World Languages: Course Offerings
ELL (English Language Learners): Comprehension and Critical Thinking
This course is designed for Saint Mary’s ELL students who are continuing to refine and hone their English language skills. Students will be able to work in a small-group setting on language comprehension, grammar, essay writing, subject-area vocabulary, and critical thinking skills. If needed, students will receive support in preparation for TOEFL testing. Students will be assessed on areas of reading, speaking, listening, and writing.
French I
French I is designed for the beginning language learner. Students study French through a communicative approach as they work toward the Novice High proficiency level. At this level students express themselves in simple conversations and presentations on familiar topics using highly practiced, memorized words and phrases. Students will embark on a study of both the language and the rich cultures of the French-speaking world. Participation is essential to learn a language; therefore, we create a safe environment to explore and take risks as we learn to communicate in a new language. Credit: one unit.
French II
French II is designed for students who have passed French I. Building on the foundation of French I studies, students work toward the Intermediate-Low proficiency level. At this level, students speak more naturally in the target language and are prompted to add detail and variety to keep the conversation going. Students will demonstrate an ability to express thoughts and events in both past and present tenses, understand main ideas, and combine and recombine learned words and phrases to further communication. Based on the use of authentic materials, students will continue to strengthen and build upon their listening, reading, and writing skills in the target language. Credit: one-unit. Prerequisite: French I.
French III: French Civilization and Composition
This course is designed for students who have successfully completed two years of French. Students begin by reviewing the grammar and vocabulary taught in French I and II. Students take part in a variety of activities aimed at developing their knowledge of French culture while helping them acquire proficiency at the Intermediate Low benchmark. Students participate in traditional classroom drills, oral presentations, class discussions, and group activities. Students learn how to write compositions and read publications in French. The class is conducted primarily in French. Credit: one unit. Prerequisite: French II.
Accelerated French III: French Grammar and Conversation
This course is designed for students who have successfully completed two years of French. With a basis on reviewing and building upon grammar usage and improving pronunciation, this course helps students to work towards achieving benchmarks for the Intermediate-Mid proficiency level. Students at this level engage in short social interactions and communicate effectively to express different time frames (present, past, and future). Students are assessed through short presentations, completion of real-world tasks and a series of listening and reading comprehension activities from authentic French texts from the francophone world. Credit: one unit.Prerequisite: French II. Teacher recommendation
French IV
French IV is designed for students who have successfully completed two years of French. With a basis on reviewing and building upon grammar usage and improving pronunciation, this course helps students to work towards achieving benchmarks for the Intermediate-Mid proficiency level. Students at this level engage in short social interactions and communicate effectively to express different time frames (present, past, and future). Students are assessed through short presentations, completion of real-world tasks and a series of listening and reading comprehension activities from authentic French texts from the francophone world. Credit: one unit. Prerequisite: French III.
French V
Students enrolling in this course are typically in their fourth or fifth year of language study or they have had experiences with the language. This class is an immersion experience, all communication by the teacher will be carried out exclusively in the target language, and by the students as well. At this level, students are pushed to communicate in an organized and detailed way. Students can understand information from authentic materials in oral or written sources. They are often understood by listeners and readers unaccustomed to dealing with language learners. Credit: one unit. Prerequisite: French III or French IV with teacher recommendation.
Advanced Placement French Language and Culture
As the AP French Language and Culture class is an immersion experience, all communication by the teacher will be carried out exclusively in the target language, and by the students, primarily, in the target language; the student class participation grades reflect this. The course will use a variety of methods involving films, music, texts, listening exercises, speaking exercises, discussions (on French culture, daily life, current events, etc.), and other communicative activities. The AP French Language and Culture exam is based on six groups of learning objectives: spoken and written interpersonal communication, audio, visual, and written interpretative communication, and spoken and written presentational communication. These learning objectives will be addressed through the study of six themes: Global Challenges, Science and Technology, Contemporary Life, Personal and Public Identities, Families and Communication, Beauty and Aesthetics. Students will continue to develop vocabulary and refine their grammar skills while focusing on communication. Students enrolling in this course are typically in their fourth or fifth year of language study or they have had experiences with the language. Therefore, they should have a good command in French grammar and vocabulary. They should also be proficient in listening, speaking, reading, writing in French and accept and be ready for the challenge of a rigorous academic curriculum. Credit: one unit. Prerequisite: French IV.
Spanish I
Spanish I is designed for both students with some background in Spanish and students who are beginning this language. Students strive to achieve an appropriate level of proficiency in four areas: auditory comprehension, oral expression, written expression, and reading comprehension. To achieve the desired level of proficiency, students need to develop good memory techniques and skills. These are constantly reinforced in class. Students are then able to acquire the necessary verb conjugations, vocabulary, and grammatical rules to succeed. The course emphasizes high frequency vocabulary, basic syntax, and aspects of daily life in Hispanic cultures. Spanish is used as much as possible in class. Credit: one unit.
Spanish II
Spanish II is designed for students who have successfully completed Spanish I. Material from Spanish I is reviewed and expanded upon in order to reach the Intermediate-Low proficiency level. At this level, students are encouraged to speak as much as possible in the target language and are prompted to add something more to keep the conversation going. Students will demonstrate the ability to express thoughts in a single time frame, understand main ideas and combine and recombine learned words and phrases to foster communication. Through their engagement with authentic materials, students will continue to strengthen and build upon their listening, reading, and writing skills in the target language. Credit: one unit. Prerequisite: Spanish I.
Spanish III: Hispanic Cultures and Composition
Spanish III is designed for students who have successfully completed two years of Spanish. With a basis on reviewing and building upon grammar usage and improving pronunciation, this course helps students to work towards achieving benchmarks for the Intermediate Mid- proficiency level. Students at this level have the ability to engage in short social interactions, ask and answer simple questions relating to everyday life and communicate effectively to express both present and past time frames. Students are assessed through short presentations, completion of real-world tasks and a series of listening and reading comprehension activities from authentic Spanish texts and multimedia. Credit: one unit. Prerequisite: Spanish II.
Accelerated Spanish III: Spanish Grammar and Conversation
This course is designed for students who have successfully completed two or more years of Spanish. With a basis on reviewing and building upon grammar usage and improving pronunciation, this course helps students to work towards achieving benchmarks for the Intermediate- Mid proficiency level with increased fluency and accuracy at an intermediate/advanced level. Students are assessed through short presentations, completion of real- world tasks and a series of listening and reading comprehension activities from authentic Spanish texts and multimedia. Credit: one unit. Prerequisite: Spanish II. Teacher recommendation.
Spanish IV
This course is designed for students who have successfully completed Spanish III. Students in Spanish IV work towards meeting the Intermediate- high level benchmark. Spanish IV students are engaged in understanding Hispanic cultures through analysis and interpretation of authentic literary texts as well as contemporary audio, video, and narrative selections. Students should be able to present and communicate in combined time frames using connected speech as well as be able to handle everyday situations with unexpected complications. Credit: one unit. Prerequisite: Spanish III.
Spanish V
Spanish V is designed for students who are in their fourth or fifth year of the language study. This course helps students to expand upon the ability to communicate with increased fluency and accuracy in combined time frames and moods. Students at this level should be able to handle topics that go beyond everyday life and comprehend beyond the main idea to include supporting details. Credit: one unit. Prerequisite: Spanish IV or Spanish III with teacher recommendation.
Advanced Placement Spanish Language and Culture
The AP Spanish Language and Culture course provides students with opportunities to develop language proficiency across the three modes of communication: Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational. Students learn about culture through the use of authentic materials that are representative of the Spanish speaking world. Materials include a variety of different media, e.g., journalistic and literary works, podcasts, interviews, movies, charts, and graphs. AP Spanish Language and Culture is a language acquisition course designed to provide students with the necessary skills and intercultural understanding to enable them to communicate successfully in an environment where Spanish is spoken and as such, is an immersion experience requiring almost exclusive use of Spanish. Students in AP Spanish strive to reach the Advanced Low proficiency benchmark and should be able to create paragraph discourse which uses connected language in multiple time frames and incorporates a variety of idiomatic expressions. Credit: one unit. Prerequisite: Spanish IV, Spanish V or teacher recommendation.
Advanced Placement Spanish Literature and Culture
The AP Spanish Literature and Culture course is an introductory course to the study of Peninsular Spanish, Latin American, and U.S. Hispanic literature written in Spanish from the 14th century to the present day. Not only do we study the literature, but also the fascinating history and cultures of the Hispanic world connected to the six AP Spanish literature themes, which are: las relaciones interpersonales; la construcción del género; las sociedades en contacto; el tiempo y el espacio; la dualidad del ser; and la creación literaria. Throughout the course, students learn to connect each reading with historical, sociocultural, and political contexts; literary history of each movement; authors’ style; and literary theory. Students also demonstrate their proficiency in the three modes of communication in Spanish (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational) with attention to applying correct written and spoken language conventions. Credit: one unit. Prerequisite: AP Spanish Language and Culture, Spanish V or teacher recommendation.
2023-2024 Course Offerings