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Exploring a World of Languages

In this course, students will experience a variety of world languages especially relevant to those who live in North America. After learning about how languages are acquired and how world languages are connected, students will explore the basics of German (a historical relative of English), Spanish (the 2nd most spoken language in the US and a predominant language in Central/South America), French (an official language of Canada), and ASL (an American dialect of a non-verbal language). The purpose of this course is for students to experience firsthand some of the similarities and differences among four important world languages so that they are ready to make an informed decision about which language they may wish to study to fulfill their Michigan Merit High School Graduation Requirements and so that they feel confident and excited about continuing their language studies. The content and assessments align with the Michigan Merit Curriculum World Languages Standards and Benchmarks.

French 1A

This course fulfills 1/2 credit of the world language content standards required for high school graduation under Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) guidelines. In French 1A, students will begin their language-learning journey by gaining the skills needed to talk about themselves and the world around them. The theme for the course is Ma vie (My Life). Students will learn to introduce themselves, share some basic personal information, talk about their family and friends, discuss what they like to do for fun, and describe their daily routine at home and school. Throughout the course, students will follow along on the fictional journey of three students learning French, seeing them in school, at home, and in other parts of their daily lives. French 1A is the first semester of a two-semester course. The class takes a proficiency-based approach, which is informed by current language acquisition research and the ACTFL performance descriptors for novice language learners. A heavy focus is placed on meaningful language use, with grammar being learned implicitly through input and meaning-based activities.

French 1B

This course fulfills 1/2 credit of the world language content standards required for high school graduation under Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) guidelines. In French 1B, students will continue their language learning journey by exploring the French-speaking world. Students will use the language to learn about the cultural practices and products of France while independently conducting research on another French-speaking location of their choice. Throughout the course, students will follow the fictional journey of three students and their teacher, as they explore and share what they’ve learned about French-speaking cultures. French 1B is the second semester of a two-semester course. The class takes a proficiency-based approach which is informed by current language acquisition research and the ACTFL performance descriptors for novice language learners. A heavy focus is placed on meaningful language use, with grammar being learned implicitly through input and meaning-based activities.

German 1A

This course fulfills 1/2 credit of the world language content standards required for high school graduation under Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) guidelines. German 1A is the first semester of a two-semester course. In German 1A, students will begin their language-learning journey by gaining the skills needed to talk about themselves and their immediate environment. Students will learn to introduce themselves, share some basic personal information, talk about their family and friends, discuss what they like to do for fun, and describe their daily routine at home and school. The class takes a proficiency-based approach, which is informed by current language acquisition research and the ACTFL performance descriptors for novice language learners. A heavy focus is put on German-speaking cultures around the world, with grammar being learned implicitly through input and meaning-based activities. Throughout the 4 Modules, each containing 3 units, students’ language learning is guided by Can Do statements which focus on specific language abilities, such as “I can greet others and introduce myself.”

German 1B

This course fulfills 1/2 credit of the world language content standards required for high school graduation under Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) guidelines. German 1B is the second semester of a two-semester course. In German 1B, students will continue their language-learning journey by gaining the skills needed to talk about themselves, their immediate environment, and German-speaking communities. Students will learn to share some basic personal information about topics including healthy eating habits, family traditions, and pop culture preferences. In addition, students will gather information about a German-speaking community and use this information for a presentation. To prepare for this students will gain the skills necessary to discuss culture, geography, and governments. The class takes a proficiency-based approach, which is informed by current language acquisition research and the ACTFL performance descriptors for novice language learners. A heavy focus is put on German-speaking cultures around the world, with grammar being learned implicitly through input and meaning-based activities. Throughout the 4 Modules, each containing 3 units, students’ language learning is guided by Can Do statements which focus on specific language abilities, such as “I can greet others and introduce myself.”

Spanish 1A

This course fulfills 1/2 credit of the world language content standards required for high school graduation under Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) guidelines. This is the first semester of a two-semester course sequence. In this course, students will gain the skills to talk about themselves and the world around them. Students will learn to introduce themselves, as well as describe their family and friends, what they like to do for fun, and their daily routines at home and school. Throughout the course, students will meet three fictional characters and some of their Spanish-speaking friends who will share their experiences in school, at home, and in other parts of their daily lives. The class takes a proficiency-based approach, informed by current language acquisition research and the ACTFL performance descriptors for novice language learners. A heavy focus is placed on meaningful language use, and grammar is taught implicitly through input and meaning-based activities. Grammar concepts taught include present tense conjugations (with some stem-changers), gustar (and similar verbs), possessive adjectives, adjective agreement, estar + prepositions, present progressive tense, and ir + a + infinitive.

Spanish 1B

This course fulfills 1/2 credit of the world language content standards required for high school graduation under Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) guidelines. This is the second semester of a two-semester course. In Spanish 1B, students will continue their language learning journey by exploring the Spanish-speaking world, all while learning the vocabulary and structures to be able to express themselves and talk about their own lives. In every unit, students will make comparisons between products and practices of Spanish-speaking cultures and their own perspectives and experiences. The class takes a proficiency-based approach which is informed by current language acquisition research and the ACTFL performance descriptors for novice language learners. A heavy focus is placed on meaningful language use. Grammar is learned implicitly through input and meaning-based activities. The course will incorporate grammatical concepts including: continuing use of present tense conjugations (including stem-changers), imperatives, indirect/direct object pronouns, and a brief introduction to past tense.