World Language - Father Gabriel Richard Catholic High School

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

World Language

Bridge the Culture Gap

The continual globalization of the world’s economy is bringing diverse cultures and communities into more frequent interaction with one another. The world has become integrated and interdependent. Studying a world language enables you to learn more about other cultures and relate well to those from other cultures. Your studies in the World Languages Department at FGR will also help develop skills and habits that can lead to greater academic achievement, greater cognitive development and a greater sense of community at home and around the world.

At FGR, you have the opportunity to gain communicative competency in French, Spanish, and Latin. Since learning a language is a dynamic and interactive process, the World Languages Department emphasizes oral proficiency in the vast majority of its courses, working toward 90% of instruction in the target language. We encourage reading and writing skills, focusing on accurate grammar, syntax and structure. Furthermore, your foreign language classes will introduce you to the peoples, culture, artistic and literary expressions of other countries. Basic texts are supplemented by authentic audiovisual sources and printed media.

Beyond the language and the cultures, your coursework will also include the study and implementation of Catholic Social teachings and Cardinal virtues by studying societal issues and community service work. You will also study the influence of the Catholic saints from respective countries, cultural traditions, celebrations of religious holidays, and support visits to religious sites abroad. Finally, you will enjoy the opportunity to more fully develop language proficiency with travel/mission programs to countries in which one of the department’s languages is spoken.

Two consecutive years of the same language are required, but four are recommended.

French I or Spanish I

This course provides an introduction to the second language and its associated cultures. Emphasis is on building the five language skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing and culture. A variety of methods and materials such as audio recordings of native speakers, videos, games and songs are used to introduce students to basic vocabulary and language structures. The second language is used as much as possible in simple conversation and in classroom directions to encourage oral proficiency.

French II or Spanish II

Second-level language courses continue to develop the five language skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing and culture with more emphasis on proficiency. Work will include mastering new grammatical structures and adding new vocabulary with the aim of developing greater fluency and a higher level of proficiency in all skills. Students should be able to carry on simple conversations, follow and respond to classroom directions, and produce longer written pieces. This level continues to develop the cultural understanding of the various peoples and countries that speak these languages.

French III or Spanish III

The emphasis in Level III is on oral and written proficiency at an intermediate level, while mastering more complex grammatical structures. By the end of this course the students will be familiar with the major language structures and have sufficient vocabulary to carry on an extended conversation in the second language. Students should also have developed sufficient writing skills to be able to write a personal essay, letter, simple story or narrative. Students will study and read about the culture in the second language and read longer selections of material taken from authentic sources such as newspapers and literature.

Spanish IV or French IV

This course reviews all the previously-learned vocabulary and structures while developing new vocabulary and demanding a more sophisticated and refined use of vocabulary and structures in speaking, reading and writing. Students will continue to build and refine all four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. They will continue cultural studies in the second language and read more complex literary pieces as well as narratives, newspapers, advertisements, and other media. Sufficient emphasis will be placed on vocabulary, grammar, and structure to assist students in preparing to take college-level language placement exams or the SAT II subject exams. Classes are conducted predominately in the second language.

AP Spanish

This course is designed to prepare the student for the Advanced Placement Language Examination given each May. Students will work through selected AP materials and practice exams to familiarize themselves with the format and content. This course is conducted almost exclusively in the second language. Arrangements to take this course must be made in advance with the teacher.

Latin I

By daily habituation of endings and vocabulary, Latin I students become familiar with the grammatical structure of this ancient language. Gaining knowledge of the culture and history of the Romans supplements and serves the learning of forms. The primary foci of the course are to know the parts of speech, analyze the use of words in Latin and English sentences, and gain a working knowledge of all declensions and conjugations. This builds the groundwork for reading original classical texts in subsequent years. Latin is used in prayer, classroom directions and the reading of mythological stories to encourage oral proficiency.

Latin II

After a comprehensive review of forms and constructions, Latin II students will enter the world of Imperial Rome. Translation no longer means finding equivalent words, but rather reading abridged texts and attempting to transpose the words of authentic authors into fluent and compelling English. A grasp of imperial culture, characters and events surrounding Augustan society is a necessary aspect of this course. Latin is used in prayer, classroom directions and the reading of mythological stories to encourage oral proficiency.

Latin III

Latin III students shift their gazes into the world of rhetoric via the great Orations against Catiline by Marcus Tullius Cicero and his philosophical musings in De Amicitia. Grammatical learning progresses into difficult (and fascinating!) clauses, verbal constructions and obscure uses of the ablative and dative. While translating Cicero’s masterpiece, the students will consider the power of words by understanding rhetorical devices and the historical context of the orations. To this end, students will study Latin poetry by Horace and Catullus as well, so that at the end of the year, they are able to translate Latin odes into English verse. Although there is not an immersive aspect to this course, prayer, directions and basic composition will occur in Latin.

Latin IV

The poetry that students tasted in Latin III will become the main course in Latin IV. By reading the exquisite Aeneid by the epic poet Virgil, the moral and aesthetic principles of Rome will be experienced first-hand. Students are expected to come in with a mastery of endings, case-uses and constructions so that the class can focus on learning meter and untangling the verses of Virgil to experience this poem as one would in a literature class. Students will study Latin poetry by Horace and Catullus as well, so that they are able to translate Latin odes into English verse. By the end of four years, students will know many parts of the Latin Mass, prayers, basic conversational Latin, and be able to consider seriously the meaning of certain grammatical constructions in essay form.

Introduction to Italian Culture

This course provides an introduction to the Italian language and culture. Emphasis is on building the five language skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing and culture. A variety of methods and materials such as audio recordings of native speakers, videos, games, and songs are used to introduce students to basic vocabulary and language structures. Some topics covered are salutations, introductions, personal descriptions and past times using the present tense. The second language is used as much as possible in simple conversation and in classroom directions to encourage oral proficiency.

Introduction to Italian Culture II

This course provides an introduction to the Italian art, literature, cuisine and etiquette. A variety of methods and materials such as audio recordings of native speakers, videos, games, and songs are used to introduce students to mentioned topics. Novels, figurative arts, the art of Italian cuisine and manners are going to be analyzed and discussed in class.