This is an advanced level language course that has been designed to help students refine and further develop their proficiency in Japanese through authentic written and audio materials as well as to promote and improve higher level thinking skills. This includes integration of the four language skills reading, speaking, listening and writing. Students will need to integrate skills to either create oral presentations or write essays. The term integrated skills refers to the ability to integrate reading, listening and writing skills by interpreting and synthesizing information from two or three different sources to support and/or defend ideas presented in an essay or oral presentation. The course is conducted entirely in Japanese. In addition, students will also learn about important contemporary and historical issues, significant works of literature and art, cultural aspects of the Japanese cultures, and everyday life, all in preparation for success on the AP Japanese Culture and Language Exam.

 

This course is a continuation of Japanese II, further developing the four skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing in both formal and informal forms. Over 100 new kanji will be learned aiding in better understanding of written language. Honorific and humble forms will be introduced, but pertinent verb forms and grammar structures will be further developed and explored. Upon completing the course, students will have been introduced to all the major structural patterns of contemporary Japanese and will have begun to emphasize vocabulary building through the study of situation oriented materials that stress communicative competence. Intensive practice in speaking, listening, reading, and writing will be conducted.

 

1. Comprehend , draw inferences from, and respond to spoken and written Chinese in a variety of personal, social, and cultural contexts.
2. Use critical thinking skills (e.g., analyzing, comparing, synthesizing, and evaluating) to derive meaning from context.
3. Describe an event or activity in a cohesive and coherent manner with linguistic accuracy.
4. Demonstrate cultural appropriateness through spoken and written discourse.
5. Interact in a variety of situations that pertain to daily life.

1. 1. 1. Use the Pinyin Romanization system to pronounce Chinese correctly with the appropriate tone.
2. Understand the basic Chinese radicals and follow rules of stroke orders for writing Chinese characters
3. Have a general idea of the uniqueness of Chinese grammar (word order, measure words and etc.);
4. Apply a basic working Chinese vocabulary, visually recognize 350 Chinese terms, and write about 200 characters.
5. Conduct a beginning level conversation in Chinese. Topics include exchange of personal information, family structure, profession, place and time, hobbies, scheduling appointments.
6. Write simple, fixed expressions and short sentences on topics given above.

1. Converse in Mandarin Chinese in a culturally appropriate manner about every day topics such as school life, shopping, transportation, weather, dining.
2. Read, write/produce and comprehend a short paragraph, using simple sentences written in Chinese characters.
3. Recognize 400 or more Chinese characters and terms.

This is an advanced level literature course that has been designed to help students interpret and analyze representative works of Peninsular and Latin American literature. This course is comparable to a third-year college introduction to Hispanic Literature course. The class is conducted entirely in Spanish and students are provided with opportunities to read, to discuss, to analyze critically and to write analytical essays about representative works from The Medieval and Golden Age, The Nineteenth Century as well as The Twentieth Century. In addition, students will write comparative essays which discuss thematic differences and similarities between works of art and excerpts from the texts read in class. All of the works included on the official AP Spanish Literature reading list are taught and read during the academic year. No abridged versions or films are used in place of text. This course prepares students for the Advanced Placement Spanish Literature and Culture Exam.

 

 

The Spanish for Spanish Speakers course provides continuing language instruction for students who have developed proficiency in Spanish because it is their first language or is spoken extensively in the home. The course utilizes a language arts approach comparable to that of English courses offered to English-speaking students. It develops all language skills, emphasizing critical reading and writing, as well as the acquisition of academic vocabulary. It provides focused treatment of the culture, literature, and history of the Spanish-speaking world. This course is designed to benefit students of various backgrounds: 1) students born in the U.S. who speak Spanish at home and/or underwent an immersion program, 2) students born in Spanish-speaking countries who have had some formal education in Spanish, 3) students born in Spanish-speaking countries (and speak the target language) whose educational experience has been limited to English.