.

Erickson, L. O. (2004). Rosetta stone, personal edition: Level I and II. The French Review, 77(5), 1027-1028.

This article is an explanation and review of the Rosetta Stones personal French language program. It provides examples of pedagogy and some pros and cons to the lesson structure. It provided some diversity to the articles I read for the language choices of the Rosetta Stone curriculum.

M. Friedrick, Rosetta Stone Survey- Lee County Schools, April 4, 2012. Not published.

A Rosetta Stone Base Language Curriculum 14

This document surveyed 12 Lee County educators. The responses provided elaborated on the success they have had using Rosetta Stone web-based program in their classrooms with their students. The responses varied to some degree. This survey was beneficial because of the qualitative responses that it employed.

(2012, ). Retrieved from Exploris Middle School website: www.explorismiddleschool.org

This website provides an understanding of the curriculum, student body, and mission of Exploris Middle School. This website is owned and operated by Exploris Middle School. It is great source of information about Exploris Middle School.

"Rosetta Stone Correlates to State and National Standards." Rosetta Stone. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.

<http://www.rosettastone.com/schools/solutions/standards>. This website provides information about how Rosetta Stone aligns with the nationwide foreign language curricular standards. The curriculum standards are broken down by state, and North Carolina is included.

Van Buren, P. E. (2008). Rosetta stone: Espaol (latinoamrica). Hispania, 91(3), 633635.

A Rosetta Stone Base Language Curriculum 15 This article is a review of the Rosetta Stone Programs Spanish language content and pedagogy. The article provides brief pros and cons of the Spanish Language portion of the program. It is a comprehensive review and provides an unbiased view.