St. John the Baptist High School

Why learn a second language you ask?  

There are so many reasons!  Students increase their brain power, gain better knowledge of cultural diversity, improve global employment and better job opportunities, make travel more enjoyable, improve vocabulary skills and knowledge of English, and even boost their confidence when native speakers are communicating with them.  For all these reasons and more, learning another language is a huge benefit
 
To highlight each of the languages the department acknowledges each “heritage month” as well as World Language Week by way of classroom activities, projects, musical selections, prayers in different languages and more so that students can embrace the cultural differences

REQUIRED COURSES

LEVELS I,II, III
The World Language Department offers courses in levels I-III of the prospective languages offered.  Students choose between Spanish, French or Italian. Students are required to complete a three-year sequence in a language for graduation. At the end of level three students must pass the Checkpoint B exam if they wish to graduate with an Advanced Regents diploma.

ELECTIVES

American Sign Language-Junior/Senior Elective
ASL I 
Students will learn basic conversational skills in American Sign Language and various aspects of deafness. Students will learn the structure, conversational vocabulary and grammatical principles of ASL while also focusing on the historical, cultural and social aspects of deafness. 
ASL II 
Students will continue development of manual fluency in American Sign Language. Emphasis is placed on expressive and receptive conversational skills.

LEVEL IVR - ALL LANGUAGES
Students further develop their skills from previous levels as they are introduced to new grammar and vocabulary.  Aspects of culture are emphasized through films and literature.  There is a greater emphasis on assessment though projects and presentations. Students are speaking and hearing the language almost daily

SPANISH IV H
This course is designed to provide a challenging opportunity to advanced students.  Students will be exposed to advanced grammar and vocabulary, reading compositions and literature, authentic realia through use of a variety of media. Students are exposed to aural as well as oral language opportunities daily

SPANISH LEVEL V/SJU
Students have the opportunity to explore different aspects of culture at this level, as well as speaking, listening, reading and writing the language continuously throughout this course.  Students will leave this course with the structures needed for communication and appreciation of other cultures. Students will have the opportunity to receive college credits in this course.  Students will be expected to complete aural as well as oral activities daily

NYS SEAL OF BILITERACY
In this course students have the opportunity to receive the NYS Seal of Biliteracy
Many states are beginning to award a Seal of Biliteracy in recognition of students who have studied and attained a high proficiency in two or more languages in high school, English being one of them.  The intent for the seal is to encourage the study of languages while preparing students with twenty-first century skills while affirming the value of diversity in a multilingual and global society.

Students MUST present a culminating project in World Language at the end of the course that meets the criteria for reading, writing and research established by the district’s Seal of Biliteracy Committee.  Students will engage in an interactive interview with a panel whereby students will demonstrate his/her understanding of the project topic, personal feelings to this topic and other questions asked by the panel.
Conversation of said project will take place in the target language at an intermediate level