School District of Upper Moreland Township 
2900 Terwood Road 
Willow Grove, PA 19090 

Planned Course for World Languages  

Course: Cultural Perspectives of World Languages  

World Readiness Standards (Goal Areas)

• Communication: Communicate effectively in more than one language in order to function in a variety of situations and for  multiple purposes
  
• Cultures: Interact with cultural competence and understanding
• Connections: Connect with other disciplines and acquire information and diverse perspectives in order to use the language to function in academic and career related situations
• Comparisons: Develop insight into the nature of language and culture in order to interact with cultural competence
• Communities: Communicate and interact with cultural competence in order to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world

Course Description:

The 3-12 World Language program follows the guidelines of the six Advance Placement themes.  These themes include: Global Challenges, Science and Technology, Contemporary Life, Personal and Public Identities, Families and Communities, and Beauty and Aesthetics.  Theme-based instructional units will engage each student in thinking and learning processes which include intensive involvement in the target language, and differentiated, personalized student-centered activities. Opportunities are woven into the program for students to learn and understand cultures inherent to each target language.  Students are expected to gain an increasing level of communicative proficiency, within the interpersonal, presentational, and interpretive modes in the language with each additional level of the language as defined by the American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages proficiency guidelines and the Pennsylvania Core Standards. 

This course is an introduction to the cultural perspectives of World Languages. It reinforces the major  aspects of language learning: comprehension, speaking, listening, reading, writing, and cultural  understanding. Students will be exposed to a variety of languages through simple conversations and authentic resources in the target language, while discovering different cultures. In addition, students will  connect aspects of the target language and culture to their own language and to other disciplines. They  will begin to develop an understanding of cultural influences and explore ways to connect to the local and  global community. Every student will be provided exposure to French, German, and Spanish cultures.  At the conclusion of this course students will be prepared to make an informed choice about future  language study. 

Prerequisite(s): Not applicable.

Specific and measurable objectives to be attained by students: 

The course will focus on supporting and preparing students to communicate and interact with cultural  competence in order to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world. Learners  use the language both within and beyond the classroom to interact and collaborate in their community and  the globalized world. Learners set goals and reflect on their progress in using languages for enjoyment,  enrichment and advancement.  

Materials:  

Communicative Proficiency Modes: A solid understanding of how a message is conveyed or understood when listening, reading, writing or speaking is essential to using various tools needed to effectively communicate. A balanced world languages program demands the use of a variety of activities to stimulate thinking, conceptualizing, generalizing and problem-solving.