Students must successfully complete two units of study (1 high school credit) and pass a locally developed exam that is aligned to the Checkpoint A Learning Standards by the end of grade 9.

Mandarin 1

This  a one-year course, introducing the Mandarin language and culture.  No previous knowledge of Mandarin is assumed or required.  Students will practice the four language skills – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – with an emphasis on building basic communication skills.  In addition, students will survey aspects of the history, culture, geography, and daily life in Mandarin speaking countries.  The New York State Learning Standards for World Languages and World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages provide the curricular framework and rationale for the course.  Students that successfully complete this course will take High School Mandarin 2 the following year in the high school.

• Grade: 9 – 12
• Prerequisites: None
• Length: 40 weeks
• Final Evaluation: Cumulative Test
• Credits: 1

Mandarin 2

This is the second year course in a 3 year Regents track Checkpoint B sequence. The New York State Learning Standards for World Languages and World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages provide the curricular framework and rationale for the course. The basic skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) continue to be developed with increasing emphasis on developing greater proficiency in reading and writing.  The introduction of more complex grammar topics occurs with more regularity. The teacher will revisit and expand upon some topics from Mandarin 1 with additional vocabulary and more sophisticated content and concepts.

• Grade: 9-12
• Prerequisites: Successful completion of Mandarin 1 Accelerated and the Checkpoint A final exam in the middle school; in the high school, successful completion of Mandarin 1
• Length: 40 weeks
• Final Evaluation: Cumulative Test
• Credits: 1

Mandarin 3

The teacher will continue to instruct students in acquiring greater proficiency in reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in Mandarin. The New York State Learning Standards for World Languages and World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages provide the curricular framework and rationale for the course. In this level, there will be a greater concentration than in previous years on building productive skills, namely writing and speaking. The teacher will continue to emphasize considerable vocabulary acquisition through various texts  and discussion. The examination  and practice  of advanced points of grammar will also occur regularly to build capacity to converse in the past, present and future tenses.. Students will take a locally developed exam for Regents credit upon completion of this course.  Students must pass both the course and the exam in order to receive credit.

• Grade: 9  – 12
• Prerequisites: Successful completion of Mandarin II
• Final Evaluation:  locally developed exam for Regents credit
• Credits: 1

Spanish 1 Exploratory

Spanish 1 Exploratory is a one-year course, which introduces the Spanish language and culture.  Students practice the four language skills – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – with an emphasis on vocabulary and pronunciation. Students will survey aspects of the history, culture, geography, and daily life in Spanish speaking countries. The introductory nature of the course permits students to become acquainted with Spanish and to strengthen skills in the acquisition of this language. This course is project based and is designed to help students obtain one credit of study in a second language in order to meet the New York State requirement for graduation. Students who take this course are not eligible to continue taking Spanish without the teacher’s recommendation.

• Grade: 9 – 12
• Prerequisites: For students who fail Spanish 1, Spanish 1A, or the local exam in middle school.
• Length: 40 weeks
• Final Evaluation: Cumulative Test/Project
• Credits: 1

Spanish Language Arts

The Spanish Language Arts course uses the New York State Standards and the World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (ACTFL) ) as a framework for instruction. The main goal of the course is to improve literacy in students whose first language is Spanish. While the topics follow the mentioned standards, they were also chosen because they are interdisciplinary; that is, their study could benefit students’ comprehension of content in their other classes, such as ELA, science, history, math, art and music. By examining and studying these subjects in Spanish, it is hypothesized that students will encounter high frequency words, tasks, and objectives characteristic of, and inherent in, the respective subjects.

• Grade: 9 – 12
• Prerequisites: For students whose first or second language is Spanish, or for those whose first or second language is not Spanish but have successfully completed Spanish 3 and the final exam.  Teacher recommendation is required.
• Length: 40 weeks
• Final Evaluation: Cumulative Test and/or Project
• Credits: 1

Spanish 2

This is the second year course in a 3 year Regents track Checkpoint B sequence. The New York State Learning Standards for World Languages and World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages provide the curricular framework and rationale for the course. The basic skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) continue to be developed with increasing  emphasis on developing greater proficiency.  The introduction of more complex grammar topics occurs with more regularity,  although it is not a primary focus of the class.  A course goal is that students will be able to communicate at a basic level in the past, present and future tenses.

• Grade: 9 – 12
• Prerequisites: successful completion of Spanish I Accelerated or Spanish Heritage in the middle school.  Students taking Spanish 1 Accelerated and Spanish Heritage in middle school must also have passed the checkpoint A local exam to be eligible for the course.  Students who pass Spanish Exploratory at the high school are eligible to take the course with teacher recommendation.
• Length: 40 weeks
• Final Evaluation: Local Exam
• Credits: 1

Spanish 3 (Regents)

The New York State Learning Standards for World Languages and World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages provide the curricular framework and rationale for the course.  Students will continue to acquire greater proficiency in reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in Spanish.  This year there will be a greater concentration of effort than in previous years on building productive skills, namely writing and speaking abilities.  There will be an emphasis on considerable vocabulary acquisition through reading of various texts and through discussion in Spanish. The examination and practice of advanced points of grammar will also occur regularly to build greater ease in conversing in the past, present and future tenses.  Students will take a locally developed exam for Regents credit upon completion of this course.  Students must pass both the course and the exam in order to receive credit.

• Grade: 9  – 12
• Prerequisites: Successful completion of Spanish II or Spanish Language Arts
• Length: 40 weeks
• Final Evaluation:  locally developed exam for Regents credit
• Credits: 1

Spanish 4-5 | SUNY Sullivan (SCCC)

This is a full year sequence of two semester courses in which students complete Spanish 4 the first semester and Spanish 5 the second semester. Students MUST COMMIT to completing both semesters in sequence. This is a college level course in which students have the option of taking it for credit through Sullivan County Community College (SCCC).  New York State and American Council of the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Standards provide the academic framework for the course. Throughout the course, students will practice and hone three modes of communication–interpersonal, presentational and interpretive–and apply and expand upon the skills, knowledge and abilities, acquired in Spanish 1, 2 and 3. Each unit will include several readings, vocabulary, grammar, and cultural topics. There will be a central  course focused on developing high levels of proficiency in reading comprehension, critical thinking and writing skills, as well as on students’ abilities to research, create claims, cite textual evidence and present findings and personal perspectives in Spanish. Students will surely acquire more advanced grammatical knowledge; however, it is not the primary course objective.

• Grade: 11 – 12
• Prerequisites: Successful completion of Spanish III and passing the “Regents” (local exam)
• Length: 40 weeks
• Final Evaluation:  final exam
• Credits: 1 high school credit and 3 college credits (with tuition payment)