Course description:

In Spanish, students will be introduced to key concepts so that they may be able to exchange greetings, give their identity, talk about themselves and family, be able to have basic conversations and name a number of familiar objects from their immediate environment.  Students will participate in daily activities that practice speaking, reading, writing and listening to achieve communication in the Spanish language.

Essential learning goals:

Learning how to learn a language: 

Students will learn and explore language learning strategies and become familiar with proficiency benchmarks on their language learning journey. They will be encouraged to venture out of their comfort zone, create with language, and make mistakes without risk of penalty. They will learn the importance of making mistakes in order to learn and grow.

Communication:

Interpretive (Reading or listening/viewing) ⇨ What do I understand?

Students will use the Spanish language and cultural knowledge to interpret, analyze, and demonstrate understanding of authentic speech, texts, or media on topics relevant to their lives and broader communities.

Interpersonal (Spontaneous two-way communication) ⇨ How do I communicate with others?

Students use the Spanish language and cultural knowledge to negotiate meaning through the exchange of information, ideas, reactions, feelings, and opinions in spoken or written interactions relevant to their lives and broader communities.

Presentational (Polished writing or speaking) ⇨ How do I present information? 

Students use the Spanish language and cultural knowledge to present information, concepts, and ideas on topics of relevance to their lives and broader communities to inform, explain, and narrate.

Global competence:

Students use cultural knowledge to investigate, compare, explain, interact, and reflect on the relationships between the products, practices, and perspectives of their own and Spanish-speaking cultures. 

Major assessment evidence, including criteria:

This is a standards-based world language class, guided by proficiency benchmarks and assessed on performance tasks within each designed unit. The Spanish Department believes that language acquisition begins with meaningful, language input and is further developed through purposeful practice in real-world contexts. Students will be assessed in their interpretive, interpersonal and presentational skills, which involve reading, listening, speaking, and writing in Spanish. Along the language journey, students will evaluate their own progress by using proficiency guidelines, performance rubrics, and feedback to assess their work. Students are encouraged to reflect upon their growth as language learners and will have the opportunity to level-up their performance on assessments, strengthening their foundation for future success in world language. Assessment criteria will be provided at the introduction of each major assessment.

Key course learning experiences:

• reading, viewing, and listening of authentic and language learning materials

• writing and speaking tasks

• interpersonal conversation

• cultural exploration and projects