Lehrer Handbuch

Introduction to the Credit Program

The Concordia Language Villages (CLV) High School credit program is an intensive proficiency-oriented, language learning program held each summer for a four-week period of time. In a northern woods setting, each of thirteen language and culture immersion programs offers a total of 180 hours of villager-centered instruction to 9-12 grade students. Programming includes a wide variety of activities such as formal classroom instruction, culturally authentic arts and crafts, music, dance, theater, sports, presentations and village-wide simulations dealing with historical and cultural topics of interest, as well as games. Both native and non-native staff members reside with the villagers and consistently strive to ground language learning in engaging and purposeful culture-based tasks and topics. Documentation of villager progress focuses on alternative, performance-based methods of assessment with a strong emphasis on village learning projects and portfolios, daily journals, and overall program participation. Audiotapes, videos, diskettes, CDs, and other village-specific artifacts may be used to record oral and written performance. Our credit program is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). The curricular goals align with the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL) Proficiency and Performance Guidelines, and the CLV mission of “responsible global citizenship.”