World Languages| College Prep

chinese

China has taken an increasingly important role on the world stage in business, economics, politics, culture, and literature. More people speak Chinese than any other language. College Prep’s Mandarin Chinese program encourages students to participate in this global conversation by providing a strong foundation in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students begin by learning the simplified characters that are used primarily in mainland China. Those who study Chinese leave College Prep prepared for advanced language study in college and are well equipped to interact—both in writing and in conversation—with native speakers of Chinese throughout the world.

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Chinese I, II, and III

Beginning and intermediate Chinese courses focus on developing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in modern standard Chinese, using pinyin and simplified characters. Emphasis is placed on establishing a solid foundation in speaking, tones, and general pronunciation. As students progress through the program, they deepen their understanding of Chinese language and culture with the help of multimedia materials and acquire the ability to thrive in real-world Chinese-speaking environments. The class provides opportunities for students to practice their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills daily, and prepares students to use Chinese in authentic real-life settings.
Chinese IV: Language & Culture

This seminar explores the richness of the Chinese language and culture through family and community, personal and public identity, beauty and aesthetics, science and technology, contemporary life, and global challenges. The course advances language development through readings, films, and presentations as students cultivate their understanding of the Chinese language across the full range of language skills within a cultural frame of reference.
Chinese V-VI: Advanced Conversational Chinese

In this course, advanced-level language students maintain and continue to build Mandarin Chinese proficiency through immersive lessons on contemporary culture, history, literature, arts, and film. Daily conversation and inquiry is spurred through course materials such as novels, poems, short stories, podcasts, movies, and documentaries. Students are expected to interact, inquire, think, and communicate in Mandarin as they find their voices and take risks.

latin

The Latin program gives students facility in reading Latin and an understanding and appreciation of Roman civilization. All Latin classes emphasize the language, literature, history, and culture of the ancient Romans. From the beginning of the program, students learn to recognize Latin idioms in poetry and prose, capture the brilliance of literary allusion, and express their opinions within the context of academic research. College Prep has an active and vibrant Latin Club. All Latin students take the National Latin Exam in March.

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Latin l, II, and III

spend the beginning courses delving into the basics, including grammar, vocabulary, culture, and history. Etymologies, legal and medical expressions, and introductory research techniques for the field of Classics are introduced. The primary textbook is Wheelock’s Latin, with supplemental stories and fables from Thirty-Eight Latin Stories. Intermediate courses mark the first foray into sustained Roman literature, focusing on translation, interpretation, and context. Students read both poetry and prose and learn to recognize idiomatic expressions within specific periods of history. Students explore the period from the Late Republic to the Julio-Claudian Dynasty; this span incorporates the traditional periods of Classical and Golden Latin, including works from Catullus, Cicero, Horace, and Ovid.
Latin IV: Vergil’s Aeneid

This course is a deep dive into The Aeneid, Vergil’s epic poem about the founding of Rome and the search for a meaningful life. Conversations center on fate vs. free will, duty vs. desire, love as a destructive force, and the justification of violence. Students think critically about how Roman culture and politics intersect with the literature, especially how Emperor Augustus’ intention for the epic to glorify Rome’s origins conflicts with the text’s ambivalent messages about the consequences of war and empire. While most of the course focuses on reading, analyzing, and reveling in the beauty of Latin poetry and prose, students also spend time conducting historical research, reading and writing literary analysis, and collaborating on creative projects.

spanish

With their conversational skills at the ready, Spanish students have a linguistic passport to explore almost two dozen countries and territories that conduct life in Spanish. All Spanish classes incorporate activities that draw on this wealth of cultural and linguistic variety. Spanish is learned via immersion through conversing, problem solving, debating, making speeches, acting, and composing. After completing the third year of Spanish, students are ready to take advanced seminars.

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Spanish l, II, and III

In Spanish I and II, students are encouraged to communicate orally and, from the beginning, are required to use the language in class. Textbooks offer an innovative, student-centered approach that develops language skills and emphasizes cultural competency. Communication skills, grammar, and vocabulary are integrated into a variety of activities that include small-group projects, skits, presentations, videos, songs, and conversations. The text is supplemented with music, film, and internet clips. The theme of Spanish III is “creativity and imagination.” Activities include writing poems and stories, and reading, writing, and presenting a short play. Course topics include professions, relationships, food, science, technology, the environment, and human rights. Beyond the textbook, course materials include films, articles, music, podcasts, and local cultural events.
Spanish IV-V: The Hispanic World: A Journey through Cinema, Literature, and Art

People engrave their collective memories into artistic creations, and these, in turn, become part of who they are as a nation. Why was the movie Fresa y Chocolate a turning point in Cuban society? What do monsters tell us about the horrors of the Spanish Civil War in El laberinto del fauno? How do short stories, poems, and visual art convey the search for a new national identity in Mexico? Students in this interdisciplinary course use movies, literature, and art to explore the history of the Hispanic world. The course consists of five interconnected units exploring identity, diversity, ways of life, artistic movements, and socio-historical processes shaping these communities. Students focus on communicating in Spanish, demonstrating an understanding of the historical and cultural topics learned in the units, drawing connections between materials, and making cultural comparisons.
Spanish IV-V: Black & Indigenous Identities in Latin America

This seminar considers Latin American identity from the perspective of Afrodescendent and indigenous people through the ages, beginning with the creation story of the Maya people. Students explore indigenous worldviews, compare indigenous accounts of the arrival of Europeans to Columbus’ diary, and interrogate how indigenous people resist colonization today. Students learn how Afro-Latine identity has been shaped by the legacy of enslavement and abolition and study Afrodescendent leaders and artists working in multiple genres. The course looks at historical and contemporary facets of “Hispanic” identity and transculturation in the Spanish-speaking world of the Americas. A final project examines how identity is constructed in bilingual children’s books.