Modern Languages
PHILOSOPHY
The Modern Language Department strives to prepare our
students for college and for life and work in our multicultural
environment. Students are required to complete two consecutive years in
Spanish or French and are encouraged to pursue a third year.
An Honors Latin course and a Conversational Italian course are also
offered some years as electives.
In order to meet students’ needs, Spanish classes are
grouped into two different language ability levels: “S-Spanish” for native speakers and “Spanish” for
students who are not native Spanish speakers.
Native Spanish speakers take a placement test to determine
proficiency level. In addition to the traditional language levels, we
offer AP Spanish to prepare students for the advanced placement language
test for college credit.
While preparation for higher learning is of great
importance, we also strive to instill in our students an appreciation and
respect for other cultures. We
work to give our students a firm grasp in communicative skills that will
serve them in real-life situations.
A respect for the presence of God is the foundation for our
classroom environment.
LEVELS
OF CLASSES
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FRESHMEN
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SOPHOMORES
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JUNIORS
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SENIORS
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FOUNDATION
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STANDARD
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(S-)Spanish I
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(S-)Spanish II
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French I
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French II
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French III
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HONORS
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AP Spanish
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AP Spanish
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AP French
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AP French
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Students begin a modern language in Freshman or
Sophomore year. They
must pursue the same modern language for at least two years in our school.
Special accommodations are made for transfer students who have already
studied a foreign language. Students
are encouraged to take a third or fourth year of a language.
Latin I H and Italian are occasionally offered as electives.
Department Grading Policy
Different methods of evaluation are used to give students
ample opportunity to succeed in acquiring the skills – {reading,
speaking, writing, listening} – necessary in learning a modern language.
Each teacher will include in his/her grading system grades
awarded for tests, quizzes {oral and written}, class work, class
participation, and projects.
Students are tested or quizzed every week on the material
taught in class. The test may
include multiple choice questions on reading passages, vocabulary,
grammar, dictation, the writing of short paragraphs, essays, listening
comprehension or conversations based on the lesson or everyday events.
Courses
Course Objectives:
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To
develop skills in the areas of speaking, listening comprehension,
reading, and writing on a Spanish I level
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To
develop an active vocabulary on a Spanish I level
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To
understand basic grammatical structures on a Spanish I level
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To
gain confidence in and an appreciation for language
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To
gain an understanding of the cultures of Spanish speaking countries
Skills to be Mastered:
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Students
will be able to use Spanish:
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To
use nouns, articles, and adjectives correctly according to number and
gender
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To
discuss where one’s going
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To
describe everyday and weekend activities in the present tense
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To
talk about family, age, birthdays, professions
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To
form questions
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To
use possessive adjectives
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To
describe people and places they know
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To
describe what is happening at the moment
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To
express wants and moods
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To
discuss Hispanic names and nicknames
Course Objectives:
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To
build upon and expand skills learned in Spanish I
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To
develop an active vocabulary on the Spanish II level
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To
be able to write on various topics
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To
gain an understanding of different Hispanic cultures
Skills to be Mastered:
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Students
will be able to use Spanish:
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To
ask for and give directions
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To
express prepositions of place
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To
describe clothing and colors
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To
use expressions while shopping
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To
order in a restaurant
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To
use numbers to 1,000,000
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To
use expressions with “tener”
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To
use stem-changing verbs
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To
discuss foods and restaurants in Spain
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To
describe events that happened in the past
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To
express this, that, these, those
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To
use irregular familiar commands
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To
discuss sports in Latin America
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To
give information about a person’s physical condition
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To
use ordinal numbers
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To
learn about Mexican music and art
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To
make comparisons
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To
describe the rooms in a house
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To
learn about Spanish food and cities
Spanish III
Course Objectives:
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To
build upon and expand the skills learned in Spanish I and Spanish II.
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To
gain confidence in communicating in the target language by
experiencing total immersion
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To
learn about the cultures of the Spanish-speaking countries including
current events
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To
do extensive reading and writing in the target language
Skills to be Mastered:
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Students
will be able to use Spanish:
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To
exchange greetings
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To
discuss likes and dislikes
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To
discuss daily and favorite activities
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To
shop for a gift
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To
describe how people feel
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To
describe family, school, friends
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To
ask and answer questions
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To
talk about possessions
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To
identify points of contact with other cultures
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To
ask and answer questions about past events
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To
identify geographical locations
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To
make comparisons
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To
describe the weather
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To
describe daily routines
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To
talk about what you used to do
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To
use familiar and formal commands
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To
use the preterite and imperfect tenses
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To
use the present subjunctive
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To
discuss future plans
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To
read legends from various Spanish-speaking areas
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To
read literature in the target language
Course Objectives:
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To
achieve a skill in writing Spanish that will match the native fluency
students utilize as speakers of Spanish
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To
develop a familiarity with the politics and economics of contemporary
Latin America
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To
appreciate language as a serious object of study and as a source of
enjoyment and enrichment, and not only as a means of communication
Topics to Cover:
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Review
of all present tense verb forms; regular, irregular, stem-changing
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Presentation
of present progressive, imperfect, preterite, and future tenses
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Difference
between imperfect and preterite tenses
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Verbs:
gustar, encantar
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Adjective
agreement – short forms of adjectives
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Direct
and indirect object pronouns; double object pronouns, pronoun
placement
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Possessive
adjectives and pronouns
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Commands
– positive and negative
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Reflexive
verbs
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Present
subjunctive; regular, irregular, stem changing
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Present
perfect tense
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Orthography
and accents
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Survey
of Latin American and Spanish history, culture, economy
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Special
interest in the happenings of contemporary Latin America
Course overview:
This program has much to offer students who are native
speakers of Spanish, but need extensive practice in developing fluency
through vocabulary building, reading and writing.
Skills to be Mastered:
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Students
will be able to use Spanish:
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To
discuss likes and dislikes
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To
exchange information about where they are going, what they have to do,
and how long they have been doing something
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To
discuss cultural stereotypes
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To
identify geographical features and locations
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To
describe past activities
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To
give advice
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To
talk about what they used to do
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To
describe how they used to feel
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To
make suggestions
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To
accept and decline invitations
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To
retell a story
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To
express probability and improbability
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To
identify job requirements
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To
talk about emotions and doubts
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To
discuss past, present, and future activities
Course Objectives:
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To
review Spanish grammar emphasizing the four basic language skills by
extensive reading, frequent essay writing, listening and speaking
activities
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To
learn about Hispanic history and culture
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To
prepare students for success in the AP Spanish Examination
Topics to Cover:
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Understand
and talk about historical events
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To
gain knowledge of current political and social issues
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Learn
about arts and entertainment
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Present
and past tense of regular and irregular verbs
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Preterite
and imperfect
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The
past participle
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Present
subjunctive – imperfect subjunctive
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Relative
pronouns
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Conditional
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Sequence
of tenses: Indicative and subjunctive; imperfect subjunctive in main
clauses
Course Objectives:
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To
study the basic vocabulary and grammatical structures of the French
language
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To
develop listening comprehension
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To
develop correct pronunciation
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To
learn about the cultures of different French-speaking countries
Skills to be Mastered:
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Students
will be able to use French:
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To
introduce themselves
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To
count to 100
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To
talk about birthdays and holidays
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To
give the date and the day of the week
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To
order some common foods in a café
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To
identify French money
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To
talk about the weather
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To
describe daily activities
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To
politely accept or turn down an invitation
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To
talk about friends and their families
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To
express their opinion about what they see or hear
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To
ask and give directions
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To
discuss future plans
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To
talk about music and sports
Course Objectives:
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To
greatly expand the student’s vocabulary
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To
expand knowledge of French grammar
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To
expand reading skills
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To
expand practice in speaking
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To
learn about the cultures of French-speaking countries
Skills to be Mastered:
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Students
will be able to use French:
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To
name many professions
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To
talk about what they plan to do
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To
describe what they have recently done
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To
make a telephone call
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To
learn what French young people do on weekends
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To
name and describe favorite sports
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To
talk about what happened in the past
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To
order in a French restaurant
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To
shop for food in a French market
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To
express what they want to do and what they must do
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To
write a letter in French
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To
extend, accept, and turn down invitations
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To
let a doctor know what is wrong when they feel sick or in pain
Course Objectives:
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To
instill in students a love for the language
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To
enable them to gain fluency in speaking, reading and writing the
language
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To
facilitate oral comprehension by listening to tapes and responding to
questions in French
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To
enrich vocabulary
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To
introduce the study of French literature by reading “Le Petit
Prince” by Antoine de St. Exupery and some short stories by Guy de
Maupassant
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To
make students aware of aspects in French culture; food, exports, art,
fashions, behavior, etc.
Skills to be Mastered:
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Reading
and following directions in French
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Forming
and using different tenses; le passé compose, l’imparfait, le
future, le conditionnel, le plus-que-parfait, le sunjonctif
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Pronoun
use; personal pronouns, interrogative, relative, disjunctive,
possessive, demonstrative
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Memorizing
idioms
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Increasing
vocabulary, synonymes, contraires
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Translating
from French to English and English to French
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Writing
more complex sentences and short essays
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Practice
in aural and reading comprehension
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Answering
multiple choice questions
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Dramatic
readings
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Role
Playing
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