World Language

The World Language Department offers French, Latin, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese. In the seventh grade, students choose to continue with Latin or focus on a modern language. Students must successfully complete the third level of a language in order to fulfill the graduation requirement, but we encourage students to continue their study of a language beyond this level. Upper School students with interest and ability are encouraged to study two languages when possible . We encourage all students to travel and to use their language skills; credit may be granted to those who participate in well-structured summer programs.
The department also sponsors an annual World Language Week, field trips, guest speakers, and trips abroad.

Advanced Latin Literature

This course is designed for students who have already completed AP Latin Vergil in their junior year and who wish to continue reading Latin literature in their senior year. The main text, The Cambridge Latin Anthology, provides a wealth of prose and poetry selections from a wide range of authors. There is a strong emphasis on understanding a Latin passage by simply reading it aloud. Appreciating these selections of literature within their historical context and cultural background is a key focus in this course.
*Departmental permission required.
Advanced Mandarin (Honors)

Advanced Mandarin Honors is designed for students who have familiarity with spoken Mandarin and interest in exploring Chinese culture. In this course, we focus on expanding students’ vocabulary, use of structures, topics of conversation, and mastery of writing in Chinese. This course allows students to develop language skills through reading and discussion of contemporary issues in China. Assessments include class discussions, assignments, essays, and culture projects. This course is conducted in Mandarin.
AP Chinese Language and Culture

This course is designed for students who have successfully completed Mandarin IV Honors or Mandarin V Honors. The AP syllabus will follow the guidelines approved by the College Board. In this AP course, students will have various opportunities to further improve their proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. All students are required to take the AP exam held in May, contingent on a pre-examination test in the spring.

* Departmental permission required.
AP French Language

In this advanced course, the students explore six interrelated themes through literature, nonfiction, film, and authentic media, with an emphasis on increased proficiency in the language. Each student will work towards this proficiency through communicative activities, using authentic materials, a thematic approach, and the practice of the three modes of communication: interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational. Texts, films, and audio sources are drawn from different Francophone countries and reflect a range of cultural perspectives. As required by the AP syllabus, the course provides regular practice with multiple choice questions, formal and informal writing, oral presentations, and guided conversations. The course is conducted entirely in the target language, and students entering the course are expected to have a strong foundation in both written and spoken French. All students are required to take the AP examination, contingent on a pre-examination test in the spring.
*Department permission required.
AP Latin

This course is designed for students who have successfully completed Latin IV Honors or Latin III Honors. In this AP syllabus, new as of 2013, Vergil’s Aeneid and Caesar’s De Bello Gallico are the core texts. The students translate many of the verses from Books 1-6 of Vergil’s epic during the first semester and Caesar’s history in the second semester. They also are required to read set portions of these poetry and prose works in translation during the preceding summer. Advanced skills include explicating the texts, applying vocabulary and grammar to prose and poetry, explaining literary and rhetorical devices within the literature, and scanning hexameter verse. Numerous prose and poetry passages from other authors are introduced to challenge the students’ ability to understand sight passages. Answering multiple choice questions, writing short answers, and composing analytical essays are all part of the set syllabus. All students are required to take the AP examination, contingent on a pre-examination test in the spring.

*Department permission required.
AP Spanish Language

The AP* Spanish Language and Culture Course is designed to help students become proficient in the Spanish language, and to also complete the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam successfully. Students work towards their proficiency through communicative activities, using authentic materials, a thematic approach, and the practice of the three modes of communication: interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational. Students are required to take the AP examination, contingent on a pre-examination test in the spring.
*Department permission required.
AP Spanish Literature and Culture

AP Spanish Literature and Culture is a survey course of Spanish and Hispanic literature. The students will follow the College Board’s AP syllabus, which includes poetry, fiction, essays, and drama from the Medieval era to the 20th century. In addition to a close reading of each text, the students will learn to relate the works studied to the historical context in which they were created. The students will write analytical essays, increase their knowledge of literary terms and devices, and compare literary works and paintings from the same period. This demanding course requires a strong foundation in both language and literature. All students are required to take the AP examination, contingent on a pre-examination test in the spring.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of AP Spanish Language.
*Department recommendation required.
French I

French 1 is a fast-paced introduction to French. The students learn essential vocabulary for daily life, including their identities, families, schools, communities, and holidays, as well as their preferences in food and leisure activities. Communicative practice and comprehensible input strategies help students to acquire new vocabulary and grammar. Listening and speaking skills are emphasized and reinforced with authentic audiovisual materials. The students develop intercultural competence through videos, films, presentations, and projects about the Francophone world.
French II

This second-year course is for students who have completed French I or French A and B. Students learn new vocabulary related to participation in school and community, family life, daily routines, culinary traditions, and volunteering. They build on the vocabulary and essential grammatical structures learned in French 1, and learn new grammar in a communicative context. Speaking and listening skills are strengthened through presentations and projects. Authentic audiovisual materials, cultural presentations, and films expand on the material presented in the text. The students develop intercultural competence by comparing their own customs and cultures to those of young people in the Francophone world.
*Placement in Honors or B level is determined by department recommendation.
French II (Honors)

This second-year course is for students who have completed French I or French A and B. Students learn new vocabulary related to participation in school and community, family life, daily routines, culinary traditions and volunteering. They build a solid foundation in essential grammatical structures, including comparisons, superlatives, reflexive verbs, connectors, imperfect, and the passé composé. Speaking and listening skills are strengthened through presentations and visual projects. Authentic audiovisual materials and the web augment the text. The students develop intercultural competence by comparing their own customs and cultures to those of young people in the Francophone world, and self-assessment is an integral part of the program.
*Placement in Honors or B level is determined by department recommendation.
French III

This third year is for students who have completed French 2. Students learn new vocabulary related to activities to do and means of transportation in a city, staying healthy, and how to prepare for a trip. Grammatical structures covered include superlatives, the passé composé, the imperative, reflexive verbs, direct object pronouns and the future tense. Speaking and listening skills are strengthened through presentations and visual projects. Authentic audiovisual materials and the web augment the text. The students develop intercultural competence by comparing their own customs and cultures to those of young people in the Francophone world, and self-assessment is an integral part of the program. The course is taught predominantly in the target language and conversational skills are emphasized. Qualified students may contract for honors.
*Department permission required.
French III (Honors)

This third year is for students who have completed French 2. Students learn new vocabulary related to activities to do and means of transportation in a city, staying healthy, and how to prepare for a trip. Grammatical structures covered include superlatives, the passé composé, the imperative, reflexive verbs, direct object pronouns and the future tense. Speaking and listening skills are strengthened through presentations and visual projects. Authentic audiovisual materials and the web augment the text. The students develop intercultural competence by comparing their own customs and cultures to those of young people in the Francophone world, and self-assessment is an integral part of the program. The course is taught predominantly in the target language and conversational skills are emphasized. Qualified students may contract for honors.
*Department permission required.
French IV

This advanced elective course, meant as a continuation to French III, uses the Vista Higher Learning program Imaginez. This program gives students a wide variety of contemporary and authentic materials with award-winning short films in each chapter. The program integrates text, technology, and media while continuing to focus on grammar and vocabulary acquisition. The course is taught entirely in the target language. Qualified students may contract for honors.
*Department permission required.
French IV (Honors)

This advanced elective course, meant as a continuation to French III, uses the Vista Higher Learning program Imaginez. This program gives students a wide variety of contemporary and authentic materials with award-winning short films in each chapter. The program integrates text, technology, and media while continuing to focus on grammar and vocabulary acquisition. The course is taught entirely in the target language. Qualified students may contract for honors.
*Department permission required.
Italian Culture and Language (Land & People)

Italian Culture and Language introduces the students to Italian traditions and diverse regions of the country as well as the core vocabulary needed to talk about identities, families, weather, food, and leisure activities. An introduction to the present indicative tense, possessives, and grammar will allow simple communication with Italian speakers. Listening and speaking skills are emphasized and reinforced through storytelling and audiovisual materials. Beginning conversational Italian is the goal, so communicative activities play a large part in this course. The students develop intercultural competence by comparing their own customs and cultures to those of young people in the Italian world.

1 semester, 1/2 credit
Open to juniors and seniors who have completed a World Language course through Level 3.
Latin I

This course covers Stages 1-20 of the Cambridge Latin Course, Units 1-2. Readings are set in Pompeii and the Roman province of Britain during the first century CE. Students will learn about the Roman Empire and those impacted by its growth. Grammar and vocabulary features are absorbed through reading stories and practiced using interactive games and drills on their tablet or laptop.
Latin II

This course covers Stages 21-30 of the Cambridge Latin Course, Unit III. Readings are set in the Roman province of Britain during the first century CE. Students will learn about the tensions between the Roman Empire and those impacted by its growth. Grammar and vocabulary skills are absorbed through reading stories and practiced using interactive games and drills on their tablet or laptop.
Latin II (Honors)

This course covers Stages 21-30 of the Cambridge Latin Course, Unit III. Readings are set in the Roman province of Britain during the first century CE. Students will learn about the tensions between the Roman Empire and those impacted by its growth. Grammar and vocabulary skills are absorbed through reading stories and practiced using interactive games and drills on their iPad or laptop. Honors students sign a contract indicating they will complete one extra weekly assignment and undertake slightly longer semester exams.

*Department permission required.
Latin III

This course reviews all previous morphology and grammatical syntax and introduces students to the more sophisticated structures of the Latin language: from ablative absolutes to indirect statements. Uniting all materials, from vocabulary to translation to cultural material, are the stories from the Cambridge Latin Course Units III and IV. Topics range from the senatorial class to poetry in the Augustan Age. All Latin is closely based on original material and a variety of literary genres is introduced, from the poetry of Ovid to the epigrams of Martial.

Honor students sign a contract indicating they will complete one extra weekly assignment and undertake slightly longer semester exams.

*Department permission required.
Latin III (Honors)

This course reviews all previous morphology and grammatical syntax and introduces students to the more sophisticated structures of the Latin language: from ablative absolutes to indirect statements. Uniting all materials, from vocabulary to translation to cultural material, are the stories from the Cambridge Latin Course Units III and IV. Topics range from the senatorial class to poetry in the Augustan Age. All Latin is closely based on original material and a variety of literary genres is introduced, from the poetry of Ovid to the epigrams of Martial. Students sign a contract indicating they will complete one extra weekly assignment and undertake slightly longer semester exams.

*Department permission required.
Latin IV

This course is designed for students who have completed Latin III so successfully that they would like to continue studying Latin literature. Using The Cambridge Latin Anthology as the core text, the students explore, translate, and recite Latin from a wide variety of authors.
* Department permission required.
Latin IV (Honors)

This course is designed for students who have completed Latin III so successfully that they would like to continue studying Latin literature. Using The Cambridge Latin Anthology as the core text, the students explore, translate and recite Latin from a wide variety of authors. Recognition of literary and rhetorical devices is taught. Hexameter scansion of epic poetry is practiced in written and oral forms.

* Department permission required.
Mandarin I

This is an introductory course in Mandarin Chinese (Putonghua), designed for students who have had no prior exposure to the Chinese language. The main goal of this class is to develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills using both the Pinyin phonetic system and Chinese characters. Approximately 300 words are taught through essential real-life topics. The social and cultural background of the Chinese language is included.
Mandarin II

Mandarin II is a continuation of Mandarin I, a course designed to help students to develop further communicative skills in Chinese. The second level begins with review sessions in order to assess students' proficiency level. Students continue to develop basic conversational skills in reading and writing. Cultural and writing projects are also introduced in this class.
Prerequisite: Mandarin I
Mandarin II (Honors)

Mandarin II is a continuation of Mandarin I, a course designed to help students to develop further communicative skills in Chinese. The second level begins with review sessions in order to assess students' proficiency level. Students continue to develop basic conversational skills in reading and writing. Cultural and writing projects are also introduced in this class. Honors students get extra packets each week to expand vocabulary and increase fluency.

Prerequisite: Mandarin I
Mandarin III

Mandarin III is a continuation of Mandarin II, a course designed to help students to further develop their Chinese language competence. More sophisticated linguistic forms are used and reinforced while dealing with various socio-cultural topics. Students will continue to develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills through structural analysis of the Chinese language. Cultural and writing projects are also introduced in the class.

Prerequisite: Mandarin II
Mandarin III (Honors)

Mandarin III is a continuation of Mandarin II, a course designed to help students to further develop their Chinese language competence. More sophisticated linguistic forms are used and reinforced while dealing with various socio-cultural topics. Students will continue to develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills through structural analysis of the Chinese language. Cultural and writing projects are also introduced in the class. Honors students get extra packets each week to expand vocabulary and increase fluency.

Prerequisite: Mandarin II
Mandarin IV (Honors)

Mandarin IV Honors is a continuation of Mandarin III, a course designed to expand students’ vocabulary, use of structure, topics of conversation, and mastery of Chinese writing. This course emphasizes all four core skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Various culture projects and supplementary honors packets are also included. Classes are conducted entirely in Mandarin.
*Prerequisite: Mandarin III
Mandarin V (Honors)

Mandarin V is a continuation of Mandarin IV, an advanced course designed for students of Chinese to strengthen their ability to understand, speak, read, and write Chinese beyond the intermediate level. Students learn to read and comprehend a variety of texts from Chinese and to write creatively and professionally in Chinese using sophisticated vocabulary and advanced Chinese characters. Students will also be trained to comprehend authentic spoken Mandarin, using a variety of audio-visual materials and to communicate in Mandarin Chinese.
Prerequisite: Mandarin IV
Spanish Conversation and Culture

Spanish Conversation and Culture is an elective course for students who have successfully completed Spanish III C and wish to learn more about the Hispanic world and develop greater confidence in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in Spanish. Classes include review and expansion of vocabulary learned in previous courses, and students develop conversational strategies to facilitate more fluid discussions in Spanish. Authentic materials such as films, cultural videos, and podcasts are part of the curriculum.
*Departmental permission required.
Spanish I

This is an introductory course that doesn’t require any previous background. Students get familiar with the most frequent words in Spanish. They use class routines, visuals, and many scaffolding strategies to facilitate a natural introduction to the language. The goal is to make students feel confident speaking Spanish and familiarize them with the sounds of this language. Conversational Spanish is the goal and communicative activities play a large part in this course. Students have different assessments in areas like reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Cultural topics are also included in each unit. Because this course covers nearly the same material as the two years of Middle School Spanish, the pace is brisk.
Spanish II (Honors)

This second-year course is for students who have completed Spanish I or Spanish A and B. Students learn new vocabulary related to school, family, daily routines, and community, while building a solid foundation in essential grammatical structures such as comparisons, superlatives, reflexive verbs, connectors, imperfect, and preterit. Speaking and listening skills are strengthened through presentations and visual projects. Authentic audiovisual materials are presented in their online textbook. Students develop intercultural competence by comparing their own customs and cultures to those of young people in the Hispanic world, and self-assessment is an integral part of the course.*Placement in Honors, B or C level is determined by department recommendation.
Spanish IIB

This second-year course is for students who have completed Spanish I or Spanish A and B. Students learn new vocabulary related to school, family, daily routines, and community, while building a solid foundation in essential grammatical structures, including comparisons, superlatives, reflexive verbs, connectors, the imperfect tense, and regular preterite conjugations. Speaking and listening skills are strengthened through presentations and visual projects. Authentic audiovisual materials are presented in the online textbook. Students develop intercultural competence by comparing their own customs and cultures to those of young people in the Hispanic world, and self-assessment is an integral part of the program.
Spanish IIC

This second-year course is for students who have completed Spanish I or Spanish A and B. The course provides review of material from Spanish I for students who need reinforcement while learning new structures. The course includes a wide variety of contemporary and authentic materials, including videos, music, and film. Speaking, listening, reading, and writing are assessed through interpersonal and presentational tasks at the novice high level.
Spanish III

This course is designed for students who wish to develop greater proficiency and confidence in the four basic language skill areas and cultural competency from the perspective of recognizing and understanding the diversity within the Spanish speaking world. At the same time, this course provides a complete basis of grammar, strengthening students' abilities to read, write, and speak effectively in Spanish. Students develop their intercultural competence by comparing customs and cultural differences between their own culture and the Hispanic world.
*Department permission required
Spanish III (Honors)

This course is designed for students who wish to develop greater proficiency and confidence in the four basic language skill areas and cultural competency from the perspective of recognizing and understanding the diversity within the Spanish speaking world. At the same time, this course provides a complete basis of grammar, strengthening students' abilities to read, write, and speak effectively in Spanish. Students develop their intercultural competence by comparing customs and cultural differences between their own culture and the Hispanic world.
*Department permission required.
Spanish IIIC

This course is designed for students who have completed Spanish II-C. The students review grammar, vocabulary, and culture from Levels 1 and 2. Communicative practice and comprehensible input strategies help students acquire new vocabulary and grammar in context. As in prior years, the course includes a wide variety of contemporary and authentic materials, including videos, music, and film. Assessments include interpersonal tasks, presentations, and cultural projects that are geared to the students’ interests.
Spanish IV

This elective course is designed for students who have successfully completed Spanish III. Students will have the opportunity to reinforce skills gained in previous courses, engage with authentic texts and literature, and experience different modes of communication. The program integrates short stories, films, art, and other authentic media. The course is taught almost entirely in the target language, and students are expected to use the language they acquire in contexts beyond the text, including in conversations and presentations.
*Department permission required.
Spanish IV (Honors)

This elective course is designed for students who have successfully completed Spanish III Honors. Students will have the opportunity to further develop skills gained in previous courses, engage with authentic texts and literature, and experience different modes of communication at the intermediate level. The curriculum reinforces language acquisition through short stories, films, art, and other authentic media. The course is taught entirely in Spanish, and students are expected to use the language they acquire in contexts beyond the text, including in conversations and presentations. At the end of the year students read a full novel in Spanish. This course is normally the prerequisite for study at the AP level.
*Department permission required.
Spanish V

Spanish V is designed for students who have successfully completed Spanish IV and want to continue studying Spanish for one more year. The course is taught almost entirely in Spanish and builds on vocabulary and grammar learned in previous courses, with the goal of developing language skills at the intermediate mid-level. Students will learn and communicate about compelling issues facing young people around the Spanish-speaking world through current events, art, music, literature, and film. Throughout the year, they will review elements of grammar and verb usage through chosen exercises, and they will complete presentations and projects on topics of general interest.
*Department permission required.
Spanish V (Honors)

Spanish V Honors is designed as an alternate to AP Spanish for students who have successfully completed Spanish IV Honors. The course is taught entirely in Spanish and increases the rigor and frequency of vocabulary and grammar exploration, with the goal of developing language skills at the intermediate-high level with an intercultural approach. Students will learn and communicate about compelling issues facing young people around the Spanish-speaking world through current events, art, music, literature, and film. They will write about and engage in conversations about this complex and fascinating subject matter. Throughout the year, they will review elements of grammar and verb usage through chosen exercises, and they will complete presentations and projects on topics of general interest.
*Department permission required.

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