World Languages

This course introduces the student to Mandarin Chinese language and culture. The course emphasizes developing students’ language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students learn to use Pinyin transcriptions (the standard Mandarin Romanization system) and correct tones in pronunciation and spoken communication. Students will focus on an in-depth study of vocabulary and grammatical structures in order to reach intermediate stages of written and spoken communication. Students are required to comprehend and produce paragraph-level Chinese. Students also learn a variety of Chinese cultural topics such as: the history of China; Chinese paintings and calligraphy; Chinese customs and traditions; Chinese food, festivals, and other interesting Chinese features of culture and history.

[1 credit]
*offered at the Accelerated & honors levels

This course will help students expand their base in first year Chinese (or its equivalent) to continue to develop their four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Many of the grammatical constructions introduced in first year Chinese will be repeated in this course with increasing sophistication in terms of style and usage. While many of the linguistic tasks students will learn to handle are similar to those of first year Chinese, the level of language required to carry out these tasks is more advanced. In this course students are required to comprehend and produce paragraph-level Chinese. Rigorous practice of spoken and written Chinese in complex communicative activities will be conducted. Students will also do intensive reading of expository writings on a variety of cultural or situational topics.

[1 credit]
*offered at the Accelerated & honors levels

In the third year of Chinese, students will continue to develop their oral communication skills and to expand their vocabulary ability and paragraph writing with the up-to-date topics relevant to young students in a fun and interesting way. Sentence structures and grammar rules are taught through simple explanations, and reinforced with a variety of practice exercises. Students will study more advanced Chinese grammar, verb conjugations, subject and object pronouns, reference and possession and negatives. Careful pacing leads to gradual progress in language skills, with clearly focused aims for each unit, regular review, and consistent reinforcement. In Integrated Chinese 1 & 2, topics continue the development of communication skills, and introduce the customs and culture of contemporary China.

[1 credit]
*offered at the Accelerated & honors levels

In Chinese 4, students will continue to learn the Chinese language and culture through a series of dialogues and narratives, with culture notes, language use, and grammar explanations/ exercises. Chinese 4H expands the skills acquired by the students in Chinese 3. Specific content includes, but is not limited to, more advanced language structures and idiomatic expressions, with emphasis on conversational skills. There is additional growth in vocabulary for practical purposes including writing. Reading selections are varied and taken from authentic materials such as newspapers, magazines, and literary works.

The AP course prepares students to demonstrate their level of Chinese proficiency across the three communicative modes (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational) and the five goal areas (communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities) as outlined in the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century. Its aim is to provide students with ongoing and varied opportunities to further develop their proficiency across the full range of language skills within a cultural frame of reference reflective of the richness of Chinese language and culture. Since the course interweaves language and culture learning, this exploration occurs mostly in Chinese.

This course introduces a beginning student with above average language ability to the German language and culture. The aim is to promote proficiency in all aspects of the German language: speaking, reading, writing, and oral comprehension, in the three modes of communication: interpersonal, interpretive and presentational. In addition, discussions about German history, folklore, culture and politics acquaint the beginning student with the background against which modern German should be studied.

The study of German 2 continues to develop a student’s understanding of the fundamental structures of the language and the cultures of the German-speaking world. Through the use of the World Readiness Standards of language acquisition set forth by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the students focus on building global competencies by deepening their understanding of the 5 Cs of language learning: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons and communities. As students develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, they will grow in their language proficiency and be able to learn about the connections, similarities, and differences that exist among the cultures of the German-speaking world and their own cultural backgrounds. Class activities and discussions conducted primarily in German.

This advanced level class requires the students to improve their German language proficiency across the three modes of communication: Interpersonal, Interpretive, Presentational Communication.. The students will be introduced to higher level authentic articles, data, and literature using a variety of genres. Printed, audio, audiovisual formats and cultural inputs are utilized to further develop and reinforce vocabulary and grammatical structures. This Pre-AP class provides students with opportunities to develop their language proficiency by sharing their points of view on more complex issues using open discussion and employing both their spoken and written German skills.

German 4 continues to develop the students' competency and fluency in German. They will continue to build their vocabulary and explore nuanced grammatical structures in order to enhance their communicative skills. Students will become more familiar with Germany’s recent history and its position and role in Europe as well as that of other German speaking countries. They will interact with authentic materials in order to gain a clearer picture of German society and cultural identity as a whole. Discussion skills, critical thinking, and analytical writing are emphasized. Combining these with the further development of listening and reading comprehension strategies will help prepare the student for success in college-level German and beyond.

This is a rigorous advanced level German Language and Culture class. This AP course is taught exclusively in German. It requires the students to improve their German language proficiency across the three modes of communication: Interpersonal, Interpretive, Presentational Communication (defined in the World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages). The students will be introduced to college-level readings, assignments, and resources. The students will be introduced to authentic articles, data and literature using a variety of genres presented in printed, audio, audiovisual formats as well as other cultural inputs. The course is divided into the following units:

• Families in Different Societies
• The Influence of Language and Culture on Identity
• Influences of Beauty and Art
• How Science and Technology Affect our Lives
• Factors That Impact the Quality of Life
• Environmental, Political, and Societal Challenges

This class provides students with continuous opportunities to demonstrate their German language proficiency by sharing their points of view on complex issues using open discussion and employing both their spoken and written German skills. Students have the opportunity to expand their abilities for critical thinking and oppositional argumentation to enhance their academic preparedness toward the pre-advanced level (The College Board). The Course’s Skills and Learning Objectives are:

• Comprehend written, audio, audiovisual, and visual text
• Make interdisciplinary and cultural connections
• Interpret the content of written or audio text
• Make meanings from words and expressions
• Communicate interpersonally by speaking with others
• Communicate interpersonally by writing to others
• Communicate through spoken presentations
• Communicate through written presentations

This AP German class will culminate with a challenging standardized AP German Language and Culture Exam.

This course is designed for the advanced student to further develop his German language skills, by discussing a variety of cultural topics and themes in the German speaking world. Through extensive work on expanding vocabulary, reviewing major grammar topics, conversation and composition exercises, the students will strengthen their language skills and develop cultural competency. The course focuses on real communication in meaningful contexts, to develop and consolidate students' speaking, listening, reading and writing abilities at the upper intermediate level. In the first semester, topics will focus on the "Goethezeit" (1770-1830) of German literature and music, the Sturm und Drang and German Klassik periods. The second semester will include a focus on the history of German cinema from the earliest days to contemporary.

Students in Latin 1 will experience the daily life and culture of Ancient Rome. We will travel to the city Roma and her port of Ostia, as well as Roman occupied Britain. Students will explore the Roman Forum, temples, Circus Maximus, and other key aspects of the ancient world, all while building a foundation with the Latin language. We will look at how civilization has grown and evolved over the centuries and find lively connections to our modern world.

In the second year of Latin students build upon their study of grammar from the first year. The emphasis is upon the reading of continuous prose with complex sentences, and subordinate clauses. Students continue their study of Classical culture, including history, mythology, archaeology, and the influence of Latin on English vocabulary. Textbook settings include Roman Britain and Alexandria, inviting comparison and contrast with our own society. While reading the same Cambridge Latin stages as Honors, the accelerated course moves at a more deliberate pace and includes additional support for students. Emphasis is on Latin reading, grammatical analysis, and identification and recognition of Latin prose forms. Students make regular use of their iPads for the textbook and other apps that assist in language learning.

Students in Latin 3 will travel to Athens and Asia Minor before returning to Rome during the reign of Nero in the 1st century A.D.  While reading Latin texts of increasing complexity and nuance, students will explore the Parthenon and the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World).  They will explore athletics and the Olympics, learn about ancient medicine, and discuss military history.  In the second half of the year, students will transition from reading modified to authentic Latin, as they are introduced to poetry and prose from the 1st century B.C.

In this course, students will continue their study of authentic Latin through an exploration of famous classical Latin authors, including Catullus, Virgil, Ovid, and Martial. In addition to enhancing their translation skills, students will critically engage with the themes, motifs, and historical contexts present in the texts. Students will use classical texts as inspiration for creative projects e.g. essays, presentations and drawings.

This course follows the College Board syllabus for AP Latin (Vergil/Caesar):

"The AP Latin course focuses on the in-depth study of selections from two of the greatest works in Latin literature: Vergil’s Aeneid and Caesar’s Gallic War. The course requires students to prepare and translate the readings and place these texts in a meaningful context, which helps develop critical, historical, and literary sensitivities. Throughout the course, students consider themes in the context of ancient literature and bring these works to life through classroom discussions, debates, and presentations. Additional English readings from both of these works help place the Latin readings in a significant context." (text taken from the College Board website)

The course will be asking the questions: What is comedy? What is laughter? Why do people laugh? Is comedy universal and is it inevitably a multicultural link? As often, the Romans (and Greeks) offer us a good laboratory to work on these questions.

With your years of preparation in Latin, you have the tool to “go deep” into the world of Roman comic writers, reading extensive selections from the writers Plautus and Terence. In addition, students will explore historical attempts to define comedy, from the Greeks (Aristotle gave us the terms we use when we talk of tragedy but not about comedy – because the chapter on comedy has been lost through the ages from his “Poetics’) all the way to today’s sitcoms.  At the end of the year the student will have greatly extended proficiency in the Latin language and, with help from our Roman playwrights, will have come a good way to answering the question, “What Is Comedy”?

The study of Spanish 1 develops a student’s understanding of the essential structures of the language and the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. Through the use of the World Readiness Standards of language acquisition set forth by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the students focus on the Spanish-speaking world and build global competencies by understanding the 5 Cs of language learning: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons and communities. The program emphasizes vocabulary, pronunciation, and elementary grammatical structures in order to develop the beginning stages of written and spoken communication. Language-specific study skills are introduced to facilitate the learning process. As students embark on their study of the Spanish language, they gain an appreciation of the unique cultures and customs across Spanish-speaking countries.

The study of Spanish 2 continues to develop a student’s understanding of the fundamental structures of the language and the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. Through the use of the World Readiness Standards of language acquisition set forth by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the students focus on building global competencies by deepening their understanding of the 5 Cs of language learning: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons and communities. As students develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, they will grow in their language proficiency and be able to learn about the connections, similarities, and differences that exist among the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world and their own cultural backgrounds. Class activities and discussions conducted in Spanish.

The study of Spanish 3 allows students to build upon their skills to promote continued growth in their proficiency and understanding of the language and cultures of the Spanish speaking world. They will reinforce prior knowledge and integrate new vocabulary and more advanced grammatical structures in order to strengthen their written and spoken communication skills.  In accordance with the World Readiness Standards of language acquisition set forth by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the students focus on the Spanish-speaking world and build global competencies by understanding the 5 Cs of language learning: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons and communities. In turn, they gain an appreciation for the cultures of the Spanish speaking world throughout each thematic unit, as they interact with authentic resources, including films, literature and news resources.  Classes are conducted in Spanish.

Spanish 4 is a comprehensive course in which students expand on their foundation developed in previous study. They will continue to build their vocabulary and explore nuanced grammatical structures in order to enhance their communicative skills. Students expand their global competencies by deepening their understanding of the products, practices, and perspectives of cultures throughout the Spanish-speaking world. They are provided the opportunity to further identify and explore topics of personal interest covered in thematic units, which are developed via myriad multimedia resources, including short films, articles, music, and other artwork and literature. Class discussions and activities are conducted in Spanish.

This course is designed for students with a strong foundation in the Spanish language and previous or current contact with Hispanic/Latino cultures outside of school.  Given the inseparable nature of language and culture, this course aims to further develop students’ intercultural communication skills while improving their fluency in speaking, increased understanding of speakers from all parts of the Spanish speaking world, including the U.S., and developing their literacy skills in reading and writing specifically in Spanish.  Students will examine the sociolinguistic aspects of language to compare and contrast with English, in addition to improving their interpersonal, interpretive and presentational skills to effectively communicate in myriad settings, including personal, social and academic. This course prepares students to continue along an advanced path of Spanish courses offered within the World Languages Department.

This course is designed to develop and improve student presentational communication skills (oral and written) through discussion of various film and literary works of the Spanish-speaking world. With a focus on historical and contemporary socio-political events of the target culture, students will view movies to interpret their significance within a particular time period. Additionally, students will read and interpret classic and contemporary pieces of Hispanic literature to further develop an understanding of the historical time period. This course will allow students to study specific political/social problems of Spain and Latin American in the 20th and 21st century while paying special attention to the role of the dictator, economic and class divisions, the poor and marginalized, and the role of women during these times.  Students will use these historical happenings to compare them to contemporary events in their own cultural and those of communities around them. Interdisciplinary connections will be made so students can relate course work to other content areas while developing intercultural competency. Students will collaborate to explore course themes and facilitate extemporaneous and planned conversation. Assessments will help students refine their interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational skills to enhance communication. Conducted in Spanish.

The AP Spanish Language and Culture course emphasizes communication (understanding and being  understood by others) by applying interpersonal,  interpretive, and presentational skills in real-life  situations. This includes vocabulary usage, language  control, communication strategies, and cultural  awareness. The AP Spanish Language and Culture  course strives not to overemphasize grammatical  accuracy at the expense of communication. To best  facilitate the study of language and culture, the course  is taught almost exclusively in Spanish. The AP Spanish Language and Culture course engages students in an exploration of culture in both contemporary and historical contexts. The course develops students’ awareness and appreciation of cultural products (e.g., tools, books, music, laws, conventions, institutions), practices (patterns of social interactions within a culture), and perspectives (values, attitudes, and assumptions).