The Urbana Middle School offers three foreign languages: French, German, and Spanish. Sixth grade students who elect the exploratory foreign language courses will take all three languages with each course being six weeks in length. Two years of successful foreign language study in grades seven and eight serve as a one-year placement credit toward high school foreign language study. Seventh and eighth grade students who wish to continue in foreign language must receive a passing grade each semester.
Through the use of realia (videos, songs, cartoons, ads, etc.), students are introduced to the francophone world with its many accents and cultures. They will also learn about the geography of France and things to see in Paris. In language, emphasis is on the development, listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in limited situations: greetings, introductions, spelling names, ordering food and paying for it and asking the date and time of an event.
The course develops students' reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in French to allow effective communication of the topics covered. Emphasis is vocabulary (activities, body, classroom, weather, food), pronunciation and simple grammar (adjectives, articles and present tense conjugations). Students will also be introduced to the various regions of France and the history of cultures that make them distinct. Educational games, skits, songs, films and sampling French foods add to the enjoyment of learning another language.
Prerequisite: French I. French II builds upon French I. New topics are introduced (clothing, transportation, city directions, home) and grammar becomes more complex (partitive articles, future and past tenses, irregular adjectives, etc.). Culture continues to be studied as in relation to topic. At the end of eighth grade, students should be able to express themselves both orally and in writing using more advanced vocabulary and a variety of tenses. Educational games, skits, songs, stories and films add to the enjoyment of learning another language.
Spanish is offered as an elective for six weeks in the sixth grade. Students study the culture of the Hispanic world and the Spanish alphabet, greetings, numbers, months and days of the week, colors, weather expressions and the family vocabulary. Spanish videos, tapes, magazines and games are used.
Seventh grade Spanish emphasizes vocabulary and the basic skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Oral work is stressed, along with written assignments which help students to learn basic grammar principles. Each student has a textbook. By the end of grade 7, the student should have good pronunciation and be able to speak in simple sentences, sufficient to carry on a converstaion using the vocabulary learned. The culture and people of Spanish-speaking countries are also introduced by using videos, tapes and magazines. This course requires homework. The textbook used is Glencoe: Buen Viaje!.
Prerequisite: Spanish I. The eighth grade Spanish course is a continuation of the seventh grade course. Oral practice is still stressed and more writing and reading are done. The grammar becomes more complex and the past tense of verbs is learned. At the end of eighth grade, students should be able to converse with more advanced vocabulary in both the present and past tense. They should be able to construct sentences and read well. Cultural aspects continue to be discussed in class. Videos, tapes, magazines and games add to the adventure of learning Spanish. Homework is required. The textbook used is Glencoe: Buen Viaje!.
Sixth grade German students are introduced to the German language and culture. The alphabet, numbers, greetings, farewells, names of classroom objects and other basic vocabulary are learned with an emphasis on usage. Games, dialogues, films, tapes and physical action enhance the language learning process.
Seventh graders are introduced to spoken and written German through formal and informal classroom activities. Games, conversations and films are used to reinforce the learning of a new language. Basic grammar, pronunciation, geography and cultural aspects of German-speaking people are included in this foundation-building year of German study. Homework is required. The textbook is Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Komm mit!.
Prerequisite: German I. Eighth graders continue to increase their listening, speaking, writing and reading skills based upon the foundation of German I. Communication and the influence of culture on language, daily life and worldview are stressed. Students engage in a variety of group activities including the construction and performance of dialogues and stories. Homework is required. Students will use the text book Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Komm mit!.
