World Languages ~ Course Descriptions
FRENCH 1-2 – 0405, 0406 Grades 9-12 Recommended Prerequisite: Strong basic skills. French 1-2 is a beginning course which provides the student with tools for basic communication. Through speaking, writing, reading and listening, students will focus on personal topics such as family and friends, school, and shopping. Students will learn culturally appropriate communication and become familiar with the francophone world..
FRENCH 3-4 – 0407, 0408 Grades 9-12 Recommended Prerequisite: French 1-2. French 3-4 is an intermediate course designed to further develop the communication skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students will build on their knowledge of vocabulary and idiom, incorporating their new learning into more complex grammatical structures. Themes include pastimes, travel, and the doctor’s office.
FRENCH 5-6 – 0409, 0410 Grades 9-12 Recommended Prerequisite: French 3-4 or two years of French. French 5-6 prepares the student for the more advanced work in French structure, communication, and competency. Reading and writing practice is more extensive and students are encouraged to use the language creatively, both orally and in their written work. Themes address the European Union and life in France, and readings include authors such as St. Exupéry , Hugo and Daudet.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT FRENCH 7-8 – 0411, 0412 Grades 10-12 Recommended Prerequisite: “B” or better in French 5-6; teacher recommendation; desire to prepare for the AP exam Advanced Placement French 7-8 prepares the student for advanced work in French on the college level and for the Advanced Placement Language exam. Awareness of French culture is expanded through the study of selected literary works and a survey of French history and literature. Students refine their knowledge of the structure and usage of the language, with major focus on vocabulary, idiom and nuance. Extensive practice for the AP exams is included.
GERMAN 1-2 – 0420, 0421 Grades 9-12 Recommended Prerequisite: German 1-2. German 1-2 is a beginning course, which helps the student achieve a beginning fluency in speaking, understanding, reading, and writing the German language. Daily life, culture, and major holidays are also discussed.
GERMAN 3-4 – 0422, 0423 Grades 9-12 Recommended Prerequisite: German 1-2. German 3-4 is designed to reinforce the grammar introduced in the first year, to introduce new structures, to increase oral proficiency, and the ability to read and understand passages. Oral and written exercises help increase competency.
GERMAN 5-6 – 0424, 0425 Grades 10-12 Recommended Prerequisite: German 3-4 German 5-6 is designed to expand grammar structures, to refine pronunciation, and to increase listening comprehension and oral and written proficiency. The creative ability to use the language orally and in writing is stressed.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT GERMAN 7-8 – 0426, 0427 Grades 10-12 Recommended Prerequisite: “B” or better in German 5-6; teacher recommendation; desire to prepare for the AP exam. Advanced Placement German 7-8 prepares the student for advanced work in German on the college level and for the Advanced Placement Language Examination. The culture of Germany is investigated through the study of literature, history, and current political, social, and economic trends in Germany. Extensive practice for the AP semi-independently exam is included. Students should be self-disciplined enough to work
SPANISH 1-2 – 0470, 0471 Recommended Prerequisite: Strong basic skills. Grades 9-12 Spanish 1-2 is a beginning course which develops the five communication skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing and viewing with basic vocabulary, grammar, and idiomatic expressions. Oral and written exercises, both individually and in groups, provide practice to develop these skills. Students are exposed to various aspects of Hispanic history and culture.
SPANISH 3-4 – 0472, 0473 Grades 9-12 Recommended Prerequisite: Spanish 1-2. Spanish 3-4 is designed to further develop the five communication skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing and viewing with basic vocabulary, grammar, and idiomatic expressions. Students will increase their vocabulary and ability to use it in progressively more complicated structures, reinforcing their ability to use previously learned material. Individual and group oral and written exercises help increase the creative ability to use the language.
SPANISH 5-6 – 0474, 0475 Grades 9-12 Recommended Prerequisite: Spanish 3-4. Spanish 5-6 prepares the student for the more advanced structures and communication activities required at the college level. Reading and writing practice is more extensive. The creative ability to use the language orally and in writing is stressed. Students increase their skill to communicate not only about realistic daily life but also abstract thoughts and ideas. Confidence is increased and students are encouraged to consider study abroad options.
SPANISH 7-8 -0476, 0477 Grades 10-12 Recommended Prerequisite: “B” or better in Spanish 5-6 Spanish 7-8 will further develop and refine knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to specific themes including, but not limited to traveler’s survival, Hispanics in the U.S., and history-geography. Within this context, appropriate emphasis will be placed on student competency in the areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking and viewing.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT SPANISH LANGUAGE 1-2 – 0484, 0485 Grades 11-12 Recommended Prerequisite: “B” or better in Spanish 7-8. Teacher recommendation and/or testing. Desire to prepare for the AP exam. Advanced Placement Spanish Language refines the skills required for advanced work equivalent to a third year college-level course and for the AP Language examination. Extensive reading, writing, and speaking practice increases the competency level to that required on the AP examination. Selected literary works are analyzed.
FILIPINO 1-2 – 0430, 4031 Grades 9-12 Filipino 1-2 is a beginning course which develops the four communications skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing with the basic vocabulary, grammar and idiomatic expressions. Oral and written exercises, both individually and in groups, provide practice to develop these skills.
FILIPINO 3-4 – 0432, 0433 Grades 9-12 Recommended Prerequisite: Filipino 1-2 Filipino 3-4 is designed to further develop the four communication skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing with basic vocabulary, grammar, and idiomatic expressions. Students will increase their vocabulary and ability to use it in progressively more complicated structures, reinforcing their ability to use previously learned material. Individual and group oral and written exercises help increase the creative ability to use the language.
FILIPINO 5-6 – 0434, 0435 Grades 9-12 Recommended Prerequisite: Filipino 3-4 Filipino 5-6 enhances the four communication skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing learned from Filipino 3-4. Students will increase their vocabulary, enhance their grammatical skills, and use them progressively in a more complex but concrete structure. Students will progressively use more vocabulary words and construct longer and more complicated sentences by combining learned phrases, previous grammatical skills, new vocabulary words and grammatical skills. In addition, students will continue to develop cultural awareness by integrating lessons with social, economic, and political background of the Philippines comparing them to the learner’s own social, economic, and political background. Pending approval, this course will meet the UC “E” or “G” requirement.
FILIPINO 7-8 – 0436, 0437 Grades 9-12 Recommended Prerequisites: Filipino 1-6, or fluency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Filipino The Proficiency level of World Languages 7-8 is described in The Language Learning Continuum (1999), Stage IV. At this level students expand their ability to express themselves in a variety of contexts in an accurate and culturally appropriate manner. They also develop new skills that allow them to think critically in the target language, and express their ideas through the analysis and evaluation of written and auditory stimuli. Stage IV students read authentic texts of moderate to high difficulty, create well organized compositions of substantial length, and engage in a variety of oral and auditory tasks. They perform all these functions using a wide range of vocabulary, and with few significant patterns of error. Through their learning, they embrace cultural concepts of broader cultural significance, such as political and social issues, history, geography, literature, and the arts.
