SPANISH I
This beginning course stresses basic proficiency in both production skills (speaking and writing) and receptive skills (listening and reading). The Spanish I student develops a practical vocabulary and builds a strong grammatical foundation in the target language. Reading and audio-visual materials and interactive websites enhance the students’ discovery of the Hispanic world.
SPANISH II
College Preparatory and Honors
Spanish II is an intensive course in reading, writing, and speaking in the target language. From the simple structures in Spanish I, students move on to use the compound tenses—preterite, imperfect, future, conditional and present subjunctive. Students also learn to express both affirmative and negative formal and informal commands. Cultural studies and projects enhance their understanding of the Spanish-speaking world. The use of authentic video and audio material and interactive websites expands students’ experience of the language.
Spanish II Honors follows an accelerated pace and approaches topics with greater depth. Students master extensive vocabulary and complex grammatical structures, write full-length compositions, and communicate in increasingly sophisticated Spanish in both spoken and written expression. The course includes the reading of authentic texts, including poetry. Museum or gallery visits, when appropriate, round out a unit of fine art in the first semester.
SPANISH III
College Preparatory and Honors
In Spanish III, students review the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of Spanish I and II and study more complex forms of grammar and syntax, including the present and imperfect subjunctive. They expand their vocabulary and knowledge of idiomatic expressions and improve speaking and listening skills. Students embark on several oral proficiency projects, read from authentic texts, and make use of authentic video and audio material and interactive websites in their studies.
At the honors level, Spanish III students read short stories and newspaper articles and listen to podcasts. They further enhance their vocabulary and listening skills by completing assignments on Yabla, an interactive, online language immersion program.
SPANISH IV
Spanish IV is a course designed to reinforce and expand upon skills developed in levels I, II, and III. Students read a selection of essays, short stories, magazine and newspaper articles, selections from novels, and poetry from Spanish and Latin-American authors. These readings provide the occasion for vocabulary building, grammar review, discussion, and composition. Spanish language films, group and individual projects, and assignments on Yabla provide further opportunities for authentic language experience. Students also visit El Museo del Barrio and have lunch in a Puerto Rican restaurant.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT SPANISH LANGUAGE
This course develops the students’ communicative ability in Spanish in the interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational modes and prepares them for the AP® Spanish language examination. Through regular use of authentic sources, students hone their ability to produce Spanish comprehensible to native speakers and to comprehend Spanish intended for native speakers, in a variety of settings, types of discourse, topics, and registers. Students enhance their linguistic skills, including accuracy and fluency, and continue to explore cultural perspectives of Spanish-speaking peoples. All students sit for the AP examination in the spring.
SPANISH V
This course is intended for students who wish to continue their studies in Spanish after successfully completing Spanish IV. The curriculum allows them to continue to develop the skills studied in the previous level. Emphasis is placed on improving spoken communication and on cultural studies.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT SPANISH LITERATURE
This course is takes a survey approach to study a wide variety of Spanish and Latin-American authors from the Medieval period of peninsular literature to present day Latin-American and Spanish prose, poetry, and drama, as well as the historical and cultural contexts from which they arise. Emphasis is placed on the comprehension and critical analysis, both oral and written, of sophisticated texts of all genres in Spanish. In preparation for the AP® Spanish literature examination, students learn to do close readings of literary texts, to analyze their content and form, and to write analytical essays using critical terminology. The class also visits El Repertorio Español to see a performance of Federico García Lorcá’s La Casa de Bernarda Alba.