Middle School Curriculum

This course introduces students to the language, culture, and grammar of French and French-speaking countries. It covers basic conversation, verbs, grammar, cultural similarities and differences, listening, speaking, and writing in French.

Students learn not only the technical aspects of signing such as technique, vocabulary, and grammar, but also about the culture of the Deaf Community. Students build their vocabulary and learn greetings and expressions.

This course focuses on the fun and practical applications of any language. Technical aspects of any language are covered to improve communication, and cultural aspects are emphasized to promote effective language use and interaction. Students should have background in a world language, or take this concurrently with a language course.

In MS Spanish, students learn the basics of the Spanish language. Students will become skilled in using conversational phrases, including greetings, introductions, and the expression of feelings. Fundamental Spanish grammatical concepts will also be covered. During this course, care will be taken to explain differences and similarities between the English and Spanish languages and hispanophone cultures, preparing them for further study in high school.

Students taking this course will be given tools to effectively study the Mandarin language. Focus is placed on building understanding of the construction of Chinese characters rather than memorizing specific characters themselves. Students will learn pronunciation by studying the proper way to read pinyin, giving them the ability to correctly pronounce all vocabulary they will encounter in the future. Students will also practice looking up the meaning and pronunciation of unfamiliar Chinese words, and how to effectively use resources to translate between English and Mandarin independently.

The purpose of this course is to provide a middle school student with a solid foundation to move forward to high school Latin or any other Romance language. Students engaged in this course will become familiar with the very basics of Latin from pronunciation to parts of speech and declensions.

This course engages students in the basics of the Japanese language and provides them with the opportunity to gain life-long learning skills and prepare for higher education, while allowing them to broaden their foreign language skills. It encourages students to explore themselves and their potential, and to develop a rich and broad understanding of the Japanese language and culture.

This course provides students with an introduction to Italian culture, pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. It immerses students in the foundational understandings of Italian, including where it is spoken, benefits of learning, and connections to other disciplines. By the end of the course, students will be prepared to dive into High School Italian.

MS German introduces students to reading, listening, writing, speaking, and culture in introductory German for a strong foundation for language development. As a result of their time in the course, students are prepared to transition smoothly into HS German.

The objective of this course is to introduce students to the basics of the language and the cultures that speak the language, assuming that the students have minimal or no prior knowledge of the language and culture. It addresses four areas of language development: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Students that complete this course will be prepared for further successful study in high school French with a strong foundation in the language.