Foreign Language

Goals and Objectives

The Foreign Language Department of  Marquette Catholic High School seeks to instill in its students an understanding of the grammatical aspects of the target language, an appreciation for the culture of those who speak the language, as well as develop a world view about their relationship to the wider global community.

More specifically, the department wishes to achieve the following:

• functional grammar usage
• increased knowledge of vocabulary (escalating according to skill level)
• an environment which allows students to be comfortable with the language, in speaking, writing, listening, and reading
• development of problem-solving strategies, increasing independence between student and teacher
• a heightened level of cultural awareness and acceptance of ideas and opinions different from their own – encouraging them in building sympathy, empathy, and compassion for others both in the target language community as well as a wider world community

Students will learn and be evaluated through the use of:
Note:  These methods will vary by language and skill level

• Daily grammatical and vocabulary exercises
• Class discussions about past and current issues of the countries and culture
• Frequent to constant use of target language by teacher, as well as English
• Formal quizzes, tests, and other assessments
• Project grades
• Increasing level of student involvement (or lack thereof)

Spanish

Goals and Objectives

The Spanish program is developed to foster all of the aspects mentioned as part of the Foreign Language Department’s goals and objectives.  In addition, the Spanish program also provides specific goals and objectives to the learning of the Spanish language by those students who choose to take it.

The Spanish program seeks to:

• Teach through the Discovery Philosophy according to this philosophy, the teacher helps students to discover what he or she is saying in the target language without giving them the answer.  Additionally, the teacher encourages students to ”use” friends around them to help translate and work through problem solving, promoting independence form the teacher and, hopefully, eventually from each other.
• Encourage use of whatever Spanish students know/Spanglish is “ok” as long as students are progressing (it is not encouraged specifically, but their use of Spanish is praised)
• Use projects, games, and hands on activities foster excitement for the language, and help foster an attitude of acceptance

Students in the Spanish program will be assessed through the use of:

• Formal quizzes, tests
• Project grades
• Increasing level of student involvement (or lack of)
• Observation of individual student anxiety level within classroom (should ease with progression in language)
• Observation of overall classroom environment and level of anxiety (should ease)
• Observations dealing with students’ willingness to speak Spanish, be more independent in discovering answers for themselves (look things up instead of asking teacher for answers, ultimately use teacher only as a resource)

French

Goals and Objectives

The French program is developed to foster all of the aspects mentioned as part of the Foreign Language Department’s goals and objectives.  In addition, the French program also provides specific goals and objectives to the learning of the French language by those students who choose to take it.

The French program seeks to:

• Teach through a mix of the Discovery Philosophy and Direct Instruction to allow students to develop independence from the teacher and reference materials.
• Encourages the use of whatever French students know.  “Franglais” is okay as long as student progress from Franglais to Francais.
• Use of projects, games, and hands on activities foster excitement for the language.
• Use of French realia will increase cultural knowledge and interest in francophone cultures.

Students in the French program will be assessed through the use of:

• Formal Quizzes and Tests
• Graded projects
• Classroom participation
• Homework Assignments
• Effort (trying to use French, asking relevant questions, looking things up instead of asking the teacher)
• Progression