K‐12 world language teachers navigating a change in learning standards: An ethnography of language policy

Abstract

When learning standards shift, teachers do not simply comply; they engage in an interpretive process that may prompt some to reconsider aspects of their established instructional practices. In 2021, New York State revised its learning standards for World Languages, shifting from earlier standards grounded in discrete‐skill orientation and less defined performance indicators toward goals centered on authentic communication and meaning‐making across interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational modes. Using an ethnography of language policy approach, this study drew on semi‐structured interviews with five in‐service K‐12 world language teachers in one New York region and observations of multi‐year professional development sessions to examine how teachers interpret and implement the new expectations. Findings highlight teachers' evolving sensemaking around the standards, the supports they valued, and the obstacles that complicated implementation. By centering educators' lived experiences, this study informs language policy design, professional development, and capacity‐building efforts that foster sustainable standards‐based practice.