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Spanish is offered to all students. Those students
who plan to continue their education beyond the high school level
will find it advantageous to take Spanish. Many college and
university departments have a foreign language requirement for their
degree programs. It is often easier to fulfill this requirement (or
a portion of the requirement) through high school study rather than
college study. Generally, if you are a very good student, one year
of high school foreign language is roughly equivalent to half a
semester of college-level foreign language. Students planning to
attend the University of Nebraska at Lincoln must successfully
complete Spanish II in order to meet entrance requirements.
Students considering a degree program through the UNL College of
Arts & Sciences or the UNL College of Journalism should be aware
that these colleges require their graduates to complete 16 hours of
foreign language study. Students who complete four years of high
school foreign language are exempt from the 16-hour language
requirement.
The study of a foreign language can increase
students' knowledge of the world around them while providing another
positive way for students to successfully communicate in our
ever-changing global society. Knowing how to speak Spanish--even
basic survival Spanish--is an asset as well as a useful skill for
students to possess. It will be even more so as our Hispanic
population continues to increase in the United States.
All Spanish classes will focus on several educational
goals. Primary focus will be given to the five goals of language
learning as are prescribed by the Nebraska Department of Education.
The five goals of language learning are:
1.
Communication--communicate in languages
other than English;
2.
Cultures--gain knowledge and
understanding of other cultures;
3.
Connections--connect with other
disciplines and acquire information;
4.
Comparisons--develop insight into the
nature of language and culture;
5.
Communities--participate in
multilingual communities at home and around the world.
To achieve these goals several methods of teaching
will be used. Scaffolding, total physical response, contextualized
input, output and interaction, story-based approaches and
community-based learning are some of these methods. Focus, at
times, will also be on increasing students' knowledge of grammar,
phonetics, and other linguistic structures in their native
language. Second language acquisition improves when students
understand better the conventions, features, and universal grammar
of their native language.
SPANISH 8
Offered as a semester course, this class is designed
to introduce students to the world of Spanish. It is also designed
to get students excited about studying languages in general.
Students will learn a variety of vocabulary and will be able to
produce and manipulate basic communicative phrases. Lessons will
focus on greetings and introductions, telling time, describing
people, naming family members, and discussing the weather. Students
will also learn idiomatic expressions, songs, games, and cultural
information. Some grammar structures will be introduced, but
primary focus will be on verbal communication and listening.
Students will be required to make flashcards, family photo albums,
and personal dictionaries.
Prerequisite: Willingness to participate
actively in class each day. Students should also be prepared to
practice what they learn outside of class on a regular basis and to
spend time memorizing vocabulary. Appropriate classroom behavior
will also be observed.
SPANISH I - GRADES 9-12
Offered as a year-long course, this class is designed
to introduce students to some of the basic features and conventions
of the Spanish language. Reading, writing, listening and speaking
are key elements in any language acquisition, and these will be of
primary focus in this class. Students will learn a variety of
vocabulary as well as a variety of linguistic structures. Present
and future tenses and the nine parts of speech will be covered in
this course. Time will also be spent learning about different
cultures in which the Spanish language is spoken. Textbooks, music,
games, and authentic materials will also be used to enhance the
learning environment. Students will be required to make flashcards,
personal dictionaries, journals, graphic organizers, portfolios and
oral presentations. Students will also read current event articles
(from newspapers, magazines, etc.) that deal with Hispanic topics
that affect our communities.
Prerequisite: Willingness to participate
actively in class each day. Students should also be prepared to
practice what they learn outside of class on a regular basis and to
spend time memorizing vocabulary. Appropriate classroom behavior
will also be observed.
SPANISH II - GRADES 10-12
This course is a continuation of Spanish I, and it
will advance previously learned concepts and ideas as well as
introduce new ones. The two past tenses of Spanish will be a
primary focus as well as the future tense. More verbal and written
production of language will be expected, and students will be
required to make portfolios, personal dictionaries, graphic
organizers and journals. Students will also be required to work in
a group setting with a great deal of time spent creating and
functioning in a pretend "familia." Television programming, music,
games and authentic materials will again be used to enhance
learning.
Prerequisite: Willingness to participate
actively in class each day. Students should also be prepared to
practice what they learn outside of class on a regular basis and to
spend time memorizing vocabulary. Appropriate classroom behavior
will also be observed. Students must have achieved a "C" or better
in Spanish I or have teacher and administrative approval.
SPANISH III & IV - GRADES 11-12
Spanish III & IV are courses which will continue to
build upon the previously learned functions, vocabulary, linguistic
features, and conventions of the Spanish language. Oral
presentations and production will be important goals in these
classes. Several of the remaining simple and compound verb tenses
will be introduced including the conditional and subjunctive
tenses. Vocabulary will be expanded, and learned linguistic
structures will be reinforced. Television programming, music,
games, field trips, authentic materials and current event news items
will all be used to enhance the learning environment in the
classroom. Verbal and written production in the target language
will be a primary focus. Art projects and reports in the target
language will also be required.
Prerequisite: Willingness to participate
actively in class each day. Students should also be prepared to
practice what they learn outside of class on a regular basis and to
spend time memorizing vocabulary. Appropriate classroom behavior
will also be observed. Students must have achieved a "C" or better
in Spanish II or have teacher and administrative approval. |
