World Language Department

Faculty:

Julio Arboleda	Valerie Barney
Susan Duffy	Tina Fidalgo	Shelley Finkelstein
Tuck Isherwood	Alexandra Marzulla	Rosibel Mota
Tema Parenti, Coordinator	Leyna Santore	Lynn Torres

Course Offerings:

Spanish I, II, III, Honors IV, V/VI, AP Spanish
French I, II, III, IV, V/VI, AP French
German I, II, III, Honors IV
Latin I, II, III, Honors IV
Italian I, II, III, Honors IV

Departmental Activities:

World Language Week (singing, dancing, games, movies)
Peer Tutoring
Trips (art museums, plays, concerts, ballet, opera, international festival)
Pen Pals
PAL (Parejas a Través de la Literatura - Spanish IV students read books on tape for 3rd graders to listen to during lunch)

Honor Societies:

La Société Honoraire de Francais Advisor: Shelley Finkelstein
German National Honor Society, Delta Epsilon Phi
La Società Onoraria Italica, Advisor: Leyna Santore
Latin Honor Society, Advisor: Tuck Isherwood
La Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica, Advisors: Rosibel Mota and Lynn Tremari

Other Highlights:

Interdisciplinary lessons, which include art, music, Social Studies and English
Language lessons in the Child Development class
Scholarships
Toy Drive
Clothing Drive
Food Drive
Fundraising (gift wrapping, candles, flowers, etc.
Save the Children Fund

Departmental Philosophy:

The study of world language provides a student with the opportunity to achieve personal and career goals as well as to fulfill an urgent national need. Recent studies of American education have indicated the importance of training greater numbers of students in the acquisition of language skills. There is an economic and political need for Americans with second language proficiency. The Middletown schools offer students a six year program in French or Spanish as well as a four year course of study in Latin, German, and Italian.

Achieving proficiency in a second language involves the development of skill in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students acquire these skills by pursuing a carefully sequenced modified audio-lingual course in the traditional manner.

In addition to communicative competence, the program of study has a strong cultural component. Students learn a great deal about the countries whose languages are being studied: history, geography, literature and social organization. This knowledge should lead to a greater understanding of our own country and the similarities and differences between cultures.