Dear Student and Parents/Guardians,
¡Bienvenidos a Español 4! (Welcome to Spanish 4) I look forward to being your teacher this semester as you continue studying the Spanish language. It may seem a bit intimidating to learn a new language or get deeper into it, but I hope to make your experience a good one. You will need to keep up with your homework assignments, listen and participate in class, as well as open up your mind to learn about the many different countries and cultures that speak Spanish. Keeping up with your work on a daily basis is essential to your success in this class. Do not forget to take notes! This is VERY helpful when studying at home.
The Level IV language course focuses on the continued development of communicative competence in the target language and understanding of the culture(s) of the people who speak the language. It assumes that the students have completed a Level III course or are at a Novice-High to IntermediateLow level of proficiency. During this course, most students should move into the Intermediate level of proficiency. They gain confidence in recombining learned material of the language, creating in the language to express their own thoughts, interacting with other speakers of the language, understanding oral and written messages in the foreign language, and making oral and written presentations in the target language. They are exposed to more complex features of the language, moving from concrete to more abstract concepts. Students are able to understand material presented on a variety of topics related to contemporary events and issues in the target culture(s). Because students may begin formal language learning at various stages of development, teachers must adjust vocabulary and content to reflect developmentally appropriate interests. This course may be taught over one year (e.g., traditional high school programs) or during one semester (e.g., 4 x 4 block schedule). An important component of language classes is the use of the language beyond the classroom in the real world. The integration of technology is an important tool in accessing authentic information in the target language and in providing students the opportunity to interact with native speakers. By the end of Level IV, students will exhibit Intermediate-Low level proficiency in speaking and writing and Interme