Language Department
The philosophy of our department is summed up in the belief that we must educate our students to be linguistically and culturally equipped to communicate successfully in a pluralistic American society and the multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural world community. In our language courses, we guide our students in the joyous and fascinating discovery of Spanish, French, and Japanese. Extensive vocabulary and careful explanations of intricate grammatical concepts are introduced at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels and communication skills are practiced actively in class daily. In addition to the language fundamentals, we share with our students the richness of the music, literature, films, cooking, art, and other cultural aspects of the countries that speak these languages throughout the world. In our daily teaching, we aim to include the five "Cs" of foreign language education, as proposed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language in their National Standards in Foreign Language Education. These standards include:
—Communication: Daily practice of oral and written communication.
—Cultures: Students develop understanding of the cultural context in which their language occurs.
—Connections: Students use the target language when participating in native language Internet forums and when we welcome native speakers into our classrooms.
—Comparisons: Through projects and assignments, students compare their language and culture to other languages and cultures, traditions, and events.
—Communities: Students use the target language to establish links with communities in which they practice their target language.
HPA students are required to complete three years of foreign language instruction, either by completing the third level of one language, or by combining two levels of one and one level of another language at the Upper School level.
A student who takes Level 1 of a modern language in the eighth grade earning a C+ or better, who meets the school's competency criteria, and who has the teacher’s recommendation to advance, may go on to Level 2 at the Upper School.
Arigato! Merci beaucoup! ¡Muchísimas gracias!
Career possibilities in the field of Modern Language:
Ambassador
Anthropologist
Art Historian
Bilingual Secretary
Criminal Justice
Diplomat
Environmental Researcher
Foreign Service
Foreign Correspondent
International Relations
International Legal
International Trade
Lawyer
Military Attaché`
Museum Curator
Naturalist
Nurse
Peace Corps Worker
Physician
Social Worker
Teacher
Tour Guide
Travel Agent
Writer (foreign magazine)
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AP French
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: French 3
The AP French course covers the equivalent of a third-year college course in advanced French writing and conversation. It encompasses aural and oral skills, reading comprehension, grammar, and composition. Through the use of current events, short stories, magazines, auditory CDs, and the Internet, vocabulary growth is enhanced, structure is reviewed and themes are identified for development of discussion and writing. The course provides training in the organization and writing of compositions based on the AP model. All class sessions will be conducted entirely in French.
AP Japanese
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification and teacher recommendation
The AP Japanese course covers the equivalent of a third-year college course in advanced Japanese writing and conversation. It encompasses aural and oral skills, reading comprehension, grammar, and composition. Through the use of current events, short stories, magazines, auditory CDs, and the Internet, vocabulary growth is enhanced, structure is reviewed and themes are identified for development of discussion and writing. The course provides training in the organization and writing of compositions based on the AP model. All class sessions will be conducted entirely in Japanese.
AP Spanish
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification and teacher recommendation
The AP Spanish course covers the equivalent of a third-year college course in advanced Spanish writing and conversation. It encompasses aural and oral skills, reading comprehension, grammar, and composition. Through the use of current events, short stories, magazines, auditory CDs, and the Internet, vocabulary growth is enhanced, structure is reviewed, and themes are identified for development of discussion and writing. The course provides training in organization and composition writing based on the AP model. All class sessions will be conducted entirely in Spanish.
Conversational French
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: Completion of three years of French
This course develops effective communication skills, increases vocabulary, and teaches students to express and justify facts, opinions, ideas, and emotions in French. Students are asked to keep a binder with prescribed sections.
Conversational Japanese
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: Completion of three years of Japanese
This course develops effective communication skills, increases vocabulary, and teaches students to express and justify facts, opinions, ideas and emotions in Japanese. Students maintain a binder with prescribed sections.
Conversational Spanish
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: Completion of three years of Spanish
This course develops effective communication skills, increases vocabulary, and teaches students to express and justify facts, opinions, ideas and emotions in Spanish. Students will be asked to maintain a binder with prescribed sections.
French I
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: None
Level 1 teaches basic sentence structure and vocabulary for reading, writing, speaking, and listening on topics closely surrounding students. Students also learn cultural aspects of the French-speaking world. Emphasis for learning is placed on practice activities and students are expected to keep and maintain a binder with prescribed sections.
French II
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: French I
Level 2 expands knowledge and use of structure and vocabulary for reading, writing, speaking, and listening and teaches fundamentals of past, present, and future tenses. Emphasis is placed on practice activities and student interaction to strengthen their ability to communicate in French. Students are expected to maintain a binder with prescribed sections.
French III
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: French II
Level 3 teaches students how to incorporate new vocabulary and tenses and sentence structures into increasingly original and interesting ways to communicate. Students broaden their abilities to read, write, speak, and listen with comprehension to themes including communities at home and abroad, peoples of different backgrounds, selected social and cultural issues, and French art and artists.
French IV
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: French III
Level 4 begins with an intensive review of grammar followed by a study of the literature and music of French-speaking countries to further develop reading and listening skills. Writing and speaking skills are developed through presentation of information, discussion of personal ideas, and defending points of view. Emphasis is placed on making comparisons between literary works and musical works. Students are required to maintain a portfolio of their work.
French V
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: French IV
Level 5 begins with a brief review of verb tenses and grammar. Following review, students read, listen to programs, watch films in history and current events, and practice communication by presenting information, discussing personal ideas, and defending points of view in speech and in writing. Students are required to conduct in-depth research for one French-speaking country and maintain a portfolio.
Japanese I
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Difficulty: Moderate
Prerequisites: None
Level 1 teaches basic sentence structure and vocabulary for reading, writing, speaking, and listening to topics closely surrounding the student. Students are taught cultural aspects of the Japanese world. Emphasis for learning is placed on practice activities and student interaction. The student is expected to keep a binder with prescribed sections.
Japanese II
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: Japanese I
Level 2 builds knowledge and use of structure and vocabulary of reading, writing, speaking, and listening with an emphasis on student interaction through practice activities. The fundamentals of past, present, and future tenses are taught. Students can strengthen their ability to communicate on topics pertinent to their lives and begin to compare them to those of Japan. Students are expected to maintain a binder with prescribed sections, including journal writing.
Japanese III
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: Japanese II
Level 3 teaches students how to incorporate new vocabulary, tenses, and sentence structures into increasingly original and interesting ways to communicate. Students expand their abilities to read, write, speak, and listen with comprehension to themes including communities at home and abroad, peoples of different backgrounds, selected social and cultural issues, and Japanese art and artists.
Japanese IV
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: Japanese III
Level 4 begins with an intensive review of grammar, followed by a study of the literature and music of Japan with an emphasis on comparison of literary works. Writing, speaking, and listening skills are developed through presentation of information, discussion of personal ideas, and defending points of view. Students are required to maintain a portfolio of their work.
Japanese V
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: Japanese IV
Level 5 begins with a brief review of verb tenses and grammar. Following review, students read, listen to programs, watch films in history and current events, and practice communication by presenting information, discussing personal ideas and defending points of view in speech and in writing. Students are required to conduct in-depth research for one region in Japan and maintain a portfolio.
Spanish I
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: None
Level 1 teaches basic sentence structure and vocabulary for reading, writing, speaking, and listening on topics closely surrounding the student. It also teaches cultural aspects of the Hispanic world. Emphasis for learning is placed on practice activities. The student is expected to maintain a binder with prescribed sections.
Spanish II
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: Spanish I
Level 2 expands knowledge and use of structure and vocabulary of reading, writing, speaking, and listening and teaches fundamentals of past, present, and future tenses. Emphasis is placed on practice activities. Students can strengthen their ability to communicate about topics pertinent to their lives and draw comparisons to other Hispanic countries. Students are expected to maintain a binder with prescribed sections, including one for journal writing.
Spanish III
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: Spanish II
Level 3 teaches students how to incorporate new vocabulary, tenses, and sentence structures into increasingly original and interesting ways to communicate. Students broaden their abilities to read, write, speak, and listen with comprehension to themes including communities at home and abroad, peoples of different backgrounds, selected social and cultural issues, and Hispanic art and artists.
Spanish III Honors
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: Spanish II and teacher recommendation
Level 3 teaches students how to incorporate new vocabulary, tenses, and sentence structures into increasingly original and interesting ways to communicate. Students broaden their abilities to read, write, speak, and listen with comprehension to themes including communities at home and abroad, peoples of different backgrounds, selected social and cultural issues, and Hispanic art and artists. Students also read selected short stories for analysis, discussion, and development of critical thinking.
Spanish IV
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: Teacher recommendation
Level 4 begins with an intensive review of grammar, followed by a study of the literature and music of Hispanic countries to develop reading and listening skills. Writing and speaking skills are developed through presentation of information, discussion of personal ideas, and defending points of view, with an emphasis on making comparisons between literary works. Students are required to maintain a portfolio of their work.
Spanish V
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: Teacher recommendation
Level 5 begins with a brief review of verb tenses and grammar. Following review, students read, listen to programs, and watch films in history and current events. Students also practice and strengthen their communication by presenting information, discussing personal ideas, and defending points of view in speech and in writing. Students are required to conduct in-depth research for one Spanish speaking country and maintain a portfolio.
World Cultures
Term: 2 Semesters
Credit: 1.0
Prerequisites: None
In this course, students develop an understanding of the interplay of world languages, culture, and geography. Students are provided with a new perspective and subsequent insight into their own native language and culture, and an understanding that the ability to appreciate differences of languages affords one access to the wider social, political, and economic world. The course teaches determining factors of location, history, and language in the formation of a people’s culture and cultural identity.