World Languages

  • SPS World Language courses are taught by highly qualified instructors with a passion for teaching their languages. Our dynamic instructors use state of the art technology and current language acquisition theories to guide their lesson development and classroom instruction. We are continually improving instructional strategies to improve student comprehension, engagement and language fluency. Students can take a World Language all four years in high school if they choose, or for up to six years if they start in middle school.

  • Elementary

    Spanish immersion, currently for grades K-2

    Middle School

    Most middle schools offer Spanish 1 & 2. French and Chinese are offered at select schools. Students take the same courses taught at the high school level.

    High School

    Levels 1 and 2 are introductory courses and fulfil the language requirements of many universities, though some require three years. Students will learn important vocabulary and grammar and they will be asked to put their knowledge to work in real-life settings. They will be able to talk about their lives, their family and friends, discuss and inquire about weather and pastimes, order food at a restaurant, find their way around a city, and function in new situations. Beginning grammar instruction can include use of subjects and verbs, present tense, adjectives, syntax and much more. Each language also has specific grammar that is a focus for each year. Classwork will be conducted in the language as much as possible to provide practice in expression and comprehension. Students’ cultural awareness expands through a multimedia, hands-on approach.

    Levels 3 and 4 are honors courses. Some schools offer CHS for 3rd and 4th year study—a college course in the high school setting for college credit. These courses enable students to attain a high degree of proficiency in speaking, reading, writing and understanding the language. Practice in listening, conversation skills and reading novels in the target language is emphasized along with deeper understanding of culture, history and traditions.

    Levels 5 and 6, where offered, are AP courses. Students who complete an AP language course are considered for the distinguished senior award of the Medal of Bi-literacy. The target language is the exclusive language of communication in the course, where students are immersed in an environment enriched by authentic materials (literature, online journals, newspaper articles, podcasts music, film), guest speakers from our own community, and active teacher-student and student-student communication. The focus of the course is to prepare students to use the target language as effective communicators in real life settings via variety of opportunities to achieve proficiency in each of ACTFL’s (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language) three modes of communication. Focus will center on the five themes of every AP language course: Beauty and Esthetics, Contemporary Life, Families and Communities, Global Challenges, Personal and Public Identities and Science and Technology.

    Middle School and High School Texts

    • Chinese: 真棒 Zhen Bang!- Levels 1 & 2, EMC NWTD
    • French: Discovering French Today! Levels 1-3, Houghton Mifflin; ALLONS AU DELA – AP, Pearson
    • German: Portfolio Deutsch- Levels 1 & 2, Klett Langensheidt, Kontakte, McGraw-Hill, Denk Mal, Vista Higher Learning
    • Japanese: Adventures in Japanese Vol. 1 & 2, Cheng & Tsui Co.
    • Latin: only available through SVL
    • Salish: npoqínišcn 1 A Beginning Course in Spokane Salish
    • Spanish: Asi se dice- Levels 1-3, Glencoe-McGraw-Hill, CHS: Panorama, Vista Higher Learning; Temas AP- Vista McGraw Hill
Teacher of Japanese

Course Catalogs

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