World Languages
Course Offerings
French
German
Latin
641 Latin 4 H / 642 Latin 4 ACP / 651 Latin 5 H / 653 Latin 5 ACP (*needs a course number)
Mandarin Chinese
Spanish
560A Beginning Spanish A ACP NOT OFFERED IN 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR.
579 Spanish for Heritage Speakers: Nuestra Iberoamérica H / 578 Spanish for Heritage Speakers: Nuestra Iberoamérica ACP NOT OFFERED IN 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR.
577 Spanish for Heritage Speakers 2: Nuestras Raíces H / 576 Spanish for Heritage Speakers 2: Nuestras Raíces
Department Information
Language is a major academic area with each course earning six credits per year. The department offers French, German, Latin, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish.
Students who are interested in the Massachusetts Seal of Biliteracy should consider studying a language through their senior year.
All four-year state universities in Massachusetts require a minimum of two years of high school foreign language study or the equivalent for entrance. In addition, many colleges and universities nationwide have similar entrance requirements as well as a requirement of language study or proficiency for graduation. Some institutions give college credit or exempt students from degree requirements in languages for demonstrated proficiency in high school courses.
Language courses stress a proficiency approach, with emphasis on the context and purpose of communication through the three modes: Interpersonal (Two-way, unrehearsed communication between individuals); Interpretive (One-way communication using receptive skills of listening and reading); and Presentational (One-way communication using productive skills of speaking and writing).
The target language is the language of instruction and primary means of communication in modern language courses, especially years 2 through 5. Latin courses also deal with oral aspects of the language, but greater stress is on reading, grammar, and vocabulary development.
Due to the emphasis on proficiency modern languages, performance assessments count for the majority of a student's grade.
Students may continue in a sequential course with a C- or above; however, a grade of B or better is recommended when planning to move on to the next year of study. A grade of D+ or lower would indicate significant gaps in content knowledge and language skills. Students earning a D+ or lower need to pass a placement exam at the end of August in order to continue on to the next level of study. Parents will be contacted by email if a student is in danger of earning a D+ or lower. Parents should contact the department head with any questions.
All courses are full-year, 6 credit courses.
Year One and Two Courses
French, German, Latin, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish (Year 1 and Year 2) classes are open to all students in grades 9 to 12. Each provides an introduction to the language and culture. Students in all year 1 and 2 languages are heterogeneously grouped.
Rising 9th graders who successfully completed 8th grade language course at WMS must enroll in Year 2. Students who successfully completed the 8th grade language course may not register for year 1 of that language at WHS without prior approval from their language teacher and the department head.
By the end of year-two courses in modern languages, students are expected to demonstrate intermediate-low performance in the three modes of communication: interpretive skills, presentational, and interpersonal. Aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for World Languages, we aim for 90%+ target language use in the classroom (The target language is the language of study).
Latin: Latin students are engaged in the essential grammatical concepts of Classical Latin as written and spoken during the first century B.C.E. and are exposed to the major cultural and historical events of this most tumultuous and important segment of Roman history. This is accomplished through a clever presentation of a reconstructed life of the Roman lyric poet known as Horace. As they progress through the course, students are expected to demonstrate the understanding and application of linguistic concepts, derivatives and root words through exact translations (Latin to English and English to Latin) within the cultural and historical contexts studied. In the second-year of Latin, students are expected to read and translate with greater sophistication and to demonstrate control and application of the ever-widening range of grammatical forms and concepts studied during the course. Passages from the writings of Caesar, epigrams of Martial, and the original Latin of other authors are read, often at sight, as introductions to the substance and spirit of Latin literature.
Combined Levels: The majority of our courses in the department are offered at the Advanced College Preparatory and Honors levels within the same section. Students can make the selection of their preferred level (ACP or H) with their teacher early in the fall.