Avant Assessment and Fluent Forever team up to offer the Global Seal of Biliteracy to learners that complete a new Spanish language course.
Eugene, OR and Chicago, IL— Avant Assessment, the first organization to offer STAMPTM, an online, computer-adaptive four-skill (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) language proficiency test, and Fluent Forever, a neuroscience-based language learning app, have collaborated on a first-of-its-kind offering for independent Spanish language learners enrolled in Fluent Forever’s 12-week Meet the Spanish You (MXU, where X = Spanish, French, etc.) Spanish Bootcamp™ experience. At the end of the 12 weeks, learners will have the opportunity to take the STAndards-based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP) test and qualify for a Global Seal of Biliteracy™ credential. STAMP tests are remotely proctored to ensure the integrity of the test and meet the requirement for the Global Seal certification.
CEO-Tested, Learner-Approved
Avant Assessment’s CEO, David Bong, enrolled in the MXU Spanish Bootcamp to improve his Spanish language skills. He found the course to be remarkably effective and stimulating. After seeing how rapidly his Spanish abilities improved, Bong saw an opportunity to partner with Fluent Forever to offer MXU learners something unique and powerful: a chance to earn the Global Seal of Biliteracy credential. “The MXU Bootcamp experience was an amazingly effective learning experience for me. MXU is designed for learners who want to be able to use their language in a real-world way. Our Avant STAMP test measures those same real world language skills, and the Global Seal of Biliteracy provides the credential that enables learners to show the world what their real language skills are. We are thrilled at Avant to work with the Global Seal and both Fluent Forever on this ground-breaking collaboration.” As the Co-Founder and CEO of 21-year-old Avant Assessment and a fluent Japanese speaker, Bong is no stranger to the language learning sphere. Avant assesses language proficiency: whether you can effectively communicate in the real world.
According to Fluent Forever CEO, Gabriel Wyner, “The power of the MXU Spanish Bootcamp comes from personalization: the learners themselves influence every day’s activities and content, so that everything a learner sees is memorable and relevant to their lives. That maximizes learning speed and efficiency.’ The Bootcamps are 12 consecutive days long, and are comprised of 10-minute Daily Touches with Spanish native speaker coaches, a 30-minute group masterclass that systematically breaks down the psychological barriers that prevent students from speaking a language comfortably, a 30-minute group masterclass where Fluent Forever founder Gabe Wyner and/or a guest speaker answer questions or provide advanced language learning tips, and two 40-minute sessions in small groups. On the last day, learners give a five-minute presentation in front of a group of peers.
What is the Global Seal and What Will it Mean for Language Learners?
The Global Seal of Biliteracy is a credential that celebrates language skills and expands future opportunities for its recipients. A uniform standard is used to empower awardees to be a valuable asset in multilingual environments. The Global Seal is committed to providing access to language certification to anyone that can demonstrate their bilingualism via proctored, independently certified testing with any test approved by the Global Seal’s independent Board of Advisors. The Global Seal of Biliteracy enables recipients to showcase their language skills to any school or employer across state lines and national borders with a unique serial-numbered document.
What is the Avant STAMP Test?
The Avant STAMP test measures listening, speaking, reading, and writing proficiency levels based on the U.S. ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines.
Education programs from elementary to college levels around the world as well as business and government organizations use the Avant STAMP test to award competency-based credits and credentials, analyze testing data to improve instructional practices, and introduce appropriate professional development to improve proficiency outcomes. Avant STAMP language proficiency tests are available in 40 different languages.
About Avant Assessment
Co-founded in 2001 by David and Sheila Bong and Dr. Carl Falsgraf, Avant builds and delivers the STAndards-based Measurement of Proficiency or STAMP, the world’s first online and adaptive four-skill language proficiency assessment. Avant assesses real-world proficiency by pairing innovative, computer-adaptive technologies with human scoring. Avant’s assessments all align with national and state proficiency standards, including ACTFL’s proficiency guidelines. Each assessment is designed to inspire learners to grow and teachers to be more effective. For more information, visit avantassessment.com.
Avant Assessment is a family company owned by its managers, employees, and the University of Oregon Foundation.
About Fluent Forever
Inspired by his career singing opera, Fluent Forever Founder and CEO, Gabriel Wyner, set out to become fluent in the languages in which he sang. Over the course of reaching fluency in German and Italian through immersion programs, he began searching for ways to bring immersion into the home. Ultimately, he built the Fluent Forever method – a four step system grounded in neuroscience, based on principles of personalized flashcard creation and spaced repetition. His book about the method, Fluent Forever, became a national bestseller and his company’s app became the most successful crowdfunding campaign for an app in history. His company now seeks to become the world’s standard in neuroscience-based language learning platforms. For more information about Fluent Forever, visit fluent-forever.com and fluent-forever.com/bootcamp.
