Middle School World Languages Curriculum

This course is an introduction to Mandarin (guoyu or putonghua). The course begins with simple words and phrases, the pronunciation and cadences of Mandarin, Romanization, Chinese characters, and simple vocabulary items, all taught in the context of practical and meaningful communication. Sentence patterns and other fundamentals of speaking, reading, and writing will be taught using simplified Chinese characters. Novice Chinese will help students develop an interest and understanding of Mandarin Chinese with a focus on the four linguistic modalities: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Novice Chinese is a communicative Novice course according to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) World Readiness Standards.

Novice Mid Chinese is a continuation of Novice Chinese. This course continues the introduction to Mandarin (guoyu or putonghua), simple words and phrases, the pronunciation and cadences of Mandarin, Romanization, Chinese characters, and simple vocabulary items, all taught in the context of practical and meaningful communication. Sentence patterns and other fundamentals of speaking, reading and writing will be taught using simplified Chinese characters. Novice Mid Chinese continues the understanding of Mandarin Chinese with a focus on the four linguistic modalities: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Novice Mid Chinese is a communicative novice mid course according to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) World Readiness Standards.

Novice High A Chinese is a continuation of Novice Mid Chinese and is a communicative Novice High course according to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages World Readiness Standards. Students may anticipate learning a significant amount of new vocabulary, sentence patterns, and idiomatic expressions using simplified Chinese characters. Skits, oral presentations, writing assignments, and cultural activities are also part of this course. The course also integrates the four linguistic modalities: listening, reading, speaking and writing. The goal is to allow students to develop communicative strategies that will allow them to interact with linguistic material and speakers in the target language.

Novice High B Chinese is a Novice High course as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) World Readiness Standards. It is for students who have demonstrated proficiency in Novice High A Chinese or are placed into the course through a placement assessment. Novice High B Chinese expands the study of Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture from the previous year to develop a more in-depth understanding of familiar topics as well as introducing new topics such as transportation, daily schedules, and hobbies. Students continue to strengthen their linguistic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing within a given context. Students gain confidence in performing the basic functions of daily living and interacting with native speakers. Discussion of Chinese culture and Chinese relations are interspersed. 

Intermediate Chinese caters to students with a robust proficiency at the Intermediate level in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The course is designed for students raised in households where Mandarin Chinese is the primary language, students who have lived in countries where Chinese is the official language, and students who have been in Chinese immersion programs. The curriculum incorporates activities that help students understand their Chinese names, family backgrounds, various spoken Chinese dialects, and written systems. Instructional materials will be tailored to the heritage speakers’ language backgrounds.

Novice French is an introduction to the study of French and Francophone language and culture. It is designed for students with little or no prior exposure to the French language. Students will attain a Novice level of proficiency necessary for carrying out basic tasks and informational exchanges in everyday life, primarily through speaking but also by writing short dialogues, paragraphs, and poems. Listening and reading activities use authentic recordings and texts with a variety of native speakers from diverse Francophone countries. 

This course covers Units Preliminaire-3 (Introductions, Identity, School, and Family) of the textbook EntreCultures 1. Grammar topics include questions, negation, possessive adjectives, adjective agreement, the present tense (regular -er verbs & some irregular verbs), and articles. Students also become acquainted with cultural aspects of French-speaking countries around the world. French is the primary language of instruction in this course, and all students are expected to communicate in French to the best of their ability. 

Novice Mid French builds upon the skills, vocabulary, and grammar structures presented in the Novice French course. Students continue to build their proficiency by developing increasingly complex communication skills, primarily through speaking but also by writing short dialogues, paragraphs, and stories. Listening and reading activities use authentic recordings and texts with a variety of native speakers from diverse Francophone countries. 

This course covers Units 4-6 (Food, Hobbies, and City Life) of the textbook EntreCultures 1. Grammar topics include questions, negation, prepositions, the present tense (regular -er verbs, -re verbs & some irregular verbs), the near future tense, and articles. French is the primary language of instruction in this course, and students are expected to communicate in French to the best of their ability.

Novice High A French is a Novice High course as defined by American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) World Readiness Standards. Students will continue developing proficiency in French through a variety of tasks that involve culture, interactions, communication strategies, vocabulary, and language control. The course also integrates the four linguistic modalities: listening, reading, speaking, and writing. The goal is to allow students to develop communicative strategies that will allow them to interact with linguistic material and native speakers in the target language. Verb tenses studied are the présent, futur proche, and passé composé. Students are exposed to authentic materials from a variety of Francophone countries around the world. Novice High A French uses the digital textbook EntreCultures 2.

Novice High B French is a Novice High course as defined by American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) World Readiness Standards. It is for students who have demonstrated proficiency in Novice High A French. Students will continue developing proficiency in the target language through a variety of tasks that involve culture, personal interactions, communication strategies, vocabulary, and language control. The course also integrates the four linguistic modalities: listening, reading, speaking, and writing. The goal is to allow students to develop communicative strategies that will allow them to interact with linguistic material and native speakers in the target language. Verbs tenses studied are the présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur proche and futur. Students are exposed to authentic materials from a variety of Francophone countries around the world. EntreCultures 2 is the online text for this course.

Latin 1A introduces students to the study of the Latin language. Students will discuss the roots of the Latin language and its effect on modern languages. Grammar lessons will cover both the mechanics and syntax of noun declensions and verb conjugations, as well as the indirect statement. Latin 1A will learn the first, second, and third noun declensions, and active and passive voice present verbs in all conjugations. Special emphasis is placed on critical thinking and logical reasoning skills. Cultural studies in Latin 1A will focus on the early history of Rome and geography of the Italian peninsula. Throughout the year, Latin 1A students will encounter texts from ancient authors across several genres.

Latin 1B is the continuation of Latin 1A. In Latin 1B, students complete all noun declensions, as well as verb tenses in the indicative mood. Latin 1B students will encounter more elegant Latin constructions, such as clauses and participles. Special emphasis continues to be placed on critical thinking and logical reasoning skills. Cultural studies in Latin 1B will focus on the Roman Republic and geography of the city of Rome. Latin 1B students will also encounter the texts of more Roman authors and Latin literary genres.

Novice Spanish is an introductory course designed to facilitate communicative proficiency at the Novice level, aligned with the ACTFL Standards. Throughout the course, students will embark on a journey to develop their proficiency in the Spanish language through a diverse array of tasks encompassing cultural exploration, interactive engagements, communication strategies, vocabulary acquisition, and learning skills.

The classroom experience is structured around fostering proficiency in the four essential communicative skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Guided by the three modes of communication—interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational—the course curriculum is crafted to immerse students in authentic language contexts.

By the end of the course, students will have achieved a foundational level of proficiency necessary for basic communicative interactions in specific controlled situations related to familiar topics. This proficiency will be demonstrated through speaking, complemented by the ability to produce lists and short paragraphs, following a model. Finally, students will gain valuable insights into the cultural nuances of Spanish-speaking countries worldwide, enriching their understanding and appreciation of diverse cultural landscapes.

The goal of Novice Mid Spanish is to continue progressing toward the Novice Mid level, as specified by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency guidelines. The classroom experience is grounded in the four communicative skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The three modes of communication — interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational — provide the organizing principle for the course content. Students will enhance their proficiency in Spanish through a range of activities encompassing cultural exploration, interpersonal interactions, communication strategies, vocabulary acquisition, and language control.

Students continue to learn how to talk about themselves and their community, as well as to request and provide information using a variety of practiced or memorized words, phrases, simple sentences, and questions. They are exposed to authentic materials appropriate to their level. The class is taught almost exclusively in the target language, and students are expected to use the target language at all times to the best of their abilities.

Novice High Spanish spans two years at Durham Academy Middle School. Novice High A Spanish aims to progress towards the High B level, as specified by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency guidelines. The classroom experience is grounded in the four communicative skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The three modes of communication—interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational—provide the organizing principle for the course content. Students will enhance their proficiency in Spanish through various activities encompassing cultural exploration, interpersonal interactions, communication strategies, vocabulary acquisition, and language control.

Students develop the skills to identify the topic and isolate facts from texts, request and provide information by asking and answering questions, interact with others, and express, react to, and support preferences and opinions using a string of sentences. They are exposed daily to authentic materials appropriate to their level. The class is taught almost exclusively in the target language, and students are expected to use the target language at all times to the best of their ability.

The Novice High level spans two years at Durham Academy Middle School. The goal of Novice High B Spanish is to demonstrate Novice High proficiency, as specified by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency guidelines. The classroom experience is grounded in the four communicative skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The three modes of communication- interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational- provide the organizing principle for the course content. 

Students develop the skills to identify the topic and isolate facts from texts, to request and provide information by asking and answering questions, to interact with others, and to express, react, and support preferences and opinions using a string of sentences. Students are exposed daily to authentic materials appropriate to their level. The class is taught almost exclusively in the target language and students are expected to use the target language at all times to the best of their ability.

The Phenomenon of Language (POL) course is open to eighth-grade DA students by teacher recommendation only and is also for eighth-grade students new to DA with no previous language experience. POL is intended to prepare the learner for a successful experience in Upper School language courses. Students learn and discuss the definition and origins of human language, both verbal and signed. This class also discusses how language is processed by the brain. Throughout the year, students explore several languages utilizing different methods of language acquisition. In addition to linguistic lessons, cultural studies are featured as well. Emphasis is placed on study skills, organizational skills, and maintaining a growth mindset. Languages featured in Phenomenon of Language include American Sign Language, Latin, French and others.