Foreign Language

Course Description: This course is an introduction to the study of the French language and its culture. It allows students to perform the most basic functions of the language and to become familiar with some elements of its culture. The emphasis is placed on the development of the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing within a given context extending outside of the classroom setting when possible. Grammar is integrated throughout the course and is selected according to the language needs (functions). A general introduction to the culture, its products (e.g., literature, laws, foods, games) perspectives (e.g., attitudes, values, and beliefs) and practices (patterns of social interaction) is integrated throughout the course. Students acquire some insight into how languages and cultures work by comparing the target language and culture(s) to their own. Integration of other disciplines is ongoing throughout the course.

Prerequisite:  French I 
Course Description: This course provides students with opportunities to continue the development of their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Students participate in simple conversational situations by combining and recombining learned elements of the language orally and in writing. Students are able to satisfy basic survival needs and interact on issues of everyday life in the present time and past time inside and outside of the classroom setting. They compose related sentences that narrate, describe, compare, and summarize familiar topics from the target culture. Focus is placed on understanding main ideas. They develop a better understanding of the similarities and differences between cultures and languages and they examine the influence of the beliefs and values on the target culture(s). Integration of other disciplines is on-going throughout the course.

Prerequisite:  French II 
Course Description: This course provides students with additional opportunities to expand their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills as they create with the language and as they access short literary texts, authentic materials, and media on generally familiar topics. Students satisfy limited communication and social interaction demands, they initiate and maintain face-to-face communication. They identify the main idea(s) and significant details in discussions, presentations, and written texts within a cultural context, read and interpret authentic materials, narrate and describe in sentences, groups of related sentences, and short cohesive passages in present, past, future, and other complex tenses and compose messages, announcements, personal notes, and advertisements. They refine their knowledge and understanding of the target language and culture(s) and their own by examining the interrelationship of other cultures to their own, by demonstrating behaviors appropriate in target cultures, and by applying their knowledge and skills inside and outside of the classroom setting. Integration of other disciplines is on-going throughout the course.

Prerequisite:  French III
Course Description: A major focus of this course is to enable students to communicate in writing and in extended conversations on a variety of topics. Students begin to narrate, discuss, and support fairly complex ideas and concepts using concrete facts and topics in past, present and future time. They satisfy routine social demands and meet most social requirements. Culture, history, and literature are also emphasized. Short stories, poetry, excerpts from various periods of literature, current events, and authentic materials are included. Emphasis is placed on independent reading. Finer points of grammar are studied to aid oral and written communication. There is more in depth study of the target culture(s) and their influence throughout the world. Students are able to connect the target language to other disciplines and compare it to their own. Finally, they are able to use the language inside and outside the classroom setting.

Prerequisite:  French IV
Course Description: This course is designed for those students who want a course of study which concentrates on major literary works, including explanation of texts along with a detailed study of history and culture as they relate to the author’s studies. Students are encouraged to work independently and to become well acquainted with the technology presently available for language study.

Course Description: The Cambridge Latin Course is designed to introduce students to the language, culture, and history of the Roman Empire during the first century AD (especially that of Pompeii, Roman Britain, and Alexandria). Emphasis is placed on reading and comprehension of the written word. Through the study of Latin, students begin to master a wealth of root words, prefixes, and suffixes essential to build English vocabulary useful in preparing for the SAT.

Prerequisite:  Latin I 
Course Description: Latin II reviews the skills mastered in Latin I and uses them as a building block for further grammatical concepts. The course continues to introduce new aspects of culture and history, focusing on Roman Britain and the city of Rome. Emphasis is still placed on learning new vocabulary and increasing English vocabulary via derivatives.

Prerequisite:  Latin II 
Course Description: Latin III includes a review of introductory and intermediate Latin vocabulary and grammar while students continue to work toward mastery of reading and interpreting original works of Latin authors of the first century AD. Original passages from Ovid and Vergil (mythology), Catullus (poetry), and Pliny (prose) are first introduced.

Prerequisite:  Latin III 
Course Description: Latin IV Emphasizes increased enjoyment of Latin masterpieces such as the works of Cicero, Virgil, Ovid, Catullus, Horace and Platus. Students acquire additional vocabulary and mature understanding of Roman literature through translation.