Modern Languages

This introductory course is for those students who wish to begin their study of the Mandarin dialect of Chinese in the Middle School. In the early stage of the course, students will learn to read and write pinyin (the phonetic representation of Chinese sounds), and will then move on to learning the techniques of writing simplified Chinese characters and recognizing different structures of character composition and their radicals. By year’s end they will learn to write or recognize about 125 characters.

The approach will be thematic, and new material will be incorporated by means of basic conversations and simple texts. Elements of Chinese culture will be integrated into the course. A textbook and interactive website will form the central core of the course, supplemented by audio-visual and web-based resources, which will be used for home and class work.

This is the second course in the three-year Middle School sequence of Chinese language study. Students will continue developing the skills that were established in Chinese 6, with more complex conversational and grammatical forms introduced at a faster pace. Basic pinyin, character writing and grammatical structures are reviewed when new units are introduced, enabling students to solidify their prior knowledge of the Chinese language while learning new material. By year’s end, students will learn to write or recognize approximately 150 additional characters and will know how to input characters electronically for presentations and correspondence.

Students will expand their basic communication skills through speaking tasks and will read and write short passages on familiar and personal topics. Chinese history and culture will continue to be introduced to help students develop a broader understanding and appreciation for their study of the language. A textbook and interactive website will form the central core of the course, supplemented by audio-visual and web-based resources, which will be used for home and class work.

This is the final course in the three-year Middle School Chinese language sequence. The approach remains thematic, and new material will be incorporated by means of basic conversations and longer and more complex texts. Students will continue to work on Chinese communicative skills, including speaking tasks that use new grammatical forms and vocabulary, and they will learn to write or recognize approximately 200 additional characters. Students will expand their skills, reading, writing and speaking short passages on familiar and personal topics.

Authentic Chinese resources will be introduced. In addition to the text materials, Chinese readers and web-based resources will also be utilized in class and for home study. Chinese history and culture will continue to be incorporated into lessons to help students develop a broader understanding and appreciation for their study of the language and culture of China.

This is the first course of a three-year sequence, preparing students for US French II. At the end of the first year, students will have acquired a basic vocabulary of words and expressions that support the interpretation of oral and written French. They will be able to communicate original ideas, in both oral and written form, about a variety of themes, including themselves, their home, preferred activities and academic life.

Through authentic and pedagogical oral comprehension exercises, students will develop their pronunciation, fluency and confidence. Culturally and pedagogically relevant realia and resources are used to reinforce grammar, vocabulary and all four linguistic skills.

This is the second course in the three-year Middle School sequence. At the end of the second year, students will have acquired an additional vocabulary of words and expressions that support the interpretation of oral and written French. They also will formulate meaningful responses to open-ended questions.

Students will experience increasing amounts of oral communication in the form of oral proficiency interviews, skits and games. They will be able to communicate original ideas, in both oral and written form, about a variety of themes, including sports and leisure activities, holidays and celebrations, and climate and environment. They will also begin to explore different tenses and other more complex grammatical structures.

Culturally and pedagogically relevant realia and resources are used to reinforce grammar, vocabulary and all four linguistic skills.

This is the third course in the three-year Middle School sequence. As in previous years, students will acquire an additional vocabulary of words, grammatical structures and tenses that support the interpretation and production of oral and written French.

Students will shift from prepared oral communication to improvisational responses to open-ended questions. They will be able to communicate original ideas, in both oral and written form, about a variety of themes, including home responsibilities, daily routines, technology and health. Grammatical structures of the previous two years are re-entered and reinforced within each thematic unit.

Culturally and pedagogically relevant realia and resources are used to reinforce grammar, vocabulary and all four linguistic skills.

Spanish 5 aims to continue developing beginning aural and oral skills in our youngest Middle Schoolers. Through thematic units based on our textbook, Español Santillana, students will increase their vocabulary and grammar knowledge, as well as learn cultural traditions of the Spanish-speaking world. Classes are fully immersed and students advance in their learning through interactive activities, songs and games.

Students will conclude the year having learned the conjugations of regular verbs in the present, gender and number agreement, articles, possessives, expressions of location and the difference between the verbs ser and estar.

This is a continuing course in the Middle School Spanish language sequence. Students in this course learn through many language-learning techniques, including a greater use of language in “real” contexts, mini-dramas, memorization and audio-visual materials.

Grammar and vocabulary are learned within the context of the students’ daily activities at school and at home. They learn to communicate their ideas using both regular and irregular verbs in the present tense. They master many basic grammatical structures, such as agreement of gender and number of articles, nouns and adjectives.

Students also learn essential vocabulary pertaining to greetings, school activities, weather, professions and eating habits. In addition to studying linguistics, students continue to learn about various cultural and historic aspects of the Spanish-speaking world.

This course, conducted mainly in Spanish, reviews and expands upon the grammar and vocabulary presented in the previous year. Students learn many idiomatic expressions, verb conjugations in the immediate future and the recent past, new irregular verbs, reflexive verbs, direct and indirect object pronouns, and sufficient vocabulary to support the continued growth of oral and written expression in the target language. In addition to linguistic study, students continue to learn about various cultural and historic aspects of the Spanish-speaking world.