Foreign Languages

COURSE

NUMBER                COURSE NAME                                    LEVEL                                    CREDIT          PREREQUISITE

LEVEL 1 LANGUAGE                                  9,10,11,12                      1.0                       None

1503    Spanish I

1603    French   1

1703    German 1

The primary objective in a level one language course is to develop communication skills.  All modes of communication (listening, speaking, reading and writing) will be practiced by dealing with selected topics relevant to the students’ lives and activities.  Good listening and speaking habits which lead to some conversational ability are emphasized.  Development of writing skills is achieved through production of sentences, paragraphs, and short compositions.  Projects relating to the cultures of the foreign language are an integral part of the curriculum.  This course is intended for the student beginning a new language.

LEVEL 2 LANGUAGE                                  10,11,12                        1.0                          Level 1

                                                                                                                   or test out of Spanish 1

1513    Spanish 2                                          C- or above in Level 1 or teacher recommendation

1613    French 2                                           C- or above in Level 1 or teacher recommendation

1713    German 2                                           C- or above in Level 1 or teacher recommendation

Students are concerned in this course with developing good listening and speaking habits, but additional emphasis is put on reading skills and understanding of the foreign language grammar.  Conversational skills continue to be developed through building a larger vocabulary and more intricate grammatical sentence structure.  Role-play activities and skits as well as longer written activities  are a part of the curriculum.

LEVEL 3 LANGUAGE                                  11,12                            1.0                          Level 2

                                                                                                                               or test out of Spanish 2

1523    Spanish 3                                          C- or above in Level 2 or teacher recommendation

1623    French 3                                           C- or above in Level 2 or teacher recommendation

1723    German 3                                          C- or above in Level 2 or teacher recommendation

In this third level, students continue to fine tune speaking and listening skills while reading, writing and understanding the foreign language at a more challenging level.  Topics of study shift from communicating about oneself to materials including cultural and historical anecdotes from the cultures of the foreign language. Short stories, newspaper, and magazine articles, as well as taped interviews are a part of the curriculum.  To facilitate the increasing depth and breadth of study, additional grammatical topics are introduced.

LEVEL 4 LANGUAGE                                  12                                 1.0                           Level 3

                                                                                                                        or test out of Spanish 3

1533     Spanish 4                                         C- or above in Level 3 or teacher recommendation

1633     French 4                                          C- or above in Level 3 or teacher recommendation

1733     German 4                                        C- or above in Level 3 or teacher recommendation

In this course, students will continue to master more in-depth vocabulary dealing with situations, difficulties, and unexpected events; will further the knowledge of grammar, broaden the knowledge of the culture (s) and history of the countries as well as discuss contemporary events and issues in the culture.  Contemporary media (articles, magazines, films) will be part of instruction.

SPANISH IV                                                   11,12                            1.0                  Spanish III

Topics of study will include culture, grammar, conversation, journalism and literature.  Also included are topics on the history, values, health, and ethnic backgrounds of Spanish Americans.  Prerequisite(s):  Passing grade in Spanish III.  Students should know all of the simple tenses (present indicative, present imperfect, future, conditional, present subjunctive, and past subjunctive).

9843 AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE I - GenNet             10,11,12                         1.0

This year long course will introduce students to American Sign Language and the culture of the people who utilize this language in and out of the Deaf community.  Emphasis will be placed on ASL grammar, vocabulary, finger spelling, and facial expression.  Strategies for learning ASL will also be introduced.

Required:  The ability to pay attention, stay on task, and good organizational skills.

9853 AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE II - GenNet         11,12                      1.0          American Sign Language I

This year-long course elaborates on American Sign Language I and the culture of the people who utilize this language in and out of the Deaf community.  Emphasis will be placed on ASL grammar, vocabulary, finger spelling and facial expression.

9863 AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE III - GenNet     11,12                     1.0       American Sign Language I & II

This course is a continuation of American Sign Language II, therefore the student must have successfully completed ASL I and II.  The student is expected to have an intermediate level knowledge of American Sign Language.  ASL III students will focus on building narrative skills, moving from an informal to a more formal presentation.  They will focus on developing conversational skills used in everyday discussion, focus on developing the language skills needed to explain ideas, or concepts; or to illustrate how things work and why they are the way they are.  The units they will study will also help develop skills to translate written text into ASL.  May not fulfill the language requirement for college entrance.

9833 JAPANESE I - GenNet                         10,11,12                                    1.0

This course is designed for the true beginner in the Japanese language.  We begin with the very basics of Japanese, learning the sounds of the syllabaries and then proceed to learn to write them in hiragana and katakana.  We then learn to write real words and put them into meaningful sentences.  By the end of the first year, students will have memorized two syllabaries (hiragana and katakana), 78 kanji and about a thousand words in Japanese.  It sounds like a lot of memorization, and it is, but we will be using these words often so that their meanings will become internalized and truly learned.

9763  JAPANESE II – GenNet                                  10,11,12                                    1.0        Japanese I

This course is designed for the true beginner in the Japanese language.  We begin with the very basics of Japanese, learning the sounds of the syllabaries and then proceed to learn to write them in hiragana and katakana.  We then learn to write real words and put them into meaningful sentences.  By the end of the first year, students will have memorized two syllabaries (hiragana and katakana), 78 kanji and about a thousand words in Japanese.  It sounds like a lot of memorization, and it is, but we will be using these words often so that their meanings will become internalized and truly learned.