The increasing interdependence of nations and the rich cultural and linguistic diversity of California make it imperative that students develop communication skills in a second language.  The World Language Department at Aragon provides students with the skills needed to cooperate and compete economically and politically in our multi-cultural society. World language courses at Aragon are aligned with the National Standards formulated by ACTFL, the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages. These standards, known as the 5 Cs, emphasize communication in languages other than English, help students gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures, enable students to connect with and acquire information about other disciplines, foster the development of insight into the nature of language, culture, and encourage participation in multilingual communities at home and around the world. All language courses meet the UC and CSU “e” requirement.

CHINESE 1-2  Year Course

Prerequisite: None

Open to grades 9-12

Course Description: This is the first year course of a series of Chinese Mandarin courses designed to prepare students to meet the college second language requirement or for students who wish to pursue their personal interests in Mandarin Chinese. Students will learn Pinyin, radicals, frequently used characters, word usage, sentence patterns, and grammar. Students will develop basic listening, speaking, reading, and writing abilities in Mandarin Chinese. The students will also acquire the knowledge of Chinese culture and history. This course is for beginning students or non-native speakers only. Text: Integrated Chinese Level One, Part One.

CHINESE 3-4 Year Course

Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of Chinese 1-2 with the grade of “C” or better to begin Chinese 3

Open to grades 9-12

Course Description: This is a continuation of Chinese 1-2 with a holistic approach to develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills of the Chinese language. This course seeks to provide students with the most commonly used Chinese characters and phrases, further understanding of Chinese grammar, and abilities to read and write short essays. Students will advance the knowledge of Chinese culture and society. At the end of the year, students are expected to conduct basic daily communication in some real-life situations. Text: Integrated Chinese Level One, Part One.

CHINESE 5-6 Year Course

Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of Chinese 1-2 with the grade of “C” or better

Open to grades 9-12

Course Description: This is a continuation of Chinese 3-4. The completion of Chinese 3-4 is preferred. This course is intended to further developing the four communications skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The emphasis will be on students’ conversational and writing skills in Chinese. Students will expand the conversational skills on most familiar topics. Rigorous practice of spoken and written Chinese will be conducted. The instruction will be conducted in Chinese. Text: Integrated Chinese Level One, Part Two

FRENCH 7-8 H and FRENCH LANGUAGE (AP) Year Course

Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of French 5-6 with the grade of “B” or better

Open to grades 10-12

Course Description: During the fourth and fifth-year course, the student will synthesize the knowledge of the language they have acquired during the previous years. They will deepen their knowledge of the language by studying more complex syntactical structures, and the culture. The students will be engaged in communicative activities that will prepare them for the listening and speaking sections of the Advanced Placement test. They will speak, read, and write extensively in the language.

JAPANESE 1-2 Year Course

Prerequisite: None

Open to grades 9-12

Course Description: Introduction to elementary Japanese writing (Hiragana and Katakana) and sentence structures. Emphasis will be on the development of conversational skills. Upon completion of this level, the student will be able to make introductions, exchange greetings, give information about self, express apologies, make requests, ask and tell time, use numbers, count objects, make purchases, etc. Text: Bunka Shokyu Nihongo 1. This course is for beginning students or non-native speakers only.

Note: In Japanese 3-4, 5-6, and Upper Classes Students will be expected to speak Japanese in class most of the time. Text: Bunka Shokyu 1.

JAPANESE 3-4 Year Course

Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of Japanese 1-2 with the grade of “C” or better

Open to grades 9-12

Course Description: In this course, students will develop basic communicative ability and basic knowledge of the Japanese language including grammar, future and past expressions, more descriptive expressions, teaching others how to do and make objects, etc. More kanji will be introduced. Short essays and oral activities will be assigned throughout the course. The instruction will be conducted mostly in Japanese.

JAPANESE 5-6 Year Course

Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of Japanese 3-4 with the grade of “C” or better

Open to grades 9-12

Course Description: In this course, students will further develop their communicative ability in the use of the Japanese language. Emphasis will be placed on reading and listening comprehension, conversation, writing short essays, and appreciation of Japanese culture. Students will be expected to express and exchange opinions to the teacher and other classmates in Japanese as much as possible. More kanji will be taught.

JAPANESE 7H-8H and JAPANESE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE (AP) Year Course

Japanese 7H-8H

Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of Japanese 5-6 with the grade of “B” or better

Open to grades 10-12

Japanese Language and Culture (AP)

Prerequisite: AP Satisfactory completion of Japanese 7-8 with grade of “B” or better

Open to grades 10-12)

Course Description: This course is designed for advanced communicative ability in Japanese. Emphasis will be placed on reading and oral comprehension, conversation in a variety of situations, and appreciation of Japanese culture. Students will be engaged in communicative activities, which will prepare them for the listening and speaking sections of the AP test. Students will be expected to read simple stories, write short essays and stories with the use of a dictionary, and type some of their papers in Japanese. More kanji will be taught.

SPANISH 1-2 Year Course

Prerequisite: None

Open to grades 9-12

Course Description: Spanish 1-2 is designed to provide a core for future work in the language. The student is required to develop a basic mastery of the four language skills--speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The course also presents an introduction to the culture of the Spanish-speaking world. Vocabulary of interest to young people and basic grammatical concepts are studied. The basic text is Buen Viaje, Primer Nivel.. This course is for beginning students or non-native speakers only.

SPANISH 3-4 Year Course

Prerequisite: Successful completion of Spanish 1-2 with the grade of “C” or better

Open to grades 9-12

Course Description: In this course the students will continue to develop a mastery of the four language skills – speaking, listening, reading, and writing. They will further develop their oral skills, their knowledge of Spanish culture, and the skills needed to interact positively with members of the culture. They will become more confident in using the vocabulary studied, becoming more skillful in the conversational use of Spanish structures. They will develop needed skills in reading for content and begin to acquire basic skills in composition and speaking spontaneously. The basic text is Realidades 2.

SPANISH 5-6 Year Course

Prerequisite: Successful completion of Spanish 3-4 with the grade of “C” or better

Open to grades 9-12

Course Description: Spanish 5-6 is designed to bring the students to a level where they are able to satisfy most survival needs and many social demands. They should be able to show increased spontaneity in speaking. Accuracy is stressed. Students have fair control of basic grammar, including the tense forms, when communicating. Students will learn to discuss leisure time activities and other topics beyond survival needs. Writing will include some basic essays, reports, summaries, and translations. The basic text is Buen Viaje, Tercer Nivel. They will read a collection of stories and myths to supplement the text and improve the acquisition of vocabulary.

SPANISH 7H-8H Year Course

Prerequisite: Successful completion of Spanish 5-6 with the grade of “B” or better

Open to grades 10-12

Course Description: Spanish 7-8 is designed to enable the students to participate extensively in the life of the Hispanic society. The students should be able to manipulate most social situations and casual conversations regarding current events, work, family, and travel. Major emphasis will be placed upon conversation and oral skills. Grammar and writing skills will be reviewed and refined in the context of cultural studies, which will include the study of Spanish literature, art, music, and customs. The basic texts are Spanish Three Years (grammar), Album (literature), and Spanish Vocabulary (Schaum outline series).

SPANISH LANGUAGE (AP) Year Course

Prerequisite: Successful completion of Spanish 7-8 with “B” or better. No exceptions.

Open to grades 11-12

Course Description: This is a fifth-year, university-level Spanish course. Students communicate solely and exclusively in Spanish, and exposure to instruction, reading and auditory input is also entirely in Spanish. Grammar and vocabulary review is extensive. Students explore the arts, history, psychology, current events, and the literature of organization and writing processes, including the analysis and synthesis of various topics. Supplementary materials for students include textbooks (Una Vez Más, Album, and Abriendo Paso, Lectura, authentic written texts, internet sources, radio edits, and music. Podcast and voice-recording technology is used frequently for auditory input and oral assessment. Students should expect to master their abilities to respond to and express ideas—in both formal and informal communicative modes—with accuracy, fluency, and confidence. Students also prepare for success on the College Board’s Advanced Placement examination in May.

SPANISH FOR NATIVE SPEAKERS 5-6 Year Course

Prerequisite: 5-7 on diagnostic exam rubric and/or recommendation by Aragon staff.

Open to grades 9-12

Course Description: This course is tailored to build upon the existing skills of students who have Spanish as a primary language. Students will refine and expand their linguistic abilities. Areas of focus will include basic and advanced grammatical structure and orthography through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Through a variety of media, students will also explore culture, geography, history, current events, and literature of the Spanish-speaking world. This class will be taught exclusively in Spanish. A diagnostic entrance exam will be used to determine a minimal fluency in the areas of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students not meeting minimal requirements will be recommended to a traditional Spanish language course. Students exceeding the targeted level of language proficiency will be encouraged to enroll in the AP Spanish language class. This class is offered to students of any grade level. Upon completion of this course, instructors will recommend the appropriate subsequent level of Spanish study. This may be Spanish AP or a traditional Spanish 5-6 depending upon student proficiency.