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Course Descriptions
Description: The goals of this beginning course are to teach students to communicate in Spanish and to immerse them in an authentic cultural context.
The basic objectives of Spanish I are to help each student attain equal proficiency in the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing in order to interpret the language within the context of the contemporary Spanish speaking world and its culture. The main focus of this proficiency oriented course is to develop the student's basic communication in Spanish.
In this course the student is introduced to the language and the Spanish and Hispanic world through a variety of techniques which develop communicative competence: everyday situations, conversations, creative face to face dialogues, oral presentations, written exercises and compositions.. The student is introduced to Spanish and Hispanic culture and life through a situational approach and a wide range of media presentations.
Credit: 1
Length of course: 1 year
Text: ¡Dime! Uno D.H. Heath, First edition, 1993
Recommendations: In order to succeed in this course students must have an interest in developing speaking as well as writing skills in the Spanish language.
Description: This course is designed for students who passed successfully Level I Spanish. It reinforces the proficiency oriented approach which focuses upon communicative competence and exposure to an authentic cultural context.
In this course , the student will continue to develop accuracy along a competency continuous that moves them through a grammatically simple sentence phase to a grammatically complex paragraph phase and on to a cohesive composition stage. At the end of this two year program the student is expected to demonstrate at the appropriate level, the communicative skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing in everyday situations.
The main objectives of Spanish II are to engage in conversations dealing with everyday situations, to understand short written passages, to be able to extract specific information from texts such as simple brochures, guides, letters, to carry out writing tasks which might include messages, simple letters, short compositions and to show an awareness of the culture of the Spanish-Hispanic world through multi-media presentations.
Credit: 1
Length of course: 1 year
Text: ¡Dime! Dos D.C. Heath, First edition, 1994
Prerequisites: Spanish I or the equivalent with a "C+" average and teacher recommendation.
Recommendations: In order to succeed in this course students must have a strong desire to use Spanish as a mean of communication.
Description: This level designed for students who have successfully completed a two year program in Spanish and need further preparation for the IB/AP program.
The main objectives of this course are to increase the student's language proficiency (i.e. their ability to use Spanish for communication) and to build the students' language fluency (i.e. the ease and confidence with which they use Spanish for self-expression). With a focus on language real -life contexts, this program teaches Spanish in a communicative focus on cultural readings.
Credits: 1
Length of course: 1 year
Text: Spanish For Mastery Situaciones, Level 3, D.C. Heath, First edition, 1992
Prerequisites: Spanish II or the equivalent and teacher recommendation
Recommendations: In order to succeed in this course, students must have a strong desire to expand the skill level in the language.
Description: In this intermediate level designed for students who have successfully completed a two year program in Spanish, the use of the acquired structures is intensified and the creative process of the language is developed. Students will learn to carry out a variety of high frequency communicative tasks ranging from basic communication to more complex functions such as telling a story, stating and supporting opinion, and hypothesizing. This level strengthens and refines the student's skills in structural and lexical competence, compositions, essay writing and communicative performance.
The main objectives of this course are:
- to refine the student's proficiency in the manipulation of the more complex skills in Foreign Language learning: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
- to intensify the creative process in language expression.
- to immerse the student in authentic language and media presentations.
- to prepare the student for the analysis of integral texts in Literature and Life and Civilization topics.
Credits: 1 credit
Length of course: 1 year
Text: !Dime! Tres, D.C. Heath, First edition, 1995
De Aqui y de Alla, D.C. Heath
Literary selection: Articles from newspapers and magazine in Spanish.
Prerequisites: Spanish II or the equivalent with a "C+" average or better and teacher recommendation.
Recommendations: In order to succeed in this course, students must have a strong desire to take responsibility for extra readings and preparatory work independently.
Description: In this advanced course designed for students who have successfully completed a three-year program in Spanish, special emphasis is placed on perfecting the student's comprehensive skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Communicative competence and refinement of writing skills, knowledge and use of complex structural and lexical expression, essay writing, and comprehension of authentic documents and media programs are also stressed in this level.
The main objectives of this course are
- to reinforce the acquired advanced grammatical and linguistic bases of the language.
- to strengthen the student's lexical competence in language and idiomatic forms.
- to immerse the student in authentic documents on Spanish language, culture and civilization.
- to develop the student's ability in the critical oral and written analysis of integral literary texts.
- to refine the student's critical thinking, reading abilities and writing skills.
A multi-media instructional approach is a special feature of this advanced course.
Students who have successfully completed the requirements of this course will sit for either the Advanced Placement and/or the IB Subsidiary level examinations.
Credits: 1 credit
Length of course: 1 year
Texts: !Al Tanto ! Part 1, David Mee and Mike T. Amsco, Grammar review, Robert J. Nasi, 2nd. edition, 1988. Spanish 3 Year.
Literary selection:Articles from magazines and newspapers.
Prerequisites: Spanish IB III or the equivalent with a "C+" average or better and teacher recommendation.
Recommendations: In order to succeed in this course, students must have a strong desire to take responsibility for extra reading and preparatory work independently.
Description: An advanced Spanish Language, Literature and Civilization course designed for students who have successfully completed a four year program in Spanish. This course stresses writing skills, text analysis, critical thinking as well as communicative competence and performance.
The main objectives of this course are:
- to reinforce the acquired linguistic structures and to expand the student's lexical competence.
- to expose the student to authentic samples and documents of Spanish language, culture and civilization.
- to familiarize the student with the techniques of literary text analysis in both the oral and written forms.
- to promote the student's critical thinking, reading abilities and creative writing.
Students who have successfully completed the requirements of this course will sit for either the Advanced Placement and/or the IB Higher level examinations.
Credits: 1 credit
Length of course: 1 year
Texts: !Al Tanto ! Part 2, David M. and Mike T.Literary selection: Album, Valette Valette. Articles from newspapers and magazines.
Prerequisites: Spanish IV or the equivalent with a "C+" average or better and teacher recommendation.
Recommendation: In order to succeed in this course, students must have a strong desire to take responsibility for extra readings and preparatory work independently.