Italian Cohort
ITALIAN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE COHORT*
The Italian Language and Culture Cohort is only open to current students who have successfully completed Italian 1 in the 2023-2024 school year. The purpose of the cohort is to provide opportunities for students to become proficient in Italian and develop a deep appreciation for the Italian language and culture. Students who have an interest in the visual and performing arts will find that this program complements those areas of study. The Italian Language and Culture cohort differs from traditional world languages study because all students begin their study together in 2023-2024 and finish the program upon graduation. For example, grade 9 students will complete a full four years of Italian language and culture; grade 10 students will complete three years of study; grade 11 students will satisfy the Canton High School graduation requirement of two years of world languages. Through community sponsorship, the program has guaranteed funding of one Italian class per year for a total of four years (2023-2027). Here are the individual course offerings for the next four years:
2024-2025 Italian 2
2025-2026 Italian 3
2026-2027 Italian 4
After the four-year cohort, the Italian Language and Culture program will be evaluated and it will be determined whether the program will continue as a cohort, as part of regular world languages programming at Canton High School, or will be discontinued.
*A cohort is an educational model in which a group of students begins their study together and is expected to remain together for the duration of the program. Students in this program do not move in and out of the program. Rather, they stay with the same group of people as they progress through the different classes in the program.
Course Descriptions:
Course Name: Italian 2
Course # 466
Level: CP
Grade Level: 9-12
Credits: 6
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Italian 1 (C- or better) or teacher recommendation
Beginning of Course Proficiency: Novice Mid (N-3)/Novice High (N-4)
End of Course Proficiency Target: Intermediate Low (I-1)
Italian 2 College Preparatory (CP) is designed for students who have successfully met the Novice Mid (N-3) or Novice High (N-4) proficiency goals of Italian 1. Through real-life performance-based tasks, students gain proficiency in interpersonal speaking and writing; interpretive listening and reading; and presentational writing and speaking. Up-to-date authentic readings, video and audio texts, digital realia, and collaborative technologies enhance the student-centered experience. Thematic units allow students to gain a greater appreciation of diverse cultural practices of the Italian world and use the language in context. Students expand their ability to communicate about familiar topics using sentences and begin to use more than one time frame. The Italian 2 CP class is taught in Italian. Students are expected to review and study vocabulary on a regular basis.
Course Name: Italian 2
Course # 467
Level: H
Grade Level: 9-12
Credits: 6
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Italian 1 H (B- or better) or teacher recommendation.
Beginning of Course Proficiency: Intermediate Low (I-1)
End of Course Proficiency Target: Intermediate Mid (I-3)
Italian 2 Honors (H) is an accelerated course designed for students who have successfully met the proficiency goals of Italian 1 H and are starting to work at the Intermediate Low (I-1) level. Students expand their ability to communicate about familiar topics using a variety of questions, well-connected sentences, and a few time frames. Through real-life performance-based tasks, students gain proficiency in interpersonal speaking and writing; interpretive listening and reading; and presentational writing and speaking. Up-to-date authentic visual and audio texts, realia, and collaborative technologies enhance the student-centered experience. Thematic units allow students to gain a greater appreciation of diverse cultural practices of the Italian world and use the language in context. The class is conducted entirely in Italian. Students’ home study and regular class participation in the target language are essential for success. Students are expected to speak, write, read, and listen to authentic texts on a range of daily topics at the intermediate level. Students should feel comfortable using Italian and initiating conversations in Italian with their teacher and their peers.