Modern Languages
Our Modern Language curriculum focuses on listening, speaking, reading, and writing; after four years students reach proficiency to understand films in the target language, read books and report on their content, and carry on conversations on the topics of a standard newspaper, including politics, economics/business, science, leisure, sports, and entertainment.
Department Overview
Our program begins with an introductory level course in Middle School and proceeds to more advanced levels of proficiency in Upper School.
We apply the standards of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) in all three languages taught (Arabic, French, and Spanish) so that students not only learn to communicate in the language but demonstrate cultural competence in the language as well. In French and Spanish, students at each level are tested every year to assure that the national achievement criteria of the American Association of Teachers of French and the American Association Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese are met. In those languages, students in Form V or VI can take the AP Language and Culture Exam and can either obtain college credit, have the language requirement waived, or can proceed to an advanced level coursework in college.
Curriculum Sequence
Form A | None; Focus on English Grammar and Composition |
Form I | None; Focus on first year of Latin |
Form II | Spanish 1; French 1; or Arabic 1 |
Form III | Spanish 1 or 2; French 1 or 2; or Arabic 1 or 2 |
Form IV | Spanish 2 or 3; French 2 or 3; or Arabic 2 or 3 |
Forms V & VI | Spanish 3, 4 or AP Spanish or AP Spanish Literature; French 3, French 4 or AP French; or Arabic 4 |
Course Descriptions
- Spanish 1
- Spanish 2
- Spanish 3
- Spanish 4
- AP Spanish Language and Culture
- Spanish Literature and Culture
- Spanish Literature and Culture + AP Option
- French 1
- French 2
- French 3
- French 4
- AP French
- Arabic 1
- Arabic 2
- Arabic 3
- Arabic 4
Spanish 1
Spanish 2
Spanish 3
Spanish 4
AP Spanish Language and Culture
Spanish Literature and Culture
Spanish Literature and Culture + AP Option
French 1
French 2
French 3
French 4
AP French
Arabic 1
Arabic 2
Arabic 3
Arabic 4
Modern Languages Faculty |
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Dr. Larry Joseph, Department Chair French I, II, and III; AP French Ph.D., Slavic Languages and Literature, Stanford University M.A., Slavic Languages and Literature, Stanford University B.A., Slavic Languages and Literature, University of California, Berkeley ljoseph@saintanselms.org |
Mr. Mourad Abdennebi |
Dr. Charles Downey French IV Ph.D., Music History, Catholic University of America M.A., Music History, Catholic University of America B.Mus., Piano, Michigan State University cdowney@saintanselms.org |
Ms. Belen Fernandez de la Pena |
Mr. Abdel Gubartalla Arabic I, II, III, and IV B.A., International Relations and French, Hiram College agubartalla@saintanselms.org |
Mrs. Melissa Montoya
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Br. Matthew Nylund, OSB |