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The Foreign Language Department at Bishop Kelly High School seeks to broaden its student’s perspectives of the world by promoting interest in other people and cultures and teaching skills leading to proficiency in foreign languages.
Accordingly, foreign language students at Bishop Kelly will be guided toward mastery of listening comprehension, speaking, reading and writing of the studied languages. They will be taught to use foreign languages appropriately in different cultural contexts while being exposed to the history, art, music, literature and other significant aspects of the target cultures. Students will be provided with opportunities to reflect on their own culture and how it relates to the rest of the world. Additionally, foreign language students at Bishop Kelly will be taught that there are moral responsibilities that extend beyond individual communities.
FRENCH I -Two Semesters
Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12
This course will provide an introduction to the basic structures of the French language with an emphasis on initial vocabulary and verbs. The goals of understanding and speaking the language will be emphasized, with stress also given to putting the learned language structures together in the form of simple compositions and oral presentations. During the main part of the class period the target language will itself be used as the medium of instruction; with summaries given and questions answered in English at the beginning and the end of each class. The basic geography of France will be studied to initiate the student into a cultural awareness of daily life in France and other French-speaking areas of the world.
FRENCH II -Two Semesters
Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12
Prerequisite: French I or Counselor Approval
This course will continue the introductory structures presented in the first level and build on them to increase fluency in speaking and writing French. More detailed grammar structure will be presented as students are encouraged to express themselves in the target language while they are in the classroom. An emphasis will be placed on refinement of pronunciation skills as students ask questions and do oral presentations in French. The target language will be used for all classroom activities and instruction, with English explanations given at the end. Studies of the various regions of France will be done to increase the students’ knowledge of the French culture.
FRENCH III -Two Semesters
Grade Levels: 10, 11, 12
Prerequisite: French II or Counselor Approval
Students at this level will use their increased skills to listen to and relate stories, explanations of language structure, and descriptions of lives and activities of their classmates and react in French. As a continuation of the classroom procedures of the previous years, instruction will be done in the target language. Beyond the study of culture in daily life a certain amount of literature, philosophy and history will be studied, in addition to an introduction into the work of well-known French artists.
FRENCH IV/V -Two Semesters
Grade Levels: 10, 11, 12
Prerequisite: French III or Counselor Approval
This course will have the student read a wide-range of material in French, including articles, journals, poems and novels and interpret them in short papers written in the target language. Instructional materials will change on alternate years in order to allow students at level 5 to take the class a second year. Further study will be done of French language and structure as a continuation of that learned in the prior years. French will continue to be the language of instruction and discussion, and students will express themselves with a growing fluency to keep the flow of instruction in the target language.
JAPANESE I -Two Semesters
Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12
The goals of this introductory course in Japanese are to create a strong foundation of the spoken language and introduce Japanese culture. In addition to communication, students will be introduced to the three Japanese writing components: students will learn to recognize and write hiragana, the Japanese syllabary and simple kanji (Chinese characters) and katakana will be introduced for recognition. Common rituals necessary for socially correct manners used in daily interactions will be roughly practiced. The history, geography and culture of Japan will be introduced throughout the year.
JAPANESE II -Two Semesters
Grade Levels: 10, 11, 12
Prerequisite: Japanese I or Counselor Approval
Students will continue learning their vocabulary and begin to utilize more developed speech patterns. The first semester, students will be taught how to write and properly use katakana. Throughout the year the students will expand their ability to recognize and read kanji. Students will be expected to “live the language” both as it plays out in classroom dynamics and as it is required by text and routine conversational patterns.
JAPANESE III -Two Semesters
Grade Levels: 11, 12
Prerequisite: Japanese II or Counselor Approval
This course will emphasize development of conversational proficiency through the expansion of vocabulary and refinement of pattern usage. The three tiers of communication (honorific, polite and simple) will be emphasized. At the conclusion of the year, students will be able to recognize over 300 kanji. Japanese literature, art and architecture will be drawn on to enhance the language experience.
JAPANESE IV -Two Semesters
Grade Level: 12
Prerequisite: Japanese III or Counselor Approval
Students will continue to learn and build on kanji and vocabulary. By the end of the year students will know 350 base kanji. In addition to kanji, students will learn how to communicate in the keigo (honorific) form. Students will assimilate previous knowledge with more sophisticated sentence structures. Culturally, students will investigate and analyze the World War II Japanese experience, cultural arts and haiki.
LATIN I -Two Semesters
Grade Level: 9, 10, 11, 12
Latin I will provide an introduction to the basic structures of the Latin language. This course will emphasize Latin vocabulary and grammar as well as link Latin vocabulary to the English language. Students will be introduced to the basic structures of the language through drills and practices in all language areas. They will acquire knowledge of the geography of ancient Rome, and Roman history and culture will be integrated as part of the Latin I curriculum. Regular evaluations will be given, and this course will prepare students for the first year National Latin Exam.
LATIN II -Two Semesters
Grade Level: 10, 11, 12
Prerequisite: Latin I
Latin II will focus on the four main areas related to the learning of language: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This course will continually reinforce first year skills. Students will translate Latin sentences, paragraphs and short stories, and will also compose Latin writings using proper spelling, grammar, syntax, and style. Students will acquire and recognize common Latin words and phases used in medicine, law, science, and other disciplines as well as build a repertoire of Latin phrases, mottoes and quotations used today. Students will continue to learn about the geography of Ancient Rome, Roman history and culture and will create a research paper and presentation about one aspect of classical Roman history or culture. This course will prepare students to take the second year National Latin Exam.
LATIN III -Two Semesters
Grade Levels: 11, 12
Pre-requisite: Latin II
This course will build on the vocabulary and grammatical concepts learned in the first two years of Latin study. Students will read and translate excerpts from Caesar, Cicero, Ovid, and Augustine. They will also read and translate several
pieces of early Christian Latin literature. In addition, students will develop original Latin compositions and will continue to further their knowledge of classical Roman history and culture. This course will prepare students to take the third year National Latin Exam.
SPANISH I -Two Semesters
Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12
As a student's first encounter with Spanish, this course will be an exposure to the basics of the structure and pronunciation of the language through a focus on vocabulary development. Listening comprehension and speaking skills will be highlighted. Geography, history and other cultural topics of the Hispanic world will be introduced as part of language development.
SPANISH II -Two Semesters
Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12
Prerequisite: Spanish I or Counselor Approval
This course will continue to build on the foundation developed during the first year of study of the Spanish language. Emphasis will be placed on vocabulary development, oral comprehension and speaking. Students will be challenged through additional reading and writing activities and will explore a variety of cultural topics. They will be expected to use Spanish in the classroom and, by the end of the school year, they will have been exposed to present, past and simple future constructions.
SPANISH III -Two Semesters
Grade Levels: 10, 11, 12
Prerequisite: Spanish II or Counselor Approval
Students will be exposed to more sophisticated vocabulary and sentence structure in this course, and will use present, past and future tenses with more ease. While continuously reinforcing their oral skills, students will devote more time writing and reading in Spanish. Their readings will include articles, poems, essays and short stories. They will be expected to write dialogues, stories, essays and articles. Students will be exposed to the art, history, geography and culture of Spain and South America.
SPANISH IV -Two Semesters
Grade Levels: 10, 11, 12
Prerequisite: Spanish III or Counselor Approval
This course will continue the work of Spanish III and fine-tune a student's oral proficiency. They will be expected to use Spanish in a variety of new and more complex situations. Time will be devoted to developing writing skills and the course will also cultivate reading skills through the use of short stories, comics, and articles. Students will also continue to pursue greater cultural understanding of the Spanish-speaking world.
AP SPANISH -Two Semesters
Grade Levels: 10, 11, 12
Prerequisite: Spanish IV or Counselor Approval
Continuing the master of the grammatical structures of Spanish, students will be called upon to perfect their skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening. They will be exposed to a wide range of literature representative of the Hispanic world and will be called upon to display a high level of proficiency in its interpretation. The course will contain material which will be selected to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Examination in the spring of the year – should they choose to do so.
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