Greenhills School Course Guide
Middle School Modern and Classical Languages
To view the class track for a particular language, select the language from the list below:
Introduction
Our middle school language program is a three-year sequence of study that starts with beginning level courses in the 6th grade. Our students begin with one language in 6th grade and follow it through to the end of 8th grade. Throughout the entire middle school program our students meet regularly, exactly as any other academic subject at any level. In 6th grade, students and families get to indicate a preference and reasons for choosing either Spanish, French, or Latin, though the school makes the final decision on language placement in the 6th grade.
What distinguishes our middle school language program from many others is that we are able to teach, even from the very beginning of 6th grade, using the target language. For French, Spanish and Chinese classes, French, Spanish and Chinese are used as the primary means of instruction and communication right from the start, and in Latin classes, emphasis is placed on Latin as a means of communication and it is used for part of each class period. This dedication to a communicative approach allows our students to attain a very high degree of competence and sophistication in their language skills, an accomplishment of which students and teachers alike are justifiably proud.
Department Philosophy
Our department philosophy is derived from three basic beliefs: (1) that learning a foreign language is a life-long process, (2) that the knowledge of more than one language contributes to being a truly educated person, and (3) that language and communication are at the heart of the human experience.
Throughout the program, we provide our students with an encouraging, nurturing, inclusive and supportive classroom atmosphere in which risk-taking is welcome. We encourage each of our students to experiment with their foreign language so they can truly progress and reach their potential. Placed in a communicative framework, our students are active learners every day as they strive for excellence and develop strategies for life-long language learning.
Our program is designed to satisfy the many different ways in which our students might use foreign languages in the future, be it for academic or personal goals. Therefore, our classes combine a rigorous, scholarly approach with a broad understanding of and appreciation for the ways in which language is used on a daily basis.
Finally, by studying classical and modern languages and interacting with ancient and modern civilizations, our students gain valuable insights into language development and the human experience. The traditional linguistic skills - reading, writing, speaking, and listening - are embedded in a creative, motivating and cultural context that maintains an awareness of the goals outlined as National Standards (communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities) and accordingly always connects the students with the larger aspects of the language they are learning. Through their direct interactions with traditions, history, literature, politics, music and art, our students experience the richness of the world's diversity.
It is difficult to imagine any future profession, career, or leisure activity that will not be enhanced by the ability to communicate efficiently and sensitively with others, both in English and other languages. Though we cannot foresee exactly which world language will be the most useful later in life for each of our students, those who have gone through the entire process of learning a second or third language will have gained skills and an openness that will make the learning of any future languages easier. Therefore, we encourage our students to stay with their languages for as long as they can.
Placement and Points of Importance
- Upon entering Greenhills Middle School, each student is required to sign up for one of the school's languages (French, Latin, Spanish or Chinese) and follow it through till the end of 8th grade.
- Sixth grade French, Spanish and Chinese classes focus primarily on the acquisition of oral and listening skills. Writing skills are developed more intensively starting in 7th grade.
- In terms of level of difficulty for English speakers, French, Spanish, and Latin are rated by the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages as Category I languages. Mandarin Chinese is rated as a Category IV language. More work on a daily basis will be required from students studying Chinese and students should have well-developed study and organizational skills.
- Students entering our middle school program who have had significant previous language experience in French, Spanish, Latin or Chinese and who wish to advance will be interviewed and tested to determine their best placement.
- At the 7th and 8th grade levels, for those new students with little or no previous language experience, we offer a special beginning language course in either French or Latin which will cover in one year the material normally covered in two years (French A or Latin A). The 7th graders in this group will be able to join other 8th graders the following year and they will be prepared to do this. The 8th graders in the group will be prepared to enroll in upper school Level I language, which is fast-paced and intensive, designed to cover in one year what is taught in the middle school in three years. For those new 8th graders who are motivated and willing to step up to the challenge and homework of upper school language upon entering Greenhills and who demonstrate this at an interview, we will offer the possibility of enrolling in Level I upper school language, either Spanish, French, Latin or Chinese.
- Opportunities to participate in national language competitions are offered for middle school students.
- Field trips, trips to other countries and many other special cultural activities enhance our daily foreign language classes.
- A special Foreign Language Week is organized every year which celebrates languages and language learning and offers many special activities.
