Foreign Language

(301) 649-2867
Resource Teacher: Arlette Loomis
Arlette_Loomis@mcpsmd.org

Jump to: Departmental Goals | Courses

The Staff:

Arabic

  • Sawsan Darwish – Sawsan_Darwish@mcpsmd.org

French

  • Michael Honigsberg – Michael_E_Honigsberg@mcpsmd.org
  • Mbaya Kabemba – Mbaya_Kabemba@mcpsmd.org
  • Arlette Loomis – Arlette_Loomis@mcpsmd.org

Japanese

  • Kenneth Seat – Kenneth_W_Seat@mcpsmd.org
  • Yoko Zoll – Yoko_H_Zoll@mcpsmd.org

Latin

  • Susan Comstock – Susan_M_Comstock@mcpsmd.org
  • Robert Johnson – Robert_W_JohnsonIII@mcpsmd.org

Spanish

  • Laura Bodin – Laura_V_Bodin@mcpsmd.org
  • Dianette Coombs – Dianette_Coombs@mcpsmd.org
  • María Cuadrado Corrales – Maria_A_CuadradoCorrales@mcpsmd.org
  • Kerri Galloway – Kerri_Galloway@mcpsmd.org
  • Dora González – Dora_N_Gonzalez@mcpsmd.org
  • Robert Johnson – Robert_W_JohnsonIII@mcpsmd.org
  • Gale Shipp – Gale_R_Shipp@mcpsmd.org
  • Maria Yordán-Torres – Maria_YordanTorres@mcpsmd.org

Departmental Goals:

The goal of the Montgomery Blair School modern foreign language program is to expose students to a language and culture in order to make them knowledgeable and active members of a global society. Students will learn to use modern foreign languages for meaningful communication in both spoken and written form. The foreign language program emphasizes language as it is used in various real-life situations that students are most likely to encounter. Through foreign language study, students develop sensitivity to the cultural and linguistic heritage of other groups and their influence on our own, and are prepared to participate in a society characterized by linguistic and cultural diversity.

Overarching Enduring Understandings:

  • As the world moves towards a global community, it is increasingly important to be able to communicate in languages other than English.
  • It is important to understand the perspectives of a culture that generate its patterns of behavior, ways of life, world views and contributions.
  • Proficiency in a foreign language is a vehicle to gaining knowledge that can only be acquired through that language and its culture.
  • The study of a modern foreign language enables students to develop insights into the nature of language and culture.
  • Learning a modern foreign language enables an individual to participate in multilingual communities.

Courses:

French/Spanish 1, 2, & 3 –(1 credit each; level 3 is an Honors level course) In levels 1 – 3, the vocabulary that the students learn is directly related to the purposes and situations identified with each topic. Teachers will also select vocabulary to reflect the students’ needs and interests in each thematic topic. Vocabulary instruction is heavily emphasized over linguistic competence at these levels, although a greater emphasis on structural accuracy to enhance communication occurs in each year of successive language study.

The Foreign Language Curriculum Framework delineates the performance indicators for levels 1 – 3 of modern foreign languages at Montgomery Blair High School. The performance indicators state what the students should know and be able to do at each level of instruction. In order to achieve these indicators, a thematic content base with accompanying vocabulary topics and essential structures has been identified. Within a given theme area, the performance indicators of the communication goal are the primary focus and the performance indicators in the goal areas of culture, comparisons, connections, and communities provide broader connections for the student in which to learn the language.

Instructional Approach

The study of a language system involves learning vocabulary and structures in the context of the meaning one wishes to convey. It also involves nonverbal communication, knowledge of status and discourse style, and at times, the learning of a whole new alphabet. Communication strategies must be taught to enable students to circumlocute, and to derive meaning from context. Direct instruction in language learning strategies should be a part of the experience.

Frequent on-going assessment of students’ progress in the foreign language is essential. Teachers pre-assess the students’ knowledge of vocabulary, structures, and reading content before actual instruction begins. Formative assessments take place at regular intervals during the instructional stage to check for understanding and mastery of the material being taught. Summative assessments evaluate all the goals in the standards and mirror the activities used to teach the topics.

French/Spanish 4 & 5 – (1 credit each; Honors level) The instruction is based on a broad arrange of interdisciplinary context and themes with increasing emphasis on refining language use appropriate to various sociocultural contexts. At each level of instruction, students learn to communicate using themes areas or content. Students at this level, work with an increasing number of authentic listening materials selected by the teacher. Students continue to expand and refine their ability to communicate in both oral and written form, to understand as well as produce language, and to do it in ways that reflect an understanding and appreciation of the target culture. Increasingly, literature may serve as a vehicle of attaining course objectives.

Instructional Approach

Content spheres are the vehicles for achieving the course objectives listed below. The teacher will select four of the six spheres each semester in order to attain a particular objective and several spheres may be integrated within one unit. The only exception is in the courses preparing students for the Advance Placement (AP) Literature examination in which literature may be the sole content sphere. A wide range of materials (films, video, movies, non-fiction, fiction, etc.) should be used in every course. Content spheres for levels 4-6 are:

  • History, geography, politics, economics
  • Music, art, architecture, film, theater
  • Literature, philosophy
  • Social conditions, everyday life, social institutions
  • Career awareness, contributions to science and technology
  • Current events, contemporary issues

The Advance Placement courses place high emphasis on the mastery of linguistic competencies at a very high level of proficiency.

AP French Language – (1 credit; Honors level) Please go to the following web site for course information: http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/ap/students/french/ap03_french.pdf

AP Spanish Language – (1 credit; Honors level) Please go to the following website for course information: http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/ap/students/spanish/ap_cd_spanish.pdf

AP French Literature – (1 credit; Honors level) Please go to the following website for course information: http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/ap/students/french/ap03_french.pdf

AP Spanish Literature – (1 credit; Honors level) Please go to the following website for course information: http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/ap/students/spanish/ap_cd_spanish.pdf

Latin 1 & 2 – (1 credit each) In levels 1 – 2, the concentration is on the basic elements of Latin grammar. Students continue to master the basic structures of Latin, using listening speaking and writing as means of increasing their reading comprehension and translating skills. Attention is focused on Latin word building (roots, prefixes, spelling changes in compounds, and word families) and related patterns in English and modern languages. Through the reading in text and enrichment translations and activities, students continue to learn about the daily life and values of the early Romans, gain insights into the classical heritage of the Western world, and the events of Roman world and its impact on contemporary life.

Instructional Approach

The study of a language system involves learning vocabulary and structures in the context of the meaning one wishes to convey. It also involves nonverbal communication, and knowledge of status and discourse style. Communication strategies must be taught to enable students to circumlocute, and to derive meaning from context. Direct instruction in language learning strategies should be a part of the experience.

Frequent on-going assessment of students’ progress in the foreign language is essential. Teachers pre-assess the students’ knowledge of vocabulary, structures, and reading content before actual instruction begins. Formative assessments take place at regular intervals during the instructional stage to check for understanding and mastery of the material being taught. Summative assessments evaluate all the goals in the standards and mirror the activities used to teach the topics.

Latin 3 – (1 credit; Honors level) In this course students concentrate on the prose writings of some major Latin authors. They translate at least one major writing of Cicero (an oration or philosophical essay) and learn the hallmarks of his style. They also read selections from Sallust, the historian, and Pliny, the letter writer. Readings in medieval Latin or Roman satire complete the study of Latin prose writers. Students master the advanced grammatical structures found in the writings of Cicero. They also focus on the use of rhythm, word placement, and rhetorical devices as tools in the lands of a Latin orator or prose writer. In the second semester, the course focuses on poetry and the lighter themes of Latin literature. Students read the lyric poems of Horace and Catullus, the elegies of Propertius and Tibullus, and the verses of Ovid. They also may read scenes from a comedy by Plautus. In connection with their readings, students learn basic metrical schemes, poetic devices, and special grammatical forms used by poets.

A.P. Latin Literature – (1 credit; Honors level) This course prepares students for the A.P. Latin Literature test. The course offers selections from Catullus, Cicero, Horace, or Ovid. The examination is designed to test the candidate's ability to read, translate, understand, analyze, and interpret the required selections. In addition, AP Latin courses include the study of the cultural, social, and political context of the literature on the syllabus.

Spanish for Spanish Speakers 1/2/3 – (1 credit each; level 3 is an Honors level course) Spanish for Spanish speakers provides continuing language instruction for students who have a developed proficiency in Spanish. This course utilizes a language arts approach comparable to that of English courses offered to English-speaking students.

Instructional Approach

The curriculum is based on a three-year cycle. Four thematic units of study have been developed to assist students in achieving ht specified learner outcomes. Within each year, each of the four themes that constitute the curriculum is taught (Heritage, Identity, Family Relationships, and Community). Within each thematic unit, there are three levels of performance corresponding to levels I-III of Spanish for Spanish Speakers. Thus, all students encounter the same themes but may used differentiated materials and engage in differentiated tasks that reflect their ability and needs. A student who takes three levels of this course will encounter the same themes for each of the three years, but increasingly difficult levels and without repeating the content of previous courses.

Useful Links:

General:

http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/lang/programs/high_school.shtm
http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/lang/curriculum/vocabulary_lists.shtm

French:

http://www.fll.vt.edu/french/whyfrench.html
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/Unofficial/Canadiana/README.html
http://www.info-france.org/
http://www.urich.edu/~jpaulsen/civfrw3.html
http://www.edu.leeds.ac.uk/~jjsh/web-fr.htm
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/rene.oster/indexnoel.htm

TV/Radio/Communication

http://www.lemonde.fr/
http://www.liberation.com/
http://www.lefigaro.fr/
http://www.parismatch.com/

African Unit

http:/users.skynet.be/african/

Latin:

http://www.julen.net/ancient/
http://library.thinkquest.org/11402/
http://www.clubs.psu.edu/aegsa/rome/romec.html
http://www.ghgcorp.com/shetler/rome/
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/w/x/wxk116/romeball.html

Dictionaries:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/
http://www.csbsju.edu/library/internet/latin.html

Spanish:

http://www.sispain.org/SiSpain/english/

Dictionaries

http://tradu.scig.uniovi.es/conjuga.html
http://www.rae.es
http://www.diccionarios.com

TV/Radio/Communication

http://www.elpais.es
http://www.abc.es
http://www.mega.com
http://www.telemundo.com
http://www.univision.co