Spanish I:

This course introduces basic grammar, speech patterns, sentence structure, and common vocabulary used in daily interchange. This college preparatory course also introduces students to the art, culture, and geography of the 21 Spanish-speaking countries. A variety of approaches is used to enhance language learning of all types of learners enabling auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners to thrive. The direct method, where the teaching is done entirely in Spanish, will be the main teaching method, but there will be opportunities to clarify grammar concepts and discuss cultural topics in English. Spanish I will focus on developing the following language skills: listening comprehension, reading comprehension, speaking, and writing. At the course’s completion, students are expected to engage in basic conversations using present, present progressive, and simple future tense verbs

Spanish II:

With a continuing emphasis on oral and reading comprehension, speaking, and writing, this college preparatory course will help students refine their use of the past and present tense verbs in daily conversations. The course will begin with a review of the present tense and move on to the past tense while focusing on developing their listening, reading, and writing skills. Students will learn how to differentiate between preterit and imperfect tenses. They will also become familiar with reflexive verb tenses and a wide variety of structures. Spanish II exposes students to more Spanish-speaking countries and teaches the students more about culture through a series of novels that take place in Spanish-speaking environments.

Spanish III:

An advanced foreign language course that fulfills the final year of the three -year foreign language requirement for all students. Listening and speaking skills are closely monitored and assessed through classroom interaction and formal assessments. Students should be able to express opinions and compare and contrast cultural nuances. Students should be able to write paragraphs in Spanish. Reading comprehension will continue to develop using longer stories and more advanced structures.

Honors Prerequisite: Completion of Spanish II with a year-long grade of 87% or better and teacher recommendation.

Spanish III Honors:

At the honors level, students will be expected to acquire a wider range of vocabulary, express themselves using less - commonly used verbs in the structures we study, read authentic sources appropriate to their level, and be able to compare and contrast different cultural aspects of the Spanish -speaking world.

Spanish IV:

A fourth level language course that focuses on college preparation of the four basic skills: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. This course is practical and will reinforce the previous three levels of grammar, literature, and conversation. Conducted almost exclusively in the target language, students will be able to practice real-world exchange of ideas and broaden their cultural awareness.

Honors Prerequisite: Completion of Spanish III or Spanish III Honors with a year-long grade of 87% or better and teacher recommendation.

Spanish IV Honors:

An advanced world languages course that continues building fluency in Spanish and begins preparation for the AP Exam in the fifth year. Students continue to develop and refine the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students broaden and deepen their vocabulary and syntactical structures by reading and listening to authentic sources. Through reading, more complex structures are introduced and high frequency uses of those structures are emphasized and acquired. Students continue to compare and contrast both auditory and print sources and use those sources for oral presentations and/or essays.

Honors Prerequisite: Completion of Spanish IV, Spanish IV Honors, or AP Spanish with a year-long grade of 87% or better and teacher recommendation.

Spanish V Honors is an intense year of grammar revision, vocabulary enhancement, and fine-tuning of the four language skills.

AP Prerequisite: Completion of Spanish IV or Spanish IV Honors with a year-long grade of 87% or better and teacher recommendation.

AP Spanish is a preparation course for the AP Spanish language examination. It engages students in reading, writing, listening, and speaking activities in order to promote fluency in the Spanish language, as well as equip the students with the skills necessary to pass the AP exam.

To practice real world speaking and writing skills that go beyond academic Spanish into a practical application for travel, interpersonal interactions, and business. The course is enhanced with a culminating Language Immersion trip (optional) to a Spanish speaking country over Spring Break.

French I:

French I equips students to navigate the French-speaking world at a basic level. In this college-preparatory course, students have regular reading, writing, listening, and speaking assessments on the common vocabulary, grammar structures, and nuances of the French language and culture. Students also engage in French cultural experiences to apply their knowledge in a practical, fun atmosphere.

French II:

In French II, students strengthen their ability to navigate French-speaking countries. They use more complex structures in daily language, including the past tense. They also continue to expand their knowledge and understanding of the art, culture, and geography of these countries.

French III:

An advanced foreign language course that fulfills the minimum foreign language requirement for all students. Listening and speaking skills are closely monitored and assessed through classroom interaction and formal assessments. Students should be able to express opinions and compare and contrast cultural nuances. Students should be able to write paragraphs in French. Reading comprehension will continue to develop using longer stories and more advanced structures.

Honors Prerequisite: Completion of French II with a spring term semester grade of 87% or better and teacher recommendation.

French III Honors:

Students will do all of the above and will acquire more complex vocabulary, a greater variety of high- frequency structures, and acquire structures that will enable them to communicate the following situations in all persons using any regular verb and high-frequency irregular verbs: future and hypothetical possibilities, opinions and desires, and present and past perfect actions. Additionally, students will listen to authentic aural sources and discuss content, read authentic French language literature and non-fiction articles, discuss content, and compare and contrast aspects of French and Francophone culture.

Honors Prerequisite: Completion of French III with a spring term semester grade of 87% or better or completion of French III Honors and teacher recommendation.

French IV Honors is an intense year of grammar revision, vocabulary enhancement, and fine-tuning of the four language skills. Students will be giving presentations, participating in debates, reading various sorts of literature and watching several French-language films (responding to them in both written and oral forms), writing compositions, and listening to news broadcasts, recorded dialogues, and French popular songs. In doing these activities, students will increase their knowledge and understanding of the French-speaking cultures and will improve their level of competency in the language.

AP Prerequisite: Completion of French IV Honors and teacher recommendation.

AP French is an intense year of grammar revision, vocabulary enhancement, and fine -tuning of the four language skills: listening comprehension, reading, writing, and speaking in order to prepare for the AP Exam in May. Students will be giving presentations, in debates, reading various sorts of literature and responding to it both in written and oral forms, writing compositions, and listening to news broadcasts and recorded dialogues between native speakers. While doing the mentioned activities, students will increase their knowledge and understanding of the French culture and will improve their level of competency in the language.

Latin I:

The introductory course of a five -year foreign language program (three of which are required to graduate). This course builds a student’s facility with the Latin language through speaking, vocabulary, and grammar. The students will be using Jenney’s First Year Latin. In this course, students will continue to develop reading, writing, and translating skills in Latin through reading and writing exercises and the practice of parsing Latin sentences. To immerse the students into the world of a living Latin, students will study and discuss Roman culture, mythology, and history; the students will also explore and analyze the influences of Latin and the Romans, especially English derivatives and their etymologies.

Latin II:

The second-year course of a five-year foreign language program (three of which are required to graduate). Latin II continues to build a student’s facility with the Latin language through speaking, vocabulary, and grammar. The students will be using Jenney’s First Year Latin, ancillary textbooks, adapted literature (various authors, such as the Vulgate Bible, etc.), Eutropius’ Breviarium and Julius Caesar’s De Bello Gallico. In this course, students will continue to develop skills through reading and writing exercises and the practice of parsing Latin sentences. To immerse the students into the world of a living Latin, students will study and discuss Roman culture, mythology, and history; the students will also explore and analyze the influences of Latin and the Romans—especially English derivatives and their etymologies. The second semester will be dedicated to reading, analyzing, and discussion.

Honors Prerequisite: Completion of the previous language course with a year-long grade of 87% or better and teacher recommendation.

Latin III is a level 3 course in which students will continue developing their reading, writing, and translating skills through constant reading and writing exercises. The students will also learn more about different aspects of Roman history and culture. There will be an emphasis on Latin literature since the students will be primarily reading selections from Roman authors.

Honors Prerequisite: Completion of Latin III or Latin III Honors with a year-long grade of 87% or better and teacher recommendation.

Latin IV Honors is a level 4 course, students will continue developing their reading, writing, and translating skills through constant reading. The students will also learn more about different aspects of Roman history, culture, and writing styles of Roman authors. They will be immersed in Latin poetry and scansion. There will be an emphasis on Latin literature of Roman poets.

Honors Prerequisite: Completion of Latin IV Honors course with a year-long grade of 90% or better and teacher recommendation.

Latin V Honors is a continuation study for students who advanced through Latin study. Students continue to read and translate authentic literature and study the culture and history of the Romans.

Mandarin Chinese I:

This college preparatory course introduces basic grammar, speech patterns, sentence structure, and common vocabulary used in daily conversation. The course will also introduce the “simplified” Chinese character writing system, including basic strokes, stroke orders, radicals, and the Chinese phonetic system which will be used throughout the year. Chinese culture will be included as each unit is being unfolded.

Mandarin Chinese II:

The goal of this course is to strengthen students’ language skills by building on their existing Chinese language foundation. Students will continue to develop their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills by engaging in more complex sentences and structures. Students will also continue to add to their understanding of the culture, history, and geography of China.

Mandarin Chinese III:

Students are exposed to greater variety of vocabulary and more practical, complex sentence and structures. Listening and speaking skills are closely monitored and assessed through classroom interaction and formal assessments. Students should be able to express opinions and compare and contrast cultural nuances.

Honors Prerequisite: Completion of Mandarin Chinese II with a year-long grade of 87% or better and teacher recommendation.

Mandarin Chinese III Honors:

Covers the same material as Chinese 3; however, the content is presented at a more rapid pace and with a stronger focus on essay writing. At the honors level, students will be expected to acquire a wider range of vocabulary, express themselves using less-common words in the structures they study, read authentic sources appropriate to their level and be able to compare and contrast different cultural aspects of the Chinese-speaking world.

Honors Prerequisite: Completion of Mandarin Chinese III or Mandarin Chinese III Honors with a year-long grade of 87% or better and teacher recommendation.

Mandarin Chinese IV Honors strengthens students' language skills with an increasing variety of authentic material in addition to the textbooks, such as Chinese literature, poetry, movies, and newspapers. Readings, discussions, and compositions are based on specific topic learning or current Chinese society and in student and teenage life. Students will continue to compare and contrast both auditory and print sources and use those sources for or al presentations and/or essays.

Honors Prerequisite: Completion of Mandarin Chinese IV Honors with a year-long grade of 87% or better and teacher recommendation.

This is an advanced world language course that continues building fluency in Chinese and begins preparation for the AP Exam. The goal of this course is to enhance students’ language skills and sharpen their fluency and understanding of the Chinese language and culture. Students broaden and deepen their vocabulary and syntactical structures by reading and listening to authentic sources. Writing and speaking focus on proficient communicating through in -depth discussions, story narrations, conversations on daily topics, and cultural presentations.