World Language

Students will develop fundamental skills in ASL vocabulary and grammar to meet basic communication needs. Emphasis is placed on acquisition of both receptive and expressive skills focusing on presentational, interpretive and interpersonal communication. Vocabulary themes include introductions, all about me, school, sports, and activities inside and outside of the home, commands, food and giving directions to a location. In addition to learning the language, students will focus on knowledge of the Deaf community and the development of cultural awareness necessary for communication and interaction. Students will also gain an appreciation for the contributions of Deaf arts and humanities through the introduction of literature, folklore and the history of Deaf culture.

ASL 2 further develops vocabulary and communication with the use of presentational, interpretive and interpersonal communication skills. Students will increase their vocabulary and ability to use it in progressively more complicated structures, reinforcing use of previously learned material. Individual and group expressive and presentational activities will increase the creative use of the language. Some of the vocabulary themes include clothing, descriptions of people, personality traits, your community, making requests, giving advice, occupations and discussing abilities. This course emphasizes developing an understanding of the communication process through the study of culture, history, art, and literature of the Deaf Community.

ASL 3 prepares students for the more advanced structures and communication activities required at the intermediate level. This course is a continuation of the overview of American Sign Language through the study of real-world vocabulary and structures. Students continue to learn more in-depth vocabulary to support communication with deaf individuals using thematic units of study; they also learn how to express abstract concepts in ASL. Course includes receptive and expressive readiness activities, sign vocabulary, ASL grammatical structure, receptive and expressive fingerspelling, conversational behaviors and various aspects of Deaf culture. This course will continue to develop students’ expressive skills in narrative dialogues with increased complexity. This course will encourage vocabulary building and creative language use in ASL. The course will focus on practice of grammar structures, spontaneous dialogues, and exposure to various signing styles through ASL storytelling. 

ASL 4(H) expands on the fluency of American Sign Language (ASL) vocabulary, idioms, manual and nonmanual markers, social aspects of communication and grammar at an advanced level. Students will continue the study of classifiers, formal and informal registry, lexicalized fingerspelling, and abstract concepts in ASL through various thematic units of study. Students will be exposed to more spontaneous dialogues and narratives at a higher level of performance. To better develop students communication skills, this course emphasizes communication including vocabulary usage, language control, communication strategies, and cultural awareness through the target language. Students will learn skills through interaction with others using authentic materials provided in the target language. Introduction to interpreting for the deaf and career pathways in the field of ASL will be introduced.

Spanish 1 begins the development of the four communication skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing with basic vocabulary, grammar, and idiomatic expressions. Oral and written activities, both individual and group, provide practice to develop these skills. Some of the vocabulary themes include personality and physical characteristics, family, school, clothing, food, community places, typical student activities, weather, days, months, numbers, and time. Students learn the conjugation of present tense verbs, the “to be” verbs (ser and estar), common idiomatic expressions like “to have to do something” (tener + que + infinitive) and “to be going to do something” (ir + a + infinitive) and noun /adjective agreement. Students will begin learning past tense verb structures. 

Spanish 2 further develops the four communication skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing with basic vocabulary, grammar, and idiomatic expressions. Students will increase their vocabulary and ability to use it in progressively more complicated structures, reinforcing use of previously learned material. Individual and group oral and written activities increase the creative use of the language. Some of the vocabulary themes include daily routines, travel, dining in a restaurant, childhood and celebrations. Students learn affirmative commands, reflexive verbs, verbs in the past, present perfect, future, and conditional tenses.

Spanish 3 prepares the student for intermediate structures and communication activities required for advanced language study. Reading and writing is more extensive, and the emphasis is on activities that encourage creative use of the language orally and in writing. Grammar studies focus on narration in the past with refinement of the use of the preterit and imperfect tenses. The subjunctive mood is introduced and expanded to include the imperfect subjunctive. Other grammar topics include commands and use of por and para. Vocabulary themes include cooking, childhood, life passages, manners, international travel, careers, health, fitness, and the environment.

The purpose of this course is to increase proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and deepen intercultural competence. In level 4, students will explore the sub-AP themes of personal beliefs, global citizenship, ways of life, social consciousness, discoveries and inventions and language and literature. The curriculum is written for the intermediate proficiency level. Students will be exposed to real-world authentic texts paired with intermediate-level interpersonal and presentational performance tasks and assessments. The course will be conducted 90% in the target language.

This course enables willing and academically prepared students to pursue a college-level Spanish curriculum. The AP Spanish Language course emphasizes communication including vocabulary usage, language control, communication strategies, and cultural awareness. To best facilitate the study of language and culture, the course is taught almost exclusively in Spanish. Students will experience an exploration of culture in both contemporary and historical contexts. Students will prepare for the AP exam as they apply understanding of cultural information contained in a given written text or audio sample as well as their writing skills. Students will develop proficiency in their ability to communicate orally through (conversation and two-minute cultural comparison) as well as in written form (email reply and persuasive essay). There will be a required summer assignment to complete this course.

The A and B portion of AP classes are weighted; the required Seminar portion includes the taking of the AP Spanish exam and is a non-weighted elective credit.