French | Spanish

At Williams two modern languages, French and Spanish, are taught at all grade levels up to Advanced Placement standard. Students entering the school in seventh grade choose to begin one of the two and from the outset are encouraged to develop the four basic communicative skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In addition, students are exposed to numerous aspects of the cultures in which their new language is spoken and are thereby encouraged to become more reflective about their own linguistic and cultural heritage.

In addition to curricular options, the department organizes events such as assemblies and trips to France and Puerto Rico to enhance the immersive cultural experience.

FRENCH

Grade 7
Students cover one half of the material in the basic text, Bien dit!, and use an interactive website created by its publisher. The vocabulary content is theme-based and includes numbers, days of the week, months of the year, time, weather, family, classroom, and clothing. The basic grammar focuses on: the present tense of all three categories of regular verbs; several common irregular verbs; the near future; adjectival forms, including possessives and demonstratives, and personal pronouns. Classroom activities include dialogues, songs, games, Internet searches and CD-ROM activities.

Grade 8
This year completes the level one syllabus (the equivalent of one year of high school French). There is a thorough review of the previous year’s material and new verb families are introduced, as is the passé composé. The acquisition of more complex grammatical structures and a great deal more vocabulary prepares the students to do creative oral and written work. Students also see cultural videos and do project work on both francophone countries and French regions.

French I
(Open to students in Grade 8 and higher)
Students with limited or no prior exposure to French may begin an accelerated level one course. The class will use the same text employed in grades seven and eight and will cover in one year the grammar and most of the vocabulary that are taught over two years in French 7 and 8.

French II
This class makes use of the second-year text of the Bien dit! program. Over the course of the year students will greatly increase their grammatical repertoire and continue to expand their range of vocabulary and cultural knowledge. A wide variety of activities are employed in order to help students strengthen their competency in all four communicative skill areas. The year begins with an extensive review of the grammar structures taught in level one and goes on to introduce more verb families, teach the imperfect tense and compare its uses with the passé composé, and present the future tense. Vocabulary units will include household items and tasks, leisure and routine activities, travel, personal care, and medical problems and treatment.

French III and French III Honors
This course covers a wide range of cultural themes and related vocabulary. These include everyday life, leisure activities, values, history, and arts and sciences. Grammatical study comprises a review of structures presented in previous years along with the introduction of such new elements as compound tenses, the conditional and subjunctive moods, and various types of pronouns. Students are asked to write essays, role-play, and deliver presentations on a wide range of topics. A final aspect of this course is the study of authentic readings, such as extracts from newspaper and magazine articles and from works of literature. An honors section will always move at a faster pace, and students will be expected to perform to more rigorous standards.

French IV and French IV Honors
The syllabus of this course allows for some flexibility in order to accommodate the interests and skill level of the students. If there are sufficient numbers to occasion an honors section, the curriculum will entail greater rigor and anticipate more directly an AP syllabus the following year. In any event, students will be introduced to the formal study of literature; works may include Le Petit Prince, Huis Clos, and a selection of short stories and poems. These works serve as the basis for discussions, analytical papers, and vocabulary expansion. Written expression is honed through advanced grammar exercises and frequent journal entries, and oral skills are further enhanced through presentations, poetry recitations, and dramatic stagings. Students may also have the opportunity to see several French films and to read about and discuss news items and aspects of social and political life in francophone countries.

French V (Honors)
Frequent personal responses and short essays are staples of this course, as are daily open discussions and numerous presentations to the class by each student. Literary and cultural readings are used as a vehicle for discussion as well as for vocabulary expansions and grammar review where needed. Such readings may include short stories, poetry, a play, interviews with famous Francophone personalities, and newspaper or Internet articles dealing with current events and social concerns. Films and guest speakers complement the curriculum, whenever possible. This course may be taught to a more rigorous honors-level standard depending upon the composition of the class.

Advanced Placement French V
Once again the syllabus chosen for this level will depend on the composition of the class. In any case, the program will prepare students for the AP examination in French Language and will reflect intellectual interests shared by the students and the teacher. The course will include a variety of source materials, all designed to develop to an advanced level the fluency and accuracy of the class’s written and spoken skills. Source materials include literary works, newspaper and magazine articles, films and video clips, and Internet research.

SPANISH

Grade 7
This introductory Spanish course is the first half of level one. The course covers the present tense of the three regular verb families and a number of important irregulars; subject pronouns; adjective usage and agreement; idiomatic verbal expressions; and other basic structures. Vocabulary topics include conversation expressions, personal description, numbers, dates, school and after school activities, family, weather, food, and sports. Small Spanish projects are done throughout the year, such as postcards, autobiographical mirrors, and family trees. Students are introduced to various Hispanic cultures through readings as well as a major project on a Latin American country. Classroom activities include cultural videos, dialogues and skits, songs, and games.

Grade 8
After a thorough review of the material covered in the seventh grade, the students complete the mastery of most verb patterns in the present tense and are introduced to the preterite (or past) tense. Thematic vocabulary revolves around summer and winter pastimes, health and illness, cultural activities, clothes shopping, and dining out, while new grammatical structures, such as object pronouns, continue to be added. Cultural enrichment includes a project on an aspect of Mexican geography or culture, a paper and presentation on a region of Spain, and subscription to a language magazine. Creative work, both oral and written, and the use of videos with native speakers round out the syllabus of this course, the completion of which is equivalent to one year of high-school Spanish.

Spanish I
(Open to students in Grade 8 and higher)
This is an accelerated level one course for students who are either beginners or who have not had enough prior exposure to be placed in Spanish II.  The class will use the same text employed in grades seven and eight and will cover in one year the grammar and most of the vocabulary that are taught over two years in Spanish 7 and 8.

Spanish II
This course begins with an extensive review of Spanish I grammatical concepts, verb tenses and vocabulary. Our textbook and accompanying website expand upon these concepts and introduce the imperfect and future tenses along with other new structures. Students continue to broaden their vocabulary with thematic units which include driving and traveling, accidents and illness, cooking, and shopping. Aural comprehension is enhanced by TPR storytelling and the reading of two children’s novels in Spanish. Viewing the textbook’s accompanying video episodes also enhances aural comprehension and enriches idiomatic vocabulary, while discussions based upon the video, our novels, cultural readings, and authentic news articles serve to build fluency and expose students to various aspects of the Hispanic world. Students deliver a PowerPoint project and presentation in Spanish at the end of each quarter.

Spanish III
This course focuses on such grammatical topics as the conditional and subjunctive moods as well as the compound tenses of the indicative. Listening and speaking are still stressed, but emphasis is also placed on students’ written expression. Cultural readings, in conjunction with videos, serve to expand students’ vocabulary and to familiarize them with diverse Hispanic cultures.

Spanish III Honors
Selected for this class on teacher recommendation, students follow the same program as above but also undertake short readings from literature, newspapers, and magazines. In addition, a greater amount of vocabulary is presented and grammar is studied in greater detail in order to prepare the students for a more rigorous program at higher levels. To strengthen their writing ability, students are required to craft a number of compositions on a variety of topics, and they will also use the Internet to research various social and cultural themes.

Spanish IV
This course reviews and builds upon all of the structures of Spanish grammar introduced in previous levels. Vocabulary expansion continues apace, with emphasis on idiomatic expressions. Oral facility is enhanced through frequent situational dialogues and discussions of short stories, poems, and other readings. Further cultural components include movies, music, and web projects.

Spanish IV Honors
In addition to many of the activities undertaken in regular Spanish IV, students in this section receive more rigorous preparation in anticipation of the AP course the following year. They are introduced to the skills of literary analysis through the study of a variety of short stories by leading Spanish and Latin American authors, and a premium is placed on precision in both spoken and written expression. Written proficiency is refined through advanced grammar study, intensive vocabulary expansion, and a series of formal essays, while oral skills are enhanced through presentations, discussions of historical and current events, poetry recitations, and the staging of a movie scene. The study of civilization and literature culminates in the fourth quarter with units on Mexican migrant workers in the U.S. and Spain’s Civil War.

Spanish V (Honors)
This course uses cultural and literary study as the framework in which to help students attain a more advanced command of the language. Contemporary short stories (both in Spanish and English) and films provide the basis for lessons and discussions, always with an eye toward gaining a greater understanding and appreciation of Spanish-speaking cultures around the world and here in the U.S. This study of literature and films also allows for the extensive acquisition of vocabulary, review of the fundamentals of grammar, and a variety of speaking and writing activities.This course may be taught to a more rigorous honors-level standard depending upon the composition of the class.

Advanced Placement Spanish V
The syllabus chosen for this level will depend in part upon the composition of the class. The program will prepare students for the AP examination in Spanish Language and will reflect intellectual and cultural interests shared by the students and the instructor. It will include a variety of source materials such as major works of literature (short stories, one-act plays, extracts from novels), cultural readings, newscasts, music, and films. Intensive grammar practice, vocabulary review and expansion, and fine-tuning of written and oral expression aim to raise the students’ overall proficiency and fluency.

Modern Languages Faculty

Louis Cohen
Chair

Sandra Davis

Alicia Furgueson

Michaela Ionescu, PhD

Ana Ramirez