Foreign Languages

Spanish I is an introductory, elementary Spanish course. Students will be able to communicate God’s love through basic Spanish conversation. Students are introduced to Spanish- speaking cultures and begin to develop basic speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills necessary for interaction with Spanish speakers in the United States.

Full year—1 credit

Spanish II is a continuing elementary, lower-intermediate course which provides students with the opportunity to further develop communicative proficiency in Spanish. Students will be able to communicate God’s love through conversation and scripture reference. The course develops the communicative skills necessary for extended travel, study, and residency in a Spanish-speaking country. Students will practice reading, writing, and speaking to achieve “Novice High to Intermediate Low” communicative proficiency, as defined by the American Teachers of Foreign Languages.

Prerequisite:  Spanish 1

Full year—1 credit

Honors Spanish II seeks to continue building on the foundation started in Spanish I and prepare students for continued study of Spanish. Students will continue practicing grammar, pronunciation, speaking, listening, reading, and writing and will be introduced to new verb tenses and vocabulary. Honor students will be required to speak Spanish 60 to 70 percent of the time and will have several projects throughout the year involving a more advanced level of Spanish writing and speaking. Finally, students will also continue learning about the Hispanic culture.

Prerequisite: Spanish 1 plus teacher recommendation.

Full year—1 credit

Spanish III is an intermediate course, which provides students the opportunity to further develop their communicative proficiency in Spanish. Students will begin to analyze class content from a Christian worldview. Students will study sophisticated grammatical structures of the language, while gaining knowledge and awareness of Spanish-speaking cultures in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the United States. Students speak, write, and read to develop “Intermediate-High” proficiency, as defined by the American Teachers of Foreign Languages. Students study Spanish language literature, art, history, and social customs from diverse Spanish-speaking communities. Students engage in research projects intended to further their knowledge of Spanish-speaking cultures’ history, art, literature, music, politics, and current events.

Prerequisite:  Spanish 2

Full year—1 credit

This course is designed for students wishing to refine and enhance the language skills and cultural knowledge acquired in the prior three academic years of study. While it is expected that students have been introduced to many of the main concepts of Spanish grammar, we will continue to review and practice these concepts in the context of conversation, writing, and reading. New concepts introduced in Level 4 are the conditional tense and the imperfect and pluperfect subjunctive moods. Students will focus on improving their oral and written expression as well as their reading and listening skills. Spanish will be spoken more extensively in the classroom. This course revolves around the 5 “C’s” as outlined in the Arizona Standards of Foreign Language Learning (Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities).

Prerequisite:  Spanish 3

Full year—1 credit

American Sign Language (ASL) I is a complete, complex language that employs signs made with the hands and other movements, including facial expressions and postures of the body.  ASL I enables students to begin to acquire proficiency in American Sign Language through a linguistic, communicative, and cultural approach. Emphasis is placed on the development of receptive and expressive signing skills and on the acquisition of the fundamentals of applied grammar.  An exposure to the deaf and hard-of-hearing culture will be presented; students are expected to participate in this culture and analyze it from a Christian worldview. This course can be used to satisfy the foreign language requirement for graduation.

Full year-1 credit.

American Sign Language (ASL) II continues to emphasize communication using ASL.  The grammatical and structural formation of ASL II is further developed using vocabulary units, themes, dialogues, and narratives.  Students will continue to develop skill receptively and expressively in ASL II as well as glossing/transcribing English into ASL.  Students will broaden their understanding of what it means to be deaf and will continue to explore deaf culture.  Through signing praise songs and scripture, students will be able to worship and glorify God. This course can be used to satisfy the foreign language requirement for graduation.

Prerequisite:  ASL I with a grade of “C” or better, or permission/recommendation from the program coordinator/teacher.

Full year-1 credit.

As an intermediate course, American Sign Language (ASL) III builds on skills learned in ASL II, adding more complex ASL grammatical features, vocabulary, short stories, narratives, and dialogues. The course will include description of general surroundings, appropriate sequencing, temporal aspects, and conditionals. Students will be interpreting to the deaf all aspects of Christmas and Bible lexicons pertaining to the Fine Arts “Extravaganza” Christmas Show (cross-curriculum). Information about the deaf community’s socio-cultural linguistics, history, and culture will be further defined.

Prerequisite: ASL II with a grade of “C” or better, or permission/recommendation from the program coordinator/teacher.

Full year-1 credit.