The Foreign Language Standards of Learning identify essential content, processes, and skills for each level of language learning in Virginia's secondary schools. Included are specific standards for levels I through IV of French, German, Spanish, and Latin, as well as generic standards adaptable for levels I through IV of other modern languages, including non-Roman-alphabet languages. Each level of the modern language standards is organized into specific content strands and contains 8 to 12 standards that outline the knowledge, skills, and processes essential for language learning. The emphasis on communication and interpretation ensures that students completing long-term, sequential foreign language programs in Virginia's secondary schools will be able to interact, within reasonable limits, with users of the language and understand their culture. The ability to communicate comfortably with native speakers of the language about most topics is not obtained solely through classroom study, and standards are intended to provide a framework from which school divisions may develop local curricula based on the needs of their students and community. The standards do not comprise the curriculum for a given course or prescribe how the content should be taught. The concepts and structures for each level should be presented in a spiraling fashion that allows them to be reintroduced with increasing complexity at various stages of language development. Within the scope of each level of study, students will be able to perform with reasonable success in each of the following areas: (1) Effective Communication; (2) Enhanced Cultural Understanding; (3) Expanded Access to Information; and (4) Increased Global Perspective. The content of the Modern Foreign Language Standards of Learning is organized around seven essential strands of language development and application: (1) Person-to-Person Communication; (2) Listening and Reading for Understanding; (3) Oral and Written Presentation; (4) Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products; (5) Making Connections through Language; (6) Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons; and (7) Communication across Communities. In level I foreign language courses, students begin to develop communicative competence in the target language and expand their understanding of the culture(s) of the people who speak the language. In level II, students continue to develop their communicative competence by interacting orally and in writing with other speakers of the target language, understanding oral and written messages in the language, and making oral and written presentations in the language. They begin to show a greater level of accuracy when using basic language structures, and they are exposed to more complex features of the language. At level III, students continue to develop their communicative competence by interacting orally and in writing with other speakers of the target language, understanding oral and written messages in the language, and making oral and written presentations in the language. They communicate on a variety of topics at a level commensurate with their study, using more complex structures in the language and moving from concrete to more abstract concepts. In level IV and above, students continue to develop their communicative competence by interacting orally and in writing with other speakers of the language. They are able to exchange and support opinions on a variety of topics related to contemporary and historical events and issues at a proficiency level commensurate with their study. They comprehend spoken and written texts from a variety of authentic sources as well as produce compositions containing well-developed ideas on various topics. Students use the target language to access information in other subject areas and to compare and contrast cultural elements found in the countries where the target language is spoken with those found in their own. [For related documents, see ED498205, ED498202, ED498210 and ED498689.].