W O R L D L A N G U A G E S Life in a global community has heightened awareness as to the value of and the need for effective communication in two or more languages. The World Languages Department believes that everyone must be prepared to meet the challenges of a diverse and changing world. We believe that the study of world languages enhances one s appreciation of the unique contributions of other cultures - their history, art, music, and literature. We believe that language study strengthens the understanding of one s native language and introduces opportunities to expand one s horizons. Recommended: 3 or 4 year sequence in one language Required: 2 consecutive years in one language WORLD LANGUAGES French I French I Spanish I Spanish I Mandarin I French II French II Spanish II Spanish II Mandarin II French III French III IB/ Spanish III Spanish III IB/ Mandarin III French IV French IV IB/ Spanish IV Spanish IV IB/ Mandarin IV Term Electives: Intro to Italian Please note: There is mobility among the,, and IB Levels based on teacher and/or department recommendations. 47
Why study French? Did you know that French is the 2 nd most commonly taught language in the world? French is the 2 nd most used language on the Internet? French is the largest donor of foreign words in English such as déjà vu, denim, cassette, restaurant, clarinet, and ballet? French is spoken in 43 countries on 5 continents? French is the official working language of the U.N, the International Red Cross and the International Olympic Committee?...there are 2,400 U.S. companies in France?...French is the official 2 nd language of Canada?...French is the language of cuisine, fashion, architecture, theatre, arts, and dance? Did you know that Why study Spanish? over 35 million people in the U.S. (roughly 10% of the population) speak Spanish? employers in almost every field are looking for applicants who can speak Spanish? Spanish is one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn because of the similarities to English and the rules of pronunciation?...spanish influence on place names, food and music appears throughout the U.S.? learning Spanish opens the door to other Romance languages such as French and Italian? Spanish is spoken in more than 20 countries, is the 4 th most spoken language in the world, and is an official language of many international organizations? Did you know that... Why study Mandarin? Mandarin is the most widely spoken language in the world? learning Mandarin enables you to explore one of the most ancient cultures of the world?... it is much easier to develop business relationships with China if you can speak Mandarin?... China is expanding its online presence which makes knowing Mandarin extremely useful for online communication? many Americans are currently working in China and the importance of Mandarin in the workplace is increasing? Mandarin is spoken in both China and Singapore?... Mandarin is an official language of the United Nations? LEVEL 1 FRENCH 1 COLLEGE PREP #5001 Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Pack your bags. you are about to embark on an exciting adventure of learning a new language! Once on board you will day, and discuss food and places in the city. Along the way you will learn grammar structures needed for conversation at this level such as verb conjugations in the present tense, adjective agreement, asking and answering questions and using numbers to tell the date and time. And of course, on your voyage you have to eat and celebrate holidays! Bon voyage et bienvenue! 48
SPANISH 1 COLLEGE PREP #5101 Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Pack your bags... you are about to embark on an exciting adventure of learning a new language! Once on board you will day, and discuss pastimes and sports. Along the way you will learn grammar structures needed for conversation at this level such as verb conjugations in the present tense, adjective agreement, asking and answering questions and using numbers to tell the date and time. And of course, on your voyage you have to eat, celebrate holidays and find out interesting information about the culture of Spanish-speaking communities! Buen viaje y bienvenidos! MANDARIN 1 COLLEGE PREP (will not fulfill an IB language requirement) #5201 Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Pack your bags you are about to embark on an exciting adventure of learning a new language! Once on board you will be introduced to Chinese culture, customs, traditions, history, art, music, food, and daily life. You will be exposed to the basic knowledge about Mandarin such as Pinyin, the five tones, pronunciation, and strokes. You will build essential vocabulary and simple word groups for day to day situations such as greetings, introducing people, discussing family, and talking about school activities. You will also learn basic grammatical structures and patterns for forming simple sentences to help you converse and write at this level. You will have numerous opportunities to attend activities in and out of school to practice your listening and speaking skills while experiencing Chinese culture and customs. Huanying! French or Spanish 1 The level is designed for serious and exceptionally talented language students who are capable of learning at an accelerated pace. You will regularly work beyond the minimum requirements as you focus on speaking in the target language. FRENCH 1 MPS PRE IB/HONORS #5002 Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: Student must be in an IB/ English class Pack your bags.you are about to embark on an exciting adventure of learning a new language! Once on board you will day, and discuss food and places in the city. Along the way you will learn grammar structures needed for conversation at this level such as verb conjugations in the present tense, adjective agreement, asking and answering questions and using numbers to tell the date and time. And of course, on your voyage you have to eat and celebrate holidays! Bon voyage et bienvenue! SPANISH 1 MPS PRE IB/HONORS #5102 Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: Student must be in an IB/ English class Pack your bags... you are about to embark on an exciting adventure of learning a new language! Once on board you will day, and discuss pastimes and sports. Along the way you will learn grammar structures needed for conversation at this level such as verb conjugations in the present tense, adjective agreement, asking and answering questions and using numbers to tell the date and time. And of course, on your voyage you have to eat, celebrate holidays and find out interesting information about the culture of Spanish-speaking communities! Buen viaje y bienvenidos! 49
LEVEL 2 FRENCH 2 COLLEGE PREP #5003 Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: French 1 Your linguistic voyage continues in France and Canada, where you will learn the ins and outs of international travel. You will learn vocabulary to help you navigate through the airports, train stations and hotels of the Francophone world. You will be able to discuss pastimes and sports, talk about clothing, shopping and celebrations, and you will be able to describe your home and chores. Your study of grammar continues as you learn how to talk about things that happened in the past and discover how to use various pronouns and adjectives. Allons-y! SPANISH 2 COLLEGE PREP #5103 Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: Spanish 1 The adventure continues! As you continue on your linguistic journey this year, you will learn how to talk about vacations and traveling, be able to describe the weather, talk about clothing and shopping, describe your daily routine, and discuss food, parties and other celebrations. Your study of grammar continues as you learn how to use reflexive verbs, talk about things that happened in the past, and discover how to use various pronouns and adjectives. Our travels will take us all around the Spanish-speaking world, from the islands of Puerto Rico and Cuba to the South American countries of Peru and Chile. Vamos! French, Spanish, or Mandarin 2 The honors level is designed for serious and exceptionally talented language students who regularly work beyond the minimum requirements and who are capable of learning at an accelerated pace. This course is required for students pursuing the IB diploma or certificate in French or Spanish. In this course you will continue to advance in the four areas of language acquisition, i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing. You will be encouraged to speak as much of the target language in the classroom as possible. FRENCH 2 MPS PRE IB/HONORS #5004 Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: French 1 and teacher recommendation Your linguistic voyage continues in France and Canada, where you will learn the ins and outs of international travel. You will learn vocabulary to help you navigate through the airports, train stations and hotels of the Francophone world. You will be able to discuss pastimes and sports, talk about clothing, shopping and celebrations, and you will be able to describe your home and chores. Your study of grammar continues as you learn how to talk about things that happened in the past and discover how to use various pronouns and adjectives. Allons-y! SPANISH 2 MPS PRE IB/HONORS #5104 Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: Spanish 1 and teacher recommendation The adventure continues! As you continue on your linguistic journey this year, you will learn how to talk about vacations and traveling, be able to describe the weather, talk about clothing and shopping, describe your daily routine, and discuss food, parties and other celebrations. Your study of grammar continues as you learn how to use reflexive verbs, talk about things that happened in the past, and discover how to use various pronouns and adjectives. Our travels will take us all around the Spanish-speaking world, from the islands of Puerto Rico and Cuba to the South American countries of Peru and Chile. Vamos! 50
MANDARIN 2 HONORS (will not fulfill an IB language requirement) #5204 Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation Your Mandarin experience continues as you reinforce the five tones, pronunciation, and strokes. You will learn higher level vocabulary and many idiomatic expressions. As you are introduced to new vocabulary you will learn the necessary structures and patterns for forming more complicated, compound sentences. You will write essays using the structures and vocabulary you have learned. This course will give you the tools to improve your understanding, speaking, reading, and writing of Mandarin, a language rich in tradition. You will have numerous opportunities to attend activities in and out of school to practice your listening and speaking skills while experiencing Chinese culture and customs. LEVEL 3 FRENCH 3 COLLEGE PREP #5005 Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: French 2 and teacher recommendation You will be missed if you don t stay on the train of French learning you ve barely just begun your journey! As you continue your study of the past tenses, you will learn how to describe yourself and your childhood experiences using the imperfect tense. You will learn vocabulary for topics such as food preparation, technology, city life and driving. You will begin to talk about the future and your future plans and professions. Along the way, you will learn the grammatical structures necessary to help you communicate. By the end of this 3rd year, you will be able to say, write, and understand so much more than you can now, so don't let this train leave without you. En voiture! SPANISH 3 COLLEGE PREP #5105 Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: Spanish 2 and teacher recommendation Let s go to Costa Rica, Argentina, Panama and Colombia! As you begin the year you will continue your study of the preterite tense then learn how to describe your childhood experiences and be able to tell what you were like as a child using the imperfect tense. You will be able to describe your home, discuss your chores and other responsibilities, as well as learn how to give commands. Along the way, you will learn vocabulary for technology and be able to discuss the environment, nature and ecology. You will be introduced to other necessary grammatical structures as you increase both your written and oral abilities, so don t let this train leave without you! Todos a bordo! French, Spanish, or Mandarin 3 The focus of this course is the acquisition of a wide range of vocabulary and the study of advanced grammatical topics. As you continue to perfect your abilities in the four areas of language acquisition you will write longer essays, carry on discussions and read literary excerpts. You are expected to speak only the target language in class. The course is intended for students who plan to sit for the IB exam and for those students who are able to pursue the language at an accelerated rate. FRENCH 3 IB/HONORS #5006 Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: French 2 and teacher recommendation You will be missed if you don t stay on the train of French learning you ve barely just begun your journey! As you continue your study of the past tenses, you will learn how to describe yourself and your childhood experiences using the imperfect tense. You will learn vocabulary for topics such as food preparation, technology, city life, driving, and the environment. You will learn new verb tenses to help you more fully express yourself in the present and future and you will greatly add to your existing base of knowledge about other grammatical structures. You will have the experience of developing oral presentations, both recorded and before your peers, giving you new confidence to speak as well as write the language. A particular emphasis will be placed upon IB oral work. Join us on this continuing French voyage and reserve your seat without delay. En voiture! 51
SPANISH 3 IB/HONORS #5106 Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: Spanish 2 and teacher recommendation Let s go to Costa Rica, Argentina, Panama and Colombia! As you begin the year you will learn how to describe your childhood experiences and be able to tell what you were like as a child using the imperfect tense. You will be able to describe your home, discuss your chores and other responsibilities, as well as learn how to give commands. Along the way, you will learn vocabulary for technology and be able to discuss the environment, nature and ecology. You will be introduced to necessary grammatical structures such as relative pronouns and por versus para and you will begin to learn about the subjunctive mood. As you progress in your study of Spanish, you will write several essays and prepare presentations in order to increase both your written and oral abilities. Don t let this train leave without you! Todos a bordo! MANDARIN 3 HONORS (will not fulfill an IB language requirement) #5206 Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: Mandarin 2 and teacher recommendation As you continue on your journey, you will add increasingly higher level vocabulary, word groups, phrases, and idiomatic expressions. You will improve your understanding of sentence structure and vocabulary patterns and you will have a better ability to converse based on your improved listening and speaking skills. Your writing skills will improve and you will have the ability to express your thoughts on a more academic level as you are able to form more complex sentences in Mandarin based on higher level syntax and grammar. Much of your writing will now be in Chinese characters rather than Pinyin and you will be able to read and analyze articles from various forms of media. If you are interested, you will be at a point where you can begin preparing for the HSK test which is required of non-chinese speakers interested in applying to Chinese universities. LEVEL 4 FRENCH 4 COLLEGE PREP #5007 Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: French 3 and teacher recommendation Don t let the train of French learning leave without you! Your journey isn t finished yet, as you are about to embark upon the best part of the voyage: putting together your three years of language study and being amazed at what you can do with your French. By the end of this 4 th year you can expect to have a basic working command of the language (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) if you are willing to commit to this goal. You will be surrounded by classmates who are continuing this journey and want to learn with you. In addition to perfecting your French pronunciation and knowledge of grammatical structures, you will learn the culture and vocabulary of accidents and hospital treatment, of staying in a hotel, of riding on the public transportation system in Paris (the famous metro), and of living in a city or in the country. Hop on board we don t want to leave without you Allons-y! SPANISH 4 COLLEGE PREP #5107 Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: Spanish 3 and teacher recommendation Felicitaciones! Congratulations! You made it! You begin with an intense review of the grammar you have learned so far. You will visit Mexico, Costa Rica and Ecuador. You will continue to talk about the past and describe childhood experiences. You will discuss outdoor activities, nature, the environment and ecology. You will make future plans, predictions and talk about how you would solve problems. You will discuss jobs and professions as you prepare for an interview and then interview for a job. You will learn to tell what someone has or had done. You will write several essays and prepare oral presentations. By the end of the fourth year you will have a basic command of Spanish in all four language skills: listening, talking, reading and writing. Vamos! 52
French or Spanish 4 In this course the students will continue to develop proficiency in the areas targeted in third year. This course is required for students seeking an IB diploma or an IB certificate. You will learn strategies for taking the IB exam in May. You will be exposed to a wide range of reading sources, be expected to write higher level essays and be able deliver oral presentations in the target language. FRENCH 4 IB/HONORS #5008 Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: French 3 IB/H and teacher recommendation The final part of your journey through the Francophone world is about to begin. You have climbed the Alps and you are equipped with a solid knowledge of grammar, reading and writing skills, and you have the ability to express yourself. Let s apply and perfect your skills. As your train travels through the south of France on its way to Paris, you will visit and discuss the world of Van Gogh, Degas, and Monet among others. You will attend the theater to see Les Miserables and no trip can be complete without the cinema and an opportunity to contrast and compare French films. Along the way you cannot forget to enter the imaginary world of Le Petit Prince for a discussion about friendship and you will want to write an original fable after reading some of Les Fables of La Fontaine. Your journey will culminate with successful preparation for the IB French certificate and wonderful memories of an amazing French voyage! Allons-y! SPANISH 4 IB/HONORS #5108 Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: Spanish 3 IB/H and teacher recommendation As your journey through Mercyhurst comes to an end you will spend some time looking back and then looking forward. We begin with an intense review of the grammar you have learned so far. You will reflect upon what you were like in kindergarten and compare yourself to how you are now. You will look forward to the future as we talk about graduation. You will role play attending a graduation party where you will offer a toast to the graduate. After discussing the best major for you in college, you will proceed to the job market. Your linguistic ability will allow you to write a resume, fill out a job application and participate in the interview process. During the course of the year you will write several essays and compose oral presentations as you prepare for the IB Spanish exam in May. Vamos! MANDARIN 4 HONORS (will not fulfill an IB language requirement) #5208 Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Prerequisite: Mandarin 3 and teacher recommendation As your journey nears the end, you will continue to add increasingly higher level vocabulary, word groups, phrases and idiomatic expressions. Your sentences will include a more complex use of prepositions, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions and transition words and you will continue to write in Chinese characters rather than Pinyin. You will have improved your writing, reading, listening and speaking skills to such a point that you will be prepared, should you desire, to take the first level of the Chinese language proficiency test (HSK). WORLD LANGUAGE ELECTIVES INTRODUCTION TO ITALIAN - COLLEGE PREP #5301 Sophomore, Junior, Senior.33 credit Term course Would you like to order something at an Italian restaurant and be able to pronounce it correctly and know exactly what you are eating? Would you like to arrive at the airport in Rome and know what to do, what to say and where to go? Come and spend a term in Intro to Italian and we ll give to you the tools that you will need to comfortably get around and communicate in the land of amore! There will be an emphasis on speaking and translating in the present tense as well as on the vocabulary which will be the most useful in the area of travel. Come on...let s go! Andiamo! LATIN I (online course) #8531 Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior 1.00 credit Yearlong Please see distance learning listing for course description. 53