Upper School Spanish

Spanish Placement

A Spanish Placement Test will be administered for all new incoming students; based on the results of this test, incoming students will be placed in one of the following Upper School Spanish courses:

Spanish I: (Required)

This first-year Spanish course will be offered for those students without prior experience with Spanish.  Spanish I is the first course in a required three-year sequence which is designed to develop the fundamental Spanish language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  The emphasis of Spanish I is primarily on the development of oral and written language skills (the study of introductory vocabulary, phonetics, and grammar).  This course also integrates the geography and culture of the Spanish-speaking world.

Spanish II: (Required)

~Pre-requisite: Spanish I

This second-year Spanish course is a continuation of the fundamental developmental language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) beyond the beginning level with added emphasis on oral proficiency.  Students will develop a further understanding and competency in the following subject areas:

-Continued understanding of vocabulary, phonetics and grammar concepts

-Writing in Spanish using correct sentence structure/word order.

 

Spanish III: (Required)

(One-year course)

~Pre-requisite: Spanish II

There will be additional attention given to some of the more challenging grammar topics in Spanish.  Students will develop a further understanding and competency in the following subject areas:

-Respond appropriately in Spanish to directions, instructions, and commands

-Gain additional confidence with verb tenses and modes & voices:

- Present and past subjunctive

-Conditional, imperative, passive, and the perfect tenses

-Demonstrative pronouns and adjectives

-Nouns with irregular genders

-Imperfect versus preterit

-Speaking in Spanish using more complex sentences

 - Present prepared material orally and in writing

Third-year Spanish students will read independently as well as in the classroom setting.

 

Spanish IV: (Required)

(One-year course)

~Pre-requisite: Spanish I, II, III

This fourth-year Spanish course is a culmination of the knowledge acquired in prior years through composition, application of the language in conversational setting.  Students will develop a further understanding in the following subject areas:

-Develop further understanding and increased competency by reading and analyzing select cultural literary works.

-Speaking in Spanish using complex sentences, good pronunciation, and fluency.

-Writing in Spanish using correct sentence structure/work order, word choice, and a variety of tenses.

 

Spanish V - (Elective)

~Pre-requisite: Spanish I, II, III, IV

This course contains everything from Spanish I, II, III, and IV.  Students are expected to express themselves beyond simple, mechanical responses, demonstrating the ability to manipulate and create in the language.