Abstract
This paper will address the stream’s call for discussing practical issues of the elementary-level language instruction, specifically the issue of assessment and evaluation. Integrative Performance Assessment allows instructors to assess learners’ performance using the
language of ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines and the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages. IPA is a cluster assessment, which consists of three tasks, each of which addresses one of the three modes of communication - Interpersonal, Interpretive and Presentational. All
three tasks must be united by a single theme, and each task must be designed in such a way that it provides information and elicits interaction with the language material necessary to complete the following task. Evaluation of students’ performance on an IPA is done with the help of a
scoring rubric and, ideally, is co-constructed with the learners. So far, IPA has been slow making its way to the Russian-language classrooms while it is
routinely used in Spanish and French classrooms, especially at the secondary level. Part of the problem with adopting IPA in Russian, and especially, in Novice/Intermediate Low level classrooms, is the morphological complexity of the language, which makes the use of authentic
materials at this level challenging. Another reason is the scoring rubric offered by IPA developers (Adair-Hauck, Glisan, Koda, Swender, & Sandrock, 2006), which favors Romance based languages. The paper will discuss the value of Integrative Performance Assessment for first-year college
Russian and offer practical tips on how to create and use an IPA in a non-intensive proficiency oriented language program. The presenter will also discuss modifications to the IPA scoring rubric that address specific challenges of teaching and learning Russian.