World Language

The overall goals of world language study are effective communication and cultural understanding. The World Language Department at Saint Thomas Academy has adopted the following long-range goals:

· To provide the students with skills which will enable them to communicate orally and in writing with the speakers of another language and with people of other nationalities who have also learned the language.

· To bring the students to a greater understanding about people across national boundaries by giving them insight into the ways of life and ways of thinking of the people who speak the language they are learning.

· To increase the students’ understanding of how language functions and to bring them, through the study of world language, to a greater awareness of the functioning of their own language.

· To develop the students’ intellectual powers through world language study, training in memory, and the application of logical processes.

· To increase cultural awareness by the study of the literature and philosophy of the target culture.

· To encourage the students to read the world language with comprehension so that they may keep up with modern writing, research, and information.

Note: Placement in the appropriate level of World Language classes is determined by exam scores, satisfactory completion of a lower level course, and/or teacher recommendation. When determining the grade levels for each course for students in the Middle School, those who come to us with years of language study will be placed in high school classes. For example, an 8th grader with 7 years of French from the immersion school goes directly into Honors French III.  The 8th grade language course is not considered part of the student’s high school language requirement.

Bilingual Students. Students who are functionally bilingual upon entrance into the Academy may petition the language department to be exempt from the language requirement. This procedure includes a signed, formal document from a certified professional, detailing the student’s language abilities in the five skills of reading, writing, speaking, listening comprehension, and culture. Discussion and evaluation of the individual circumstances is a deciding factor. This request should be submitted in writing to the Dean of Academics. Because of the experience and abilities of bilingual students, the world language department highly recommends that they pursue another language.