Spanish 2

This course builds on Spanish 1, with an overarching goal of improving students’ ability to communicate in Spanish. The year begins with a brief review of material covered in Spanish 1, then dives further into more advanced topics, such as the uses of many different tenses. Course topics will focus on issues that are relevant in the modern Spanish-speaking world. Students will work on their productive (i.e., speaking and writing) and receptive (i.e., listening and reading) skills.

The course is built around the ACTFL World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages, which have the following standards at their base:

• Communicate effectively in more than one language in order to function in a variety of situations and for multiple purposes.
• Interact with cultural competence and understanding.
• Connect with other disciplines and acquire information and diverse perspectives in order to use the language to function in academic and career-related situations.
• Develop insight into the nature of language and culture in order to interact with cultural competence.
• Communicate and interact with cultural competence in order to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world.

Language learning is a long and slow process, and this course is just a small part of that process. However, students who put in the required effort will see sustained progress throughout the year.

Course Structure

Instructional materials and graded assignments will be built into the online course. Weekly live class sessions will give students the opportunity to practice speaking, ask questions about what they have been studying, and explore various aspects of the language and its associated cultures.

Throughout each semester, there will be graded assignments and projects, and each semester will end with a semester exam.

Who should enroll?

This course is for students who have completed Spanish 1 or have a comparable amount of experience. Students interested in continuing beyond Spanish 2 may want to consider also enrolling in our embedded Spanish course. Parents are welcome to contact David Nance at [email protected] with questions about student placement.

Prerequisite

Students should have previously taken Spanish 1 (from us or from another provider), or have a fairly equivalent amount of previous experience with Spanish. This might include previous work with language-learning software, assuming a fair amount of time was spent on that effort. Parents are welcome to contact Sr. Nance by email with questions about the best course placement for their child(ren).

Technology Requirements

• High speed, broadband Internet
• Headset and microphone (for live sessions)
• Streaming video capabilities to watch recorded lectures

Evaluation and Feedback

Many of the course assignments are auto-graded by the computer. Other assignments will typically be graded within 48 hours of the submission date.

Communication

Prior to the beginning of the course, Sr. Nance can be reached at [email protected]. After the course begins, students and parents are encouraged to use the Inbox in Canvas for all communication. Sr. Nance always tries to reply to messages within 24 hours.