Students begin their study of the Spanish language and culture with weekly classes in the Lower School. They focus on basic vocabulary and learn about some of the countries where Spanish is the native language. Class time is increased in grades three and four to allow students more time to develop their abilities to read and speak Spanish.
Fifth and sixth grade Spanish classes use a textbook series to expand vocabulary and learn basic grammar concepts. Students practice their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills within the context of the units in the book. They will use present tense to discuss school and free time activities throughout these two years.
Seventh and eighth grade Spanish uses an intermediate textbook series to continue grammar and vocabulary instruction. Students continue to use listening, speaking, reading and writing skills to further their knowledge of the target language. They use present and past tenses to discuss family, friends, home life and other pastimes. By the end of 8th grade, some students will be ready to move into Spanish 2 at the high school level.
All students are introduced to Latin in grades 5 and 6 on a rudimentary level, and then junior high students participate in a more intense course during one of their 30-hour elective periods. After four years of Latin, students will have a very solid knowledge base upon which they can easily build in their high school language classes, whether they decide to continue with Latin or not. By the time students graduate from Gesu, they will be familiar with the first three declensions of nouns, many forms of the first two conjugations of verbs, adjectives and adverbs, breaking down and translating Latin sentences, as well as many aspects of Roman history and culture. Learning to translate the Latin language develops a number of valuable skills in students, from organization, vocabulary, discipline, and critical thinking skills to a much stronger knowledge of, believe it or not, English grammar!
