World Language Program

The World Language program offers four languages: French, Italian, Latin, and Spanish. The program contains levels of instruction so that students may progress at a pace compatible with their aptitude.

The curriculum of the World Language Department is aligned with the Massachusetts Frameworks and the National Standards in World Languages. The aims of language study are to master the skills of effective communication (reading, writing, listening and speaking), and to develop an appreciation for other cultures. Instructional materials include texts, videos, audio and technology resources to complement each language program.

A minimum of two years of a single World Language offered at Burlington High School in consecutive years is required for graduation from Burlington High School. Two years of a single language is required for admission to the Massachusetts State Colleges. It should be understood that this is the minimum requirement and that most colleges give preference to students with extensive secondary school World Language preparation. For this reason, the World Language Department offers a four or five year course sequence and recommends that students continue their study for as long as possible.

Consistent with the school’s mission and 21st Century Learning Skills, students enrolled in all World Language courses are encouraged to develop skills that teach them accountability, adaptability and tenacity in their academic, social, and civic interactions. Students will acquire skills to generate their own questions regarding course content, including, but not limited to, the themes of personal and public identities, contemporary life, family and community relations, and world challenges. Students will be provided with opportunities to investigate independent topics of interest relating to culture, history, and the language being taught. Students will work both independently and collaboratively to solve problems regarding current events and topics of debate. Lastly, students will participate in a classroom environment where they are nurtured to act with integrity in all academic endeavors and to exhibit respect for themselves and empathy for others.

World Language Courses Offered

SPANISH

FRENCH

ITALIAN

LATIN

ELECTIVES

BURLINGTON HIGH SCHOOL SEAL OF BILITERACY

The Burlington High School World Language Department and English Language Learning Program celebrates success in language studies by honoring students with the Massachusetts Seal of Biliteracy. The Seal of Biliteracy recognizes and rewards English Language Learners and World Language students for the biliteracy they demonstrate in speaking, writing, reading, and listening. The Seal of Biliteracy is voluntary for districts and voluntary for students within those districts that elect to participate. English Language Learners who maintain their native language are honored for the linguistic resource that they bring to their schooling. In addition, World Language programs that set proficiency targets can demonstrate to students that the longer sequences of language study lead to higher proficiency. Overall, the benefits of rewarding qualified students with the Seal of Biliteracy impacts students’ college and career readiness because biliteracy is a skill that enhances most career opportunities.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE CRITERIA

For students who have taken the English Language Arts grade 10 MCAS prior to the spring of 2019 (the Legacy MCAS), that means meeting or exceeding the Proficient threshold scaled score of 240. For students taking the MCAS in the spring of 2019 and beyond (the Next-Gen MCAS), the minimum requirement is Meeting Expectations.

Similarly, ACCESS for ELLs is administered to English learners in January and may be used to satisfy the English language criteria for the State Seal of Biliteracy by students who also fulfill the requirements of an Educational Proficiency Plan. These students must demonstrate English proficiency on ACCESS for ELLs with an overall score of at least level 4.2 and a composite literacy score of at least level 3.9.

WORLD LANGUAGE CRITERIA
Students who attain a score or level at the Intermediate-High level of the ACTFL language assessment satisfy the world language criteria for the State Seal of Biliteracy. If a language assessment is not available, a student may also be able to demonstrate a high level of proficiency in a world language through a Portfolio-Based Alternative Evidence Method.

STATE SEAL OF BILITERACY WITH DISTINCTION CRITERIA
Students who demonstrate mastery of English and a world language may be eligible for the State Seal of Biliteracy with Distinction. To earn the State Seal of Biliteracy with Distinction, students must meet the following criteria:

English: meeting or exceeding the Advanced threshold scaled score of 260 on the English Language Arts grade 10 Legacy MCAS test (Next-Gen MCAS – 501-560); and
World Language: scoring at the Advanced-Low level of the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines of 2012 on an assessment or demonstrating an Advanced-Low level of proficiency through a portfolio-based alternative evidence method.

For more information please see the Chair of the World Language Department.

Course Descriptions

SPANISH

Grades 9, 10, 11, 12
401 (CP) Spanish I
Full year course
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
This course provides an introduction to the basic vocabulary and structure of the Spanish language and to the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world through classroom and homework assessments. Its purpose is to present the structures and vocabulary of the language with the intention of creating a foundation for understanding, speaking, reading and writing Spanish. Students participate in oral and written activities that explore the history and cultures of people from Spanish speaking countries. This class is taught progressively in Spanish.

Grades 9, 10, 11, 12
405 (CP) Spanish II
406 (Honors) Spanish II
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Full year course
Prerequisite: Spanish I
This course is designed to allow students to build on skills acquired in Spanish I. Students will improve their proficiency in oral comprehension and in speaking, reading and writing through classroom and homework assessments. Additional language structures are introduced, and the class will be conducted mostly in Spanish. Honors moves at a more rigorous pace than CP.

Grades 10, 11, 12
408 (CP) Spanish III
409 (Honors) Spanish III
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Full year course
Prerequisite: Spanish II
The course builds on previously learned skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing in Spanish. The grammar that is reviewed and introduced derives from Spanish and Latin American reading selections, which include news articles, short stories, and poetry highlighting the themes of global challenges, personal and public identities, science and technology, families and communities, contemporary life, and beauty and aesthetics. All grammar points are applied in the writing of structured, individual compositions and oral reports. Spanish is the principle means of communication in the classroom. Honors moves at a more rigorous pace than CP.

Grades 11, 12
410 (CP) Spanish IV
411 (Honors) Spanish IV 5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Full year course
Prerequisite: Spanish III (Recommended: B or better and teacher recommendation)
This course is designed to continue development of the student’s listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing skills through readings, discussion, oral presentations, analysis of , written text, and essay writing. Electronic media will be used frequently to assess listening comprehension in the target language. Grammar will be reviewed through advanced presentational and interpersonal speaking tasks and presentational and interpersonal writing assessments. A variety of selections concerning culture, history, literature, music and art are explored. Spanish is the principal means of communication in the classroom and students are expected to converse with their peers and teacher entirely in Spanish throughout the course. Honors moves at a more rigorous pace than CP. Most notably, Honors helps prepare students for the 415/ Advanced Placement Spanish Language and Culture course.

Grade 12
415 (AP) Advanced Placement Spanish Language and Culture
Full year course
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Prerequisite: Spanish IV (Recommended: B or better in Honors Spanish IV and teacher recommendation)
This course is designed to develop students’ reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills and to prepare them for the AP Spanish Language and Culture exam. Students focus on increasing their proficiency in various modes of communication, including interpretive communication, interpersonal and presentational writing, and interpersonal and presentational speaking. Selected readings throughout the course curriculum include contemporary works by Spanish and Latin American authors as well as articles of current events from online resources that explore the six AP Spanish culture themes of personal and public identities, contemporary life, families and communities, global challenges, science and technology, and beauty and aesthetics. Mastery of grammar, syntax, and idiomatic expressions at more sophisticated levels of speaking and writing are emphasized. Students who take the course must accept the challenge of very demanding work all year, and are required to take the AP exam in May as the appropriate conclusion to their efforts.

FRENCH

Grades 9, 10, 11, 12
420 (CP) French I
Full year course
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Prerequisite: None
This first year course includes intensive work in all phases of language learning. This encompasses listening, speaking, reading and writing. Use is made of audio-visual materials and online activities to promote learning, proficiency and to present pertinent cultural materials. This course is offered in alternate years depending on enrollment.

Grades 9, 10, 11, 12
422 (CP) French II
423 (Honors) French II
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Full year course
Prerequisite: French I
This course will further develop the students’ communication competencies. Students will engage in conversation and understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics. Students will expand their reading and vocabulary skills through various readings dealing with French culture and the Francophone world to supplement the text. Students will regularly complete reading and writing assignments throughout the year and will also be assigned one or more individual projects. Use of technology and associated CD media are stressed.

Grades 10, 11, 12
425 (CP) French III
426 (Honors) French III 5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Full year course
Prerequisite: French II
This course continues to reinforce and expand on the communication skills learned during the prior two years. Students will learn to use verbal and non-verbal cues that reflect French culture in a variety of situations. Various media and activities are used to work toward competency in written and oral communication. The course continues listening comprehension and speaking practice both in class and in the language lab. Students will role-play in a limited number of real life situations to express opinions, preferences, and provide and receive information. Students are expected to be able to read with meaning and to be able to answer questions about the material read. Diverse aspects of French culture will be discussed using varied media.

Grades 11, 12
428 (Honors) French IV
Full year course
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Prerequisite: French III (Recommended: C or better)
This course will emphasize the oral and written skills acquired in previous French studies. A basic text plus selected materials, such as magazines, newspapers, short stories, and dialogs will be used as directives on which students will base their oral and written work. Radio broadcasts and films are also included. Individual and group project work and presentations are emphasized.

Grade 12
429 (Honors) French V
Full year course
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Prerequisite: French IV (Recommended: C or better)
This course is open to students who began their study of French in grades 7 and 8 and who have shown good potential in their World language study. The course will emphasize improved accuracy and higher level listening, understanding, speaking, reading and writing skills. Students will use varied selections from a broad scope of French language media. They will answer questions and express concepts in written and spoken form. Quarterly individual projects or video presentations are included to offer students an opportunity to increase their level proficiency.

Grade 12
430 (AP) Advanced Placement French
Full year course
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Prerequisite: French IV (Recommended: B or better)
This course is designed to develop students’ reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills and to prepare them for the AP French Language and Culture exam. Selected readings include contemporary works by French authors as well as articles of current events from online resources. Mastery of grammar, syntax, and idiomatic expressions at more sophisticated levels of speaking and writing will be emphasized. Students who take the course must accept the challenge of very demanding work all year, and are expected to take the AP exam in May as the appropriate conclusion to their efforts.

ITALIAN

Grade 9, 10, 11, 12
431 (CP) Italian I
Full year course
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Prerequisite: None
This is a beginning course reflecting the guidelines set forth in the Massachusetts World Language Curriculum Frameworks. The four (4) language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) are developed by the use of various multimedia materials to encourage communication and cultural awareness. Comparisons with our culture and other interdisciplinary connections are integrated into the course work. The practical use of the language in everyday situations is encouraged. Students are encouraged to use the four language skills to express themselves in spoken and written forms. In the first year course, special attention is placed on the ability to read and pronounce Italian in as nearly native quality as possible.

Grades 9, 10, 11, 12
433 (CP) Italian II
434 (Honors) Italian II
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Full year course
Prerequisite: Italian I
This course continues to emphasize the skills learned in Italian I, thus reflecting the strands and standards prescribed by the Massachusetts World Language Curriculum Frameworks. Greater emphasis is placed on speaking Italian. Upon completion of this level, students should have the communicative skills necessary to understand and express themselves in everyday situations with native speakers. They will understand many of the cultural aspects of Italy and its contributions to world culture. They will have a knowledge and appreciation of the geography and history of Italy. Stories and dialogues, appropriate to this stage will be read. Study at honors level will be accelerated.

Grades 10, 11, 12
436 (CP) Italian III
437 (Honors)
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Full year course
Prerequisite: Italian II
This course will strengthen and build upon the conversational and comprehension skills already mastered. Greater emphasis will be placed upon reading and writing. Films, magazines, newspaper articles, short stories and cultural reading will be used as the basis for writing and oral exercises. Students will develop many insights regarding the comparison of one’s native language and Italian. Aspects of Italian history and contemporary civilization will focus on the diversity of the Italian people. Study at honors level will be accelerated.

Grades 11, 12
438 (CP) Italian IV
439 (Honors) Italian IV
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Full year course
Prerequisite: Italian III (Recommended: C or better)
This course will emphasize comprehension and conversational proficiency. A multimedia program of films, magazines, newspapers, short stories, cultural readings, games and grammar review exercises, will develop reading and writing skills. Both the students and the teacher will converse in Italian on a variety of topics. This course brings to fruition the alignment of the communication, cultural, comparison and connection strands of the Massachusetts World Language Curriculum Frameworks. Honors students will be expected to work at an accelerated pace.

Grades 11, 12
440 (Honors) Italian V
Full year course 5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Prerequisite: Italian IV (Recommended: C or better)
This course continues to increase and expand the student’s comprehension and conversational proficiency. Reading and writing skills will be further developed by a multimedia program of films, magazines, newspapers, short stories, cultural readings games and grammar review exercises. Students will be expected to initiate conversational topics (such as current events) to be discussed by the entire class. This course will conclude the alignment of the communication, cultural, comparison and connection strands of the Massachusetts World Language Curriculum Frameworks.

LATIN

Grades 9, 10, 11, 12
442 (CP) Latin I
Full year course
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Prerequisite: None
Latin I is an introduction to the Latin language with an emphasis on the four modes of communication, reading, writing, listening and speaking. Students will be introduced to vocabulary and concepts of grammar and syntax via an active methodology. Readings will focus on various aspects of Roman culture, history and mythology to support the learning of grammar and vocabulary.

Grade 9, 10, 11, 12
443 (CP) Latin II
444 (Honors) Latin II 5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Full year course
Prerequisite: Latin I
Latin II continues the work of learning the Latin language begun in Latin I. Course emphasis is on reading, writing, listening and speaking Latin as a language. Students will build vocabulary and study its grammatical structures mainly via an active, immersive methodology. Students are also introduced to many aspects of Roman life and culture, including history, literature, art, education and daily life in the Roman world.

Grades 10, 11, 12
445 (CP) Latin III
446 (Honors) Latin III 5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Full year course
Prerequisite: Latin II
Latin III continues the work of Latin II as students progress through grammatical structures of the language toward mastery via active methodology. There is continued emphasis on vocabulary building and competence in the four communicative modes, reading, writing, listening and speaking. Students are also introduced to more advanced aspects of Roman history, literature and art and will pursue and participate in modes of artistic and creative expressions that relate to these topics of the ancient world. By the end of the course, students begin the transition to readings in authentic Roman literature.

Grades 11, 12
447 (Honors) Latin IV
Full year course
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Prerequisite: Latin III (Recommended: grade of C or better)
Latin IV is largely a literature course. Students work to master the last concepts of Latin grammar and usage through readings in the transition to authentic ancient sources. Students will develop a sense of appreciation for the scope of Latin Literature by reading selections and stories from some of the great authors and works, including Catullus, Ovid, Martial, Virgil, et al. Students will use an interdisciplinary approach by incorporating methods of literary criticism, historical analysis, and critical thinking in their study of the literature, history, mythology, geography and archeology of the ancient Roman world.

Grade 11, 12
448 (Honors) Latin V
Full year course
5 per/7 day cycle – 5 credits
Prerequisite: Latin IV (Recommended: grade of C or better)
Dual Enrollment Credit: Eligible pending approval of prerequisite requirements (additional cost)
Latin V is a college-level Latin literature course, offered as a Dual Enrollment in conjunction with the Department of Classics at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Students will read and analyze longer texts, primarily from Virgil and Livy, relating to the legendary and mythical origins of Rome. Students will use an interdisciplinary approach as they attune their skills in literary criticism, historical analysis, and critical thinking in their study of the literature, history, mythology, geography and archeology of the ancient Roman world, often stopping to ask what the Roman origin stories tell us about the Roman conception of themselves. The enduring influence of these great works of Roman literature through time will be emphasized.

ELECTIves

Grades 11, 12
454 (CP) Classical Roots of Western Civilization
455 (Honors) 5 per/7 day cycle – 2.5 credits
Semester course
Prerequisite: None
This semester-long interdisciplinary high school elective will provide an opportunity for students to explore two of the Western world’s most influential societies, Greece and Rome, and their languages. Students will assess and analyze the impact of these great civilizations on Modern Western and especially American society while receiving some of the many benefits of studying Greek and Latin (improved GPAs, higher SAT scores, greater achievement in the study of modern World languages). Designed for all juniors and seniors, it is composed of two roughly equal parts, covering first Ancient Greece and Greek language, then Ancient Rome and Latin, allowing students to gain a broad, meaningful and applicable understanding of two of the foundational cultures and languages of western society. Students will use current technology to explore monuments, museums, artifacts and texts of these two civilizations and to create shareable media comparing them to one another and to their own culture.

Grades 10, 11, 12
456 (CP) Italian Food, Culture & Cuisine
Semester course
5 per/7 day cycle – 2.5 credits
Prerequisite: None
This course is aimed at students who have an interest in the study of spoken Italian and Italian culture. Emphasis will be placed on learning Italian vocabulary and phrases pertaining to food purchasing, preparation and consumption rather than formal training in grammar usage. A practical, hands-on component will enable students to apply the principles learned in class by designing authentic Italian meals and cooking authentic Italian food. The course will be comprised of two parts. Students will examine the essential attributes, origins, historical background, and make up of Italian cuisine and food culture. They will read relevant material, watch movie clips and videos in both Italian and English and use web resources that will promote critical thinking about the topics examined. Class discussions will foster students’ connections/comparisons between Italian cooking and food culture and their own.

Grades 11, 12
458 (CP) International Film Studies
Semester course
5 per/7 day cycle – 2.5 credits
Prerequisite: None
This semester interdisciplinary elective is designed for students who have an interest in the study of world issues as seen through the lens of international film. In today’s society, the movies we watch provide insight into the places in which we live and our relationships with others. The course will explore these relationships and how films are unique cultural products created from a common cinematographic language. Additionally, the course will invite students to make cultural comparisons and to develop their abilities to critically discuss, analyze and evaluate foreign film. Topics studied will include : global challenges, personal and public identity, communities and families, beauty and aesthetics. Assignments for the course include weekly readings, film screenings, short writing assignments, essays, oral presentations and projects. The class will be conducted in English.

World Language Program

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