SVHS Foreign Language Department

SENECA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL

Foreign Language Department

NEWS
Festival Francophone
Saturday, November 21, 2009

COURSES OF STUDY
Spanish ~ French ~ Latin

WHY STUDY A FOREIGN LANGUAGE?

Over the last 30 years, various research has shown that students who study a foreign language have improved overall school performance and superior problem solving skills.

At the high school level students who study a foreign language score statistically higher on standardized tests conducted in English such as the PSAT, the SAT, and the ACT exams. Studying a foreign language can improve both students' analytic and interpretive capacities, which are essential skills on these standardized tests.

In addition to improving test scores, students who study a foreign language in high school not only learn to speak and understand a foreign language, they also learn about other countries and gain an understanding and a respect for people from other cultures.

ONLINE TEXTBOOKS IN FRENCH & SPANISH

Many of the books used in language classes have wonderful on-line materials available. Because foreign language study entails much more than what can be accomplished in 47 minutes, 5 times a week, teachers encourage students to make use of as much of the supplementary materials as possible. Students should spend time using the wonderful practice activities and on-line books listed below:

The FRENCH textbooks, Discovering French (bleu - 1, blanc - 2, rouge -3) are accessible on-line at http://www.classzone.com.

Follow the prompts: World Languages / Maryland / choose the correct book. USERNAME: SVHSfrench and PASSWORD: frenchbook

The SPANISH for SPANISH SPEAKERS texts, El Español Para Nosotros (levels 1 & 2) are accessible on-line at http://glencoe.com.

Follow the prompts: Maryland / Student&Parent / World Languages / choose the correct book under the Spanish heading. ACCESS CODE: level 1: F9942EBB08 and level 2: B3A85CD3FD

Students in SPANISH courses levels 1, 2 and 3 using the Realidades series can access supplementary materials on-line at:

http://www.phschool.com/atschool/realidades/program_page.html.

Students in LATIN using the Ecce Romani series can access supplementary materials on-line at:

http://abney.homestead.com/ecce1.html and

http://www.phschool.com/atschool/ecce_romani/program_page.html.

OUR CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS

French Club
French Honor Society
Spanish Club
Spanish Honor Society
Junior Classical League
Latin Honor Society
Latin Dance Club

OUR STAFF
Click here for a complete list of SVHS staff by department.