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2008 Summer Reading & Foreign Language Assignments

Curriculum

Foreign Language Department

Blair language classes support energetic student interaction as the students work with each other, the Internet, the language laboratory and their instructors. The goal in each of the language areas is to encourage and develop a competent grasp of the languages while at the same time exposing students to a variety of cultural material, both historical and current. Our modern language program materials meet with the National Standards and Guidelines as provided by the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Language. These standards were established in 1994 and updated in 1999 and cover the four Communication skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing as well as the additional Cs of Cultures, Connections, Comparisons and Communities. Our Latin program has also grown over the years; the materials have been updated to reflect the above Cs and have moved toward successfully bridging the gap between what was once viewed as a dead language to a more interesting and lively focus that presents the language within the framework of the culture and daily life of Roman society.

Yearly trips are sponsored and organized with various faculty heading trips to a variety of international spots, including Spain, South America, Italy, Greece, France, China and Canada, to name just a few. Each of the department faculty is supported in continuing his or her own professional development through study and/ or travel, and each of the modern language teachers is either a native or a near-native speaker. Click here to learn more about these trips.

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