Modern and Classical Languages

FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT:

1. Students are required to take a 3-year sequence (3 years of the same language) in a foreign language at Xavier. The fourth level of the language may be taken as an elective. 2. Students who begin a second language in junior year are required to continue the second level of this language in senior year. Choices for a second language include

Spanish 1, French 1, Italian 1, Latin 1, and Arabic 1.

Spanish 1 (1 Credit)

This course is designed to introduce students to the Spanish language . Students will develop an understanding of grammar concepts as well as knowledge of vocabulary and culture . Students are expected to speak, read and write in Spanish as much as possible . By the end of the year, students will have begun to possess the skills necessary to express themselves on a variety of topics in the target language .

Spanish 2 (1 Credit)

This course is a Comprehensible Input Language course . The main goal is to help students to acquire and to learn Spanish in an immersing program format; great part of the class time is spent using Spanish . The course focuses on listening/reading and speaking/writing skills . The purpose is that all skills will come more naturally as students experience speaking and writing while listening and reading . They will learn how to creatively use a combination of new and old grammar structures instead of just knowing how to conjugate verbs or knowing a list of vocabulary . Teachers use grammatical structures in class discussions, stories and cultural explorations, and students are expected to recognize them when they read or hear them and produce them in speech and writing . This course is very interactive and requires students to work collaboratively with the teacher and with each other . The expectation is that by the end of the year students will feel more comfortable communicating in Spanish to each other and other people they come across, using the present and past tenses .

Spanish 2 Honors (1 Credit)

This course is for those students who have successfully completed one year of Spanish 1 Honors . The course continues an in-depth analysis of grammar and places great emphasis on reading, oral and writing skills .

Spanish 3 (1 Credit)

Spanish 3 builds on the vocabulary and grammatical structures learned in Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 . Various cultural themes and grammar topics are covered in each marking period . Culture includes geography, art and history of various Spanish-speaking countries around the world . The focus of the course is the integration of the four skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking through in-class activities, homework, dialogues and internet assignments . Spanish 3 Honors (1 Credit)

This course is a comprehensive continuation of the Spanish 2 Honors course . Through an in-depth analysis of the language, this language immersion course completes the presentation of Spanish grammar, while at the same time emphasizing reading, writing and oral skills .

Spanish 4 (1 Credit)

Spanish 4 is designed to be an overall review and expansion of the basic skills of Spanish . It is intended, through an indepth examination of grammar, to increase accuracy and consistency in reading, listening, and writing, and to develop oral proficiency . Students read newspaper articles, literary selections and practice letter-writing skills . Spanish and/or Latin-American films may be studied in order to introduce cultural themes and to reinforce vocabulary in context .

AP Spanish 4 (1 Credit)

This is an intensive course of study designed to provide the factual knowledge, and the reading and writing proficiency needed for success in the Spanish AP Language Exam . Through a wide variety of written and oral assignments, as well as various reading selections, the students are not only trained to read, write, and speak the language in preparation for the exam, but also to master the skills that would allow them to successfully interact in a Spanish-speaking country .

Italian 1 (1 Credit)

The main goal of this course is to provide students with the basic structures of the Italian language that will enable them to understand, speak, write and read about a variety of topics related to everyday life in Italy . They will study the present tense, basic grammatical rules, and acquire vocabulary relating to school, family, food, travel and home . Students will develop these skills through speaking and listening exercises, dialogues, group work, and assessments such as projects, homework, quizzes and tests . Students will also receive an overview of Italy’s culture, traditions, history and way of life .

Italian 2 (1 Credit)

The main goal of this class is to provide students with the structure of the Italian language that will enable them to understand, speak, write and read about a variety of topics related to everyday life in Italy . In Italian 2, students will learn to use the past, imperfect, future and conditional verb tenses and acquire vocabulary relating to sports, leisure, food, directions, transportation, television, cinema and politics . Students will develop these skills through speaking and listening exercises, dialogues, group work and assessments such as projects, homework, quizzes and tests . Students will receive an overview of Italy’s culture, traditions, history and way of life .

Italian 3 (1 Credit)

It is the intention of the Italian 3 course to cover all the important grammar points of Italian 1 & 2 while introducing new topics . The students will be offered a deeper exposure into the study of the Italian language and grammar . Students will be expected to improve their fluency and increase their knowledge of the grammar rules and of Italian history . Also, special attention will be given to the preparation of students in the current cultural and social aspects of Italian life . These aspects will be presented, discussed and utilized to further introduce grammar points and vocabulary in various contexts in preparation for the AP Italian Language and Culture Course .

Italian 4 (1 Credit)

Italian 4 concludes the language sequence by recapitulating the student’s experience in terms of detailed syntax, lexical precision, and focus exercises that enhance previous learning and prepare the student for a practical and immediate use of the language in accordance with departmental expectations for the fourth year .

AP Italian 4 (1 Credit)

This is an intensive course which emphasizes knowledge of the current culture of Italian society while providing the language skills needed for success in the Italian AP Language Exam . Students will receive preparation in the four major areas of language acquisition (reading, writing, listening, speaking) . Students are REQUIRED to take the AP Italian Language Exam in the spring . Prerequisites: the successful completion of Italian 3 with at least a 92 average; the recommendation of the teacher; and approval of the department chair . There will be a mandatory meeting prior to registration; time to be announced . Attendance at the AP Fair is required .

French 1 (1 Credit)

The focus of this course is the integration of the four skills – reading, writing, listening, and speaking – that are involved in mastering another language . Students will develop these skills by means of activities such as speaking and listening exercises, dialogues and group work and assessments such as projects, homework, quizzes and tests . Students will learn a wide range of vocabulary as well as the present and the immediate future of verbs in French 1 . In addition, a French 1 student will learn about the cultures and major monuments of different French speaking countries . He will critically examine the similarities and differences between his culture and those of various Frenchspeaking countries, thereby informing his own global perspective . French 2 (1 Credit)

This course includes a continuation of the essential skills acquired in French 1 as well as the progression of oral and written expression . Source material for this course emphasizes the recounting of past events in daily life and in history . Students will learn to utilize basic grammatical structures in order to learn more complex ones and apply them to practical speaking and writing tasks . Cultural units focus on French speaking countries in North and West Africa and the Caribbean using children’s fiction, folktales, music and art . This course also seeks to strengthen a student’s conversational and written fluency with the introduction of short essay and journal writing, thematic class discussions and creating connections between American and French customs, celebrations and popular culture .

French 3 (1 Credit)

French 3 is a continuation of French 2 . In this course, students will continue to work on mastering the grammar of the French language through in-depth exercises in context and writing assignments . Students will learn to recognize and use the subjunctive mood, the future and conditional tenses and various compound tenses . One of the goals is to continue to increase vocabulary acquisition in the target language through readings, thematic vocabulary lists, films and poems . Students will be encouraged to speak on relevant issues of our society such as the environment, technology and immigration . The French 3 course will also focus on cultural awareness and in particular, students will continue studying the cultures of West Africa, French-speaking Canada and the regions of France through group projects, articles and discussions . The goal of French 3 is to prepare students for advanced French studies .

French 4 (1 Credit)

In the fourth year students are expected to become familiar with the history, literature, and art of the French people over the centuries . In addition, structures are reviewed as necessary . The focus is on the reading of various selections . Questions and answers concerning the readings are in French . The various cultural, philosophical and religious aspects of these works are explored . Films are used whenever possible to help students understand further a particular historical period or to visualize a literary work .

Latin 1 (1 Credit)

Xavier’s Latin 1 course follows the traditional curriculum for Classical Latin learning, with emphasis on vocabulary, grammar and syntax for immediate reading comprehension . The course includes all declensions, special case uses (e .g . accusative of extent, genitive/ablative of description), conjugations (active and passive indicative), infinitives and deponent and irregular verbs, pronouns, adjectives/adverbs and comparison, and numerals . Repetition and review, moreover, are constant, keeping previous learning on par with newly acquired skills . Various aspects of Roman culture are presented, particularly mythology and Roman heroes and legends, both within the text and with assigned reading . The National Latin Exam is offered to all students enrolled in this course .

Latin 2 (1 Credit)

Latin 2 continues the traditional Classical Latin curriculum with the introduction of the subjunctive mood and its multiple uses in independent and dependent clauses, as well as the use of participles (e .g . ablative absolutes), temporal, concessive, causal, and hypothetical clauses . Again, repetition and review of previous grammar, together with intensive practice of the new, will prepare the student not only for this level’s requisites, but, more importantly, for the more serious and challenging Latin 3 course . The National Latin Exam is offered to all students enrolled in this course .

Latin 3 (1 Credit)

Having acquired knowledge of the morphosyntactics of first and second year Latin, in the Latin 3 course the student will be able to encounter and develop: a mastery of declensions and conjugations, the ability to recognize the logical and grammatical parts of a Latin text, and finally recognize the syntactic organization of studied subordinate clauses of the gerund and gerundive constructs and the passive periphrastic . The National Latin Exam is offered to all students enrolled in this course .

Latin 4 (1 Credit)

Latin 4 is a literature and culture course that provides deeper coverage of the themes covered in Latin 3, namely, the hero’s journey . Through a survey of intermediate-level texts, students will study the most important mythical stories and sagas from the classical world, as well as the reception of these various myths in later literature, art, and film . Latin grammar is studied, but it is not the emphasis of this course and is only discussed in the context of the works we are reading .

Arabic 1 (1 Credit)

Designed to give incentive and advantage for students to continue Arabic and Middle Eastern studies in college, Arabic 1 duplicates college-level Elementary Arabic with mastery of the alphabet (both print and cursive), the basic grammar of Modern Standard Arabic, reading proficiency, basic conversational skills and the culture/history of the Middle East .