The Illinois Learning Standards for World Languages guide learners to develop competence to communicate effectively and interact with cultural competence to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world. The five “C” goal areas (Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities) stress the application of learning a language beyond the instructional setting. The goal is to prepare learners so they can apply the skills and understandings measured by the standards to their future careers and experiences, which will increasingly occur on a global scale.