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World Languages
World Languages Department
The Department of World Languages offers you an exploration of different cultures around the world with a main focus on the fascinating and complex Spanish-speaking world (Latin America, Europe and Africa). Our courses not only build and broaden language skills, but also expose you to the rich culture and history of the world’s people and places.
What is happening in the SPANISH courses:
SPANISH I: This course is an introduction to the study of the target language and its culture. Students perform the most basic functions of the language and become familiar with some elements of its culture. The content focuses on the students' lives and experiences, and includes an exposure to everyday customs and lifestyles. Grammar is integrated throughout the course and is selected according to the language conventions. A general introduction to the culture, its products (e.g., literature, laws, foods, games), perspectives (e.g., attitudes, values, 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.
SPANISH II: Students enrolled in this course have either successfully completed a Level I course at the middle or high school or have placed out of Level I due to previous language study and/or established proficiency. Students participate in short conversational situations by combining and recombining learned elements of the language orally and in writing. They 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. Focus is placed on understanding main ideas in simple texts. Students 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).
SPANISH III: Students enrolled in this course have either successfully completed the Level I and II courses at the middle or high school or have placed out of Levels I and II due to previous language study and/or established proficiency.
This course provides students with additional opportunities to expand their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills as they create with the language and access various materials (short literary texts, authentic materials, technical manuals and other media) on generally familiar topics. Students satisfy limited communication and social interaction demands, as well as initiate and maintain face-to-face communication. They identify main idea(s) and some details in discussions, presentations, and written texts within a cultural context; read and interpret authentic materials; narrate and describe in a series of sentences, groups of related sentences, and short cohesive passages in present, past, and future time; and compose messages, announcements, personal notes, and advertisements. Students continue to 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 ongoing throughout the course.
SPANISH IV: Students enrolled in this course have successfully completed Level III at the middle or high school or have placed out of Levels I-III due to previous language study and/or established proficiency. A major focus of this course is to enable students to communicate in writing and in extended conversations on a variety of familiar and some unfamiliar topics. Students begin to narrate, discuss, and support fairly complex ideas and concepts using concrete facts and topics with details in a variety of ways. They satisfy routine social demands and meet most social requirements. The emphasis of this course can vary, as described above. Many different types of text (short stories, poetry, excerpts from various periods of literature, current events, technical manuals, and other authentic materials) are included, depending on the emphasis and providing for 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 can compare it to their own. Finally, they are able to use the language inside and outside of the classroom setting.
SPANISH V: Students enrolled in this course have successfully completed Level IV or have placed out of Levels I-IV due to previous language study and/or established proficiency.
This course emphasizes the use of language for active communication. Students develop language skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) that can be used in various activities and disciplines, and in formal and informal settings, rather than focusing on any specific subject matter. Emphasis is placed on comprehension of the spoken and written target language in various contexts, coherent and resourceful communication, and the organization and sharing of oral presentations and written compositions.
World Languages FACULTY
Sandra Salcedo
International Spanish Teacher
M. Margarita Ochoa-Diaz
International Spanish Teacher
Melania DiPietro
ESL Teacher (English as a Second Language)