World Languages

Working on the foundation of nouns and adjectives learned in Novice French, the Intermediate students expand their French vocabulary with verbs. The students learn to conjugate regular and irregular verbs in several different tenses including the perfect, imperfect, future, and conditional. The students meet these tenses in their literature study of fables and fairy tales and they perfect them with the culminating project, writing an original story with over 30 required grammatical elements. Prerequisite: completion of Novice level with teacher recommendation to advance.

Students begin to study literature in earnest at this level. They read celebrated works by Dumas, Hugo, and St. Éxupéry. They write original vignettes and even invent an extra planet for Le Petit Prince to explore. Nuances of grammar are honed through face-à-face conferences for each major piece of writing. Students study poetry and prepare bimonthly recitations to improve their fluidity and fluency of speech.  Prerequisite: completion of Intermediate 1 with teacher recommendation to advance.

Students study French history and read major literature pieces from each epoch. The students marvel at the wonders of the Chauvet Cave, snicker at Caesar’s observations of the Gauls, fight alongside Roland and Charlemagne, delight in the wit of Molière and Voltaire and witness the start of the French Revolution through the eyes of a Bastille guard. The students write formal essays, perform original plays, and sing songs and recite poetry from each particular time period.
Prerequisite: Completion of Intermediate level with teacher recommendation to advance.

Students learn to add details to their speaking and writing, and to express themselves confidently in the past, present, and future tenses. Readings and writing assignments are focused on documents a paragraph to a page in length. Participants are regularly asked to respond to questions with multi-sentence answers and to recognize ideas and draw conclusions from listening selections based on known content. Prerequisite: Spanish Novice or equivalent.

Students learn to express values, opinions, and reasoning in response to aural and written prompts. Participants converse by listening to and responding with strings of sentences, and develop the ability to write 1-2 page long letters, reports, stories, and plays. The class explores short stories, music, poems, plays, news reports, and film while cultivating analytical skills and developing a foundation in all indicative tenses and subjunctive moods. Students gain the ability to express facts and opinions through conversation, writing, and presentation while broadening their geographical, historical, and cultural awareness of the Spanish-speaking world. Prerequisite: Completion of Spanish Intermediate I or equivalent.

This class dives into literature, documentary film, and music of Latin America, Spain, and the Spanish-speaking communities of the United States. Students discuss these works in paragraph-length exchanges and present relevant historical information, summaries, and opinions on class themes and works studied. Participants research and debate contemporary issues and write analytical reports and creative pieces using descriptive and symbolic language. Written assignments are often 1-3 pages in length, and readings range from a single page to a full novel. Primary sources are used for listening exercises. Knowledge of Spanish-speaking cultures and geography is used to interpret bodies of work and unifying themes. Students are expected to take a leadership role in this class and to guide discussions amongst their peers. The curriculum in this course rotates from year to year, allowing students to take this course for multiple years for additional credit and learning. Prerequisite: Completion of Spanish Intermediate II with teacher recommendation to advance.

Students develop the ability to communicate about day-to-day life including: family, friends, home, work, food, maps, transportation, numbers, and time. Participants learn simple sentence structures and gain confidence speaking in the present tense while gaining introductory exposure to the past and future tenses. Students learn to recognize known vocabulary and sentence patterns while listening. This class explores a variety of Spanish-speaking communities and cultures. Students learn to read and write simple sentences and brief paragraphs, ask and answer questions, and speak every day.