The RAILS lessons target advanced-level listening proficiency as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines. Advanced-level listening proficiency is characterized by the understanding of connected, paragraph-length discourse, as follows:

Able to understand main ideas and most details of connected discourse on a variety of topics beyond the immediacy of the situation. Comprehension may be uneven due to a variety of linguistic and extralinguistic factors, among which topic familiarity is very prominent. These texts frequently involve description and narration in different time frames or aspects, such as present, nonpast, habitual, or imperfective. Texts may include interviews, short lectures on familiar topics, and news items and reports primarily dealing with factual information. Listener is aware of cohesive devices but may not be able to use them to follow the sequence of thought in an oral text.

Other goals are for learners to:

• listen for a variety of purposes, including communicating; enhancing understanding of culture;

• draw connections to other disciplines;
  making cultural comparisons; and come into contact with culturally different communities (adapted from the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning);

• understand the cultural context of verbal exchanges;

• understand and appreciate discursive practices in the target language/culture;

• employ a variety of strategies, including their L1 strategies and real world knowledge, as well as L2 strategies about how to cope with new input, its ambiguity, and the complexity of its linguistic and cultural message;

• have an ethic towards diverse views.