Our mission is to promote world language acquisition and cultural understanding. The daily curriculum includes reading, writing, listening and speaking in the target language. All world language courses are year-long and highly recommended for more than two years.
CHINESE
Chinese I Course Duration: Year Course Description: Students will understand the phonetic system of standard Mandarin Chinese, including Pinyin, the four tones and the components that build Chinese characters; develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills to meet survival needs; learn authentic stories, games, and songs in Chinese; reproduce 200 basic Chinese characters; and discuss and reflect on the course theme: "Who am I/Who are the Chinese?” Chinese II *Prerequisite: Successful completion of Chinese I or teacher recommendation Course Duration: Year Course Description: Students will build on the material learned in Chinese I; learn stories, games, and songs in Chinese; and study how to speak and write an additional 200 basic Chinese characters. The course theme is: "How is my community similar to and different from a Chinese community?"
Chinese III, IV, V *Prerequisite: Successful completion of Chinese II or teacher recommendation Course Duration: Year Course Description: Students will build on the material learned in Chinese II; learn through stories and partial immersion. They will learn an additional 200 Chinese characters. They will develop their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. The course theme is: "The Interactions between China and America."
FRENCH
French I Course Duration: Year Course Description: Students will write 100 word essays in present and past tenses; read short stories and small books; comprehend a whole story by answering questions orally; tell a story using pictures; sing songs they comprehend; recognize some of the unique and interesting perspectives, practices, and products of the target culture; and talk about the weekend. French II *Prerequisite: Successful completion of French I or teacher recommendation Course Duration: Year Course Description: Students will write 150 word essays in present , past, and simple future tenses. Students will read graded readers and talk about what they read by answering questions in French; talk and read about current events, tell their opinion in French; write and tell stories in French and talk about the weekend; talk and read about francophone countries and their cultures; sing songs and listen to authentic music; and tell a story in French using pictures. French III *Prerequisite: Successful completion of French II or teacher recommendation Course Duration: Year Course Description: Students will continue to develop their proficiency in speaking, listening and writing: interacting with other speakers of French. Students will write 200-word essays in present, past, and simple future tenses. Students communicate on a variety of topics using complex structures, moving from concrete to more abstract concepts. Students will read graded readers and talk about what they read by answering questions in French; talk and read about current events, tell their opinion in French; write and tell stories in French and talk about the weekend; talk and read about francophone countries and their cultures; sing songs and listen to authentic music; and tell stories in French using pictures.
SPANISH
Spanish I Course Duration: Year Course Description: Students will be introduced to present and past tense; explore various components of culture through a Hispanic lens; and practice Spanish by reading, writing, speaking and listening. Spanish II *Prerequisite: Successful completion of Spanish I or teacher recommendation Course Duration: Year Course Description: Students will improve their communication skills through the study of pronunciation and grammar; learn how to effectively narrate past events and improve expressive language; and continue their exploration of Spanish speaking cultures.
Spanish III *Prerequisite: Successful completion of Spanish II or placement test (see instructor) Course Duration: Year Course Description: Students will continue to develop their proficiency in speaking, listening and writing: interacting with other speakers of Spanish; understanding oral and written messages in Spanish, and making oral and written presentations in the target language. Students communicate on a variety of topics using complex structures, moving from concrete to more abstract concepts. They will comprehend the main ideas of authentic materials that they read and hear, and will be able to identify significant details when the topics are familiar.