🎯 What Is an Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) in Language Learning? Discover a Better Way to Teach French!
- Karen Olson
- Jun 22
- 2 min read
If you’re a French teacher looking to move beyond rote vocabulary quizzes and grammar drills, Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) may be the game-changer you’ve been searching for. Rooted in the ACTFL standards, IPAs are designed to promote authentic communication and meaningful learning. They assess students in the three key modes of communication: interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational, creating a more holistic and engaging language experience.
🧠 Why Use IPAs?
IPAs are much more than assessments—they’re a framework for learning. Rather than testing isolated skills, an IPA asks students to:
Interpret real-world texts (articles, infographics, podcasts, etc.)
Engage in spontaneous conversations or role-plays
Present their ideas in writing or speaking, for a real audience and a purpose
This approach aligns with the ACTFL Performance Descriptors and helps students build confidence, fluency, and cross-cultural competence. Plus, IPAs make it easier to differentiate, scaffold, and give feedback that matters.
🛠 How to Build an Effective IPA
Designing an IPA may feel intimidating, but the structure is simple and rewarding. Start by choosing a theme (ACTFL recommends Personal & Public Identity, Families & Communities, Contemporary Life, and others). Then:
Start with interpretive tasks. Use a video, blog, or infographic. Ask students to identify main ideas, make inferences, and analyze cultural perspectives.
Move to interpersonal tasks. Plan peer interviews, discussions, or simulated conversations using guided prompts.
End with a presentational task. Students write a paragraph, create a video, or deliver a short oral presentation tied to the unit’s theme.
Include vocabulary + phrase sheets, visuals, rubrics, and scaffolds along the way. These support all learners and allow for independent work or sub-plans if needed.
But what if you don't have time to dedicate to developing an IPA?
🗂 Explore My Done-for-You IPAs
Ready to get started? I’ve been creating a full series of editable IPAs for novice and intermediate French learners, each aligned to ACTFL themes and packed with student-friendly tasks. Recent products include:
Novice Level:
Fournitures Scolaires IPA Beginner French Vocabulary and Shopping Activity: School supplies and shopping
Emploi du Temps IPA: school schedules, subjects, time
Ma Famille et Moi IPA :family
Où habites-tu? Where students live, types of homes, and places in town
Les Repas | La Nourriture et les Aliments meals, food, etc.
Intermediate Level:
I am still in the process of developing these, but this is what I have thus far:
Qui suis-je? IPA- How adolescents view themselves and others
Les étapes de la vie IPA-life stages—from la petite enfance to la vieillesse
Each IPA includes:
✅ A complete student packet
✅ Rubrics & answer keys
✅ A teacher guide with pacing
✅ Authentic reading/listening sources
✅ Optional cultural comparisons and bonus webquests
🔗 Take a look at my IPA resources https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/online-language-coach
Whether you're teaching live or asynchronously, these IPAs are ready to go—and designed to make your teaching more impactful.
Be on the lookout for my next blog. I will be teaching you how to use AI to provide instant feedback on student writing! A very cool tool and I'm going to show you how to use it.
Have a wonderful week!
Karen
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