Upper
School

Goals
Modern Language Department

 

aking the word “language” as the human faculty for expressing and communicating by means of a system of spoken or written signs, we see our task as providing our students with the means to do just that, only in a foreign tongue.

     Our choice of French in Action and Destinos to supplement the core programs attests to our belief that one learns to speak by actually listening and speaking. The aural-oral components of these two programs and our commitment to use the target language as much as possible in the classroom allow students to develop these skills as early as possible in the first stages of learning.

      At the same time, we believe that a language, to be an efficient means of self-expression and communication, must follow the rules that regulate its production. The teaching of grammar is thus concurrent with the aural-oral activities and promotes reading and writing as refined tools for self-expression and communication.

     We believe also that language is the soul of a nation, and by teaching French, Chinese, or Spanish, we introduce our students to the broader cultural environments of these countries.

     Our holistic approach to teaching, as demonstrated by our choice of the aforementioned programs and by the variety of materials (literary works, movies, newspaper articles, etc.) we use in our courses, develops our students' linguistics abilities and helps them to achieve at their highest potential.

 See also: “Department Philosophy” on the main Foreign Language web page.

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