Course Guide: World Languages

Graduation Requirements
Department Overview
Course Guide

Graduation Requirements

2.0 credits (4 semesters) of World Language

Department Overview

The World Languages Department offers courses in Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and Arabic. Entering 9th graders who have successfully completed a world language in the 7th and 8th grade can enroll in that language at the 2nd level, but a placement test may be necessary. Heritage or native speakers may be placed at advanced levels through a placement test.

The University of Washington requires a minimum of two years of a world language. Most four-year colleges and universities recommend and many require a minimum of three years in the same language. Under “Core 24” since 2008, 2.0 credits of world languages are required for college readiness.

Course Guide

Arabic

Arabic Language Course: The Arabic course develops the four communicative language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing through the Modern Standard Arabic. The course focuses on emphasizing the relationship between the language and culture through exposure to the Egyptian and Levantine dialects.

Arabic 1A, 1B
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s):  9, 10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite:  Students’ willingness, interest, and commitment to learn a World Language.
Graduation Requirement Satisfied:  Elective

This one-year course introduces the Modern Standard Arabic for students who have no prior experience with the language to prepare them on how to communicate, read and write in Arabic about greetings, number counting, age, colors, likes and dislikes, body parts, fruits, animals, family, countries and nationalities, seasons, weather, and school life through interactive activities with the explore of short stories and videos about the Arabic culture. This level includes field trips and prepare students for the Language Proficiency Test (STAMP TEST) to be able to earn a language proficiency credit.

Arabic 2A, 2B
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s):  9, 10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite: C or above in Arabic 1A and 1B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied: Elective

The course is designed for students who completed Arabic 1 or who can demonstrate their ability and knowledge in the language required level.

The course will focus on the daily routine and activities, my home, my school, time, food, health life, environment, travel, hobbies, shopping, transportation, sporting events, holidays, community life and Arabic in the US and the Arabic culture. This level includes field trips and students will be able to earn a credit for their Language Proficiency Test (STAMP TEST). By the end of this level, students will reach the intermediate low to intermediate mid-level of language proficiency.

Arabic 3A, 3B International Baccalaureate (IB)
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s):  9, 10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite: C or above in Arabic 2A and 2B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied: Elective

IB Arabic 3A and 3B supports students in achieving greater fluency and cultural competence, aligning with the goals of the IB program. The course is designed for students who have successfully completed two years of structured Arabic instructions or can demonstrate equivalent proficiency in the language. In this course, students will expand their communication skills through complex conversation, reading and writing about lifestyles, written expression, analyzing texts, participate in discussion, and reflect on culture perspectives

Arabic 4A, 4B International Baccalaureate (IB)
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s):  9, 10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite: C or above in Arabic 2A and 2B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied: Elective

Arabic 4A and 4B is a continuation course for students who have completed three years of Arabic and aligns with the goals of the IB program. The course focuses on the four language domains, listening, speaking, reading, and writing through Arabic around the world, movies, art, our planet, plans, interests, careers, global issues, and social actions. By the end of this course, students will reach the advanced level of language proficiency.

Chinese

Chinese 1A, 1B
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s):  9, 10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite:  None
Graduation Requirement Satisfied:  Elective 

This introductory course is designed for beginners and provides a foundational understanding of Mandarin Chinese, with a focus on speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. Students will acquire basic vocabulary, essential grammar structures, and practical conversational phrases for everyday situations. Emphasis is placed on developing accurate pronunciation, mastering Pinyin (the Romanized system for Chinese characters), and understanding basic sentence structures. They will be able to handle simple, everyday life situations. Topics like pinyin, tons, greeting, family, school, hobbies, daily activities will be covered.  Aspects of Chinese culture will also be, including customs, traditions, and the significance of language in Chinese society will be addressed. At the end of the year students will reach at least novice-mid level of language proficiency. 

Chinese 2A, 2B
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s):  9, 10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite:  Students who have completed 1A and 1B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied:  Elective 

This course is designed for students who have completed Chinese 1A and 1B or can demonstrate proficiency in the language at the required level. It builds on the basic grammar and conversational skills learned in Chinese 1, allowing students to advance their abilities in both comprehension and communication. Students will begin to create and understand paragraph-level language, enabling them to handle more complex everyday situations, such as shopping, transportation, and discussing school life and friendships. Additionally, the course will incorporate aspects of Chinese culture, enhancing the study of the language. At the end of the year students will reach at least solid novice-mid to novice-high level of language proficiency. 

Chinese 3A, 3B International Baccalaureate (IB)
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s):  9, 10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite:  Students who have completed 2A and 2B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied:  Elective  

Chinese 3 continues the development of students’ productive and receptive skills at the paragraph level. It is designed for students who have completed two years of formal Chinese study or can demonstrate proficiency at the required level. Students will further enhance their listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills through readings and short films focused on cultural topics. Major themes include travel, birthday customs, leisure activities, diet, and health. By the end of the course, students will have reached at least a novice-high level of language proficiency.

Chinese 4A, 4B International Baccalaureate (IB)
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s):  9, 10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite:   Students who have completed 3A and 3B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied:  Elective

IB Chinese 4 is designed for students who have completed three years of Chinese. This course focuses on further developing proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing through authentic materials such as movies, newspapers, short stories, and articles. Major topics include environmental protection, volunteerism, traditional Chinese customs (such as the Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year), and the importance of leisure activities. Students will also learn to understand and communicate about career choices, environmental issues, and social concerns. By the end of the year, students will have reached a solid novice-high or intermediate-low level of language proficiency.

Chinese 5A, 5B International Baccalaureate (IB)
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s):   10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite:  Students who have completed 4A and 4B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied:  Elective

Chinese 5 is designed for students who have completed at least four years of Chinese. This course focuses on further developing proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing through authentic materials such as movies, newspapers, short stories, and articles. Students will learn more sophisticated grammar structures and sentence patterns. Frequent essay writing and oral presentations will help consolidate students’ skills in both speaking and writing. By the end of the year, students will have reached a solid intermediate-low level of language proficiency.

Chinese 6A, 6B International Baccalaureate (IB)
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s):  11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite:  Students who have completed 5A and 5B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied:  Elective

Chinese 6 is designed for advanced students who have completed at least five years of formal Chinese study. This course focuses on refining and enhancing proficiency in all four language skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—through the use of authentic and complex materials such as literature, films, news reports, and academic articles. Students will deepen their understanding of sophisticated grammar structures, expand their vocabulary, and improve fluency in both written and spoken Chinese. By the end of the year, students will have reached an intermediate-mid with the ability to communicate in a wide range of contexts.

Japanese

Japanese 1A, 1B
Credits: 0.5 credit/semester
Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Length of Course: Two Semesters
Prerequisite: None
Graduation Requirement Satisfied: Elective

In the first year of Japanese study, students learn basic expressions, terms for their homes, families, and interests, and numbers. Students learn to read and write the two phonetic Kana writing systems, and near the end of the course begin to learn Kanji, the Chinese characters used in Japanese writing. Students also study interesting aspects of Japanese culture not only from the textbook, but from enriching, authentic sources such as television, songs, and individual research projects.

Japanese 2A, 2B
Credits: 0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Length of Course: Two Semesters
Prerequisite: Japanese 1A, 1B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied: Elective

Second-year Japanese builds on the foundation of the first-year course to increase students’ vocabulary about everyday topics and teaching more complex grammatical structures so that students can express themselves more extensively. Students also build a solid knowledge base of Kanji characters, and will have been introduced to 100-150 kanji by the end of the year. If a student has taken and passed Japanese 1A, 1B, 2A, they may take the Ab Initio IB Japanese exam to fulfill the “Group 2” requirement of the IB Diploma while enrolled in Japanese 2B.

Japanese 3A, 3B – International Baccalaureate (IB)
Credits: 0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s): 10, 11, 12
Length of Course: Two Semesters
Prerequisite: Japanese 2A, 2B

Third-year Japanese class uses the texts from Adventures in Japanese 3 as well as many excerpts from real Japanese literature, poetry, and pop culture, to further expand the vocabulary and grammatical knowledge of students. By the end of third year, students will have worked with more than 160 Kanji. Students study topics such as Kanji history, extracurricular activity culture in Japan, Japanese entertainment, and the traditional culture around Japanese houses.

Japanese 4A, 4B—International Baccalaureate (IB) SL or HL
Credits: 0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s): 11, 12
Length of Course: Two Semesters
Prerequisite: Japanese 3A, 3B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied: Elective

Japanese IV will build grammar, vocabulary, and Kanji learned in Japanese III by using the text Adventures 4, as well as other authentic materials such as Japanese short stories, Haiku, Tanka, and film. Class will be conducted mainly in Japanese, with English used for clarification of difficult concepts and grammar. Class projects will include essays, letters to friends and family, and job application cover letters. By the end of this course, students should have mastered at least the 160 IB Ab Initio Kanji, and will have added knowledge of Keigo (honorific speech) to their conversational Japanese. This class is required for students wishing to take the Standard Level (SL) International Baccalaureate Exam.

Japanese 5A, 5B – International Baccalaureate (IB) HL
Credits: 0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s): 11, 12
Length of Course: Two Semesters
Prerequisite: Japanese 4A, 4B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied: Elective

Japanese 5 offers an opportunity for higher-level immersion study, as students will be assigned real-world projects and study of authentic literature in Japanese. Instruction will be almost entirely in Japanese, and students are encouraged to express themselves only in Japanese. This class is recommended for students attempting the IB Standard Level exam, and required for students attempting the Higher-Level exam.

Japanese 6A, 6B – International Baccalaureate (IB) HL
Credits: 0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s): 11, 12
Length of Course: Two Semesters
Prerequisite: Japanese 5A, 5B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied: Elective

Japanese 6 A/B is continuation of International Baccalaureate HL study for students coming from a dual-language program. The course content will focus on study of Japanese literature as well as student-centered topics of interest, and will aim for ACTFL proficiency level of Intermediate-High communication.

Spanish 1A, 1B
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s):  9, 10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite:  None
Graduation Requirement Satisfied:  Elective
Other Requirements:  Senderos 1 and VHL center (online platform). Both resources are provided by the school.

This course explores basic spoken and written expression in the Spanish language. Structures and vocabulary are practiced in listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities. Students often work in groups and speak in front of the class to practice communicative skills. The first semester focuses on basic conversation, telling time, talking about likes/dislikes, and basic verb conjugation. During the second semester, students learn how to describe their families, have telephone conversations, talk about food, and use shopping vocabulary. Students take a comprehensive oral and written exam at the end of each semester.

Spanish 2A, 2B
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s):  9, 10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite: “C” or above in Spanish 1A, 1B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied:  Elective
Other Requirements:  Senderos 2 and VHL center (online platform). Both resources are provided by the school.

The emphasis is on developing skills of communication through question-and-answer processes and simple face-to-face conversation. Students will review grammatical concepts from the previous year and then work on developing skills of communication through describing and giving information. In addition, the goal is to increase the student’s level of confidence in reading, speaking, and writing Spanish.  By the end of the year students should be able to communicate in the present and past tense in Spanish.  Also, there will be an emphasis on vocabulary development and verb conjugations to help students develop proficiency.  

Spanish 3A, 3B. International Baccalaureate (IB)
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s):  10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite: “C” or above in Spanish 2A, 2B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied:  Elective
Other Requirements: Senderos 3 and VHL center (online platform). Both resources are provided by the school.

Spanish 3 is an International Baccalaureate is a course that will broaden the student’s experience with the language. IB Spanish is a language acquisition course “designed to provide students with the necessary skills and intercultural understanding to communicate successfully in an environment where the language studied is spoken.” The primary skills areas are receptive: “understand a range of written and spoken authentic personal, professional and mass media texts on topics of interests,” productive: “write texts for a variety of purposes and make oral presentations on topics of interest,” and interactive: “initiate and maintain the flow of conversations and discussions.” The IB Language B guide specifies that an IB Spanish class be designed around five prescribed themes: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization, and sharing the planet.

Spanish 4A, 4B – International Baccalaureate (IB) (World Language)

Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s): 10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite: C or above in Spanish 3A, 3B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied:  Elective
Other Requirements:  IB Exam Fee (students might qualify for their fees to be waived and we will work with them to do so)

Spanish 4 is an International Baccalaureate IB Spanish is a language acquisition course “designed to provide students with the necessary skills and intercultural understanding to communicate successfully in an environment where the language studied is spoken.” The primary skills areas are receptive: “understand a range of written and spoken authentic personal, professional and mass media texts on topics of interests,” productive: “write texts for a variety of purposes and make oral presentations on topics of interest,” and interactive: “initiate and maintain the flow of conversations and discussions.” The IB Language B guide specifies that an IB Spanish class be designed around five prescribed themes: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization, and sharing the planet. of perspectives, communicate daily through dialogues, and complete oral presentations in class.  These activities will enhance their ability to use the language with clarity and precision and will develop the language skills needed to engage in sustained conversations and discussions to understand and evaluate information.  In addition, students will read diverse materials for both study and pleasure and write clearly and effectively.  Students will also have opportunities to develop an international perspective of the language and culture through research and exploration of Spanish speaking countries.

Spanish 5A, 5B – International Baccalaureate (IB) (World Language)
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s): 10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite: “C’ or above in Spanish 4A, 4B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied:  Elective
Other Requirements:  IB Exam Fee (students might qualify to have their fee waived)

Spanish 5 is a continuation of Spanish 4. IB Spanish is a language acquisition course “designed to provide students with the necessary skills and intercultural understanding to communicate successfully in an environment where the language studied is spoken.” The primary skills areas are receptive: “understand a range of written and spoken authentic personal, professional and mass media texts on topics of interests,” productive: “write texts for a variety of purposes and make oral presentations on topics of interest,” and interactive: “initiate and maintain the flow of conversations and discussions.”

The IB Language B guide specifies that an IB Spanish class be designed around five prescribed themes: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization, and sharing the planet. The language B syllabus organizes the sources for comprehensible input or “written, visual, audio and audio-visual texts into three broad categories: personal, professional, and mass media texts.” According to the IB, the guiding principle is to focus students’ attention on “ways in which good communicators consider audience, context and purpose of what they want to say or write in the process of choosing and developing an appropriate text to convey a message.”

Spanish 5A, 5B – International Baccalaureate (IB) (Dual Language Students)
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s): 10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite: “C’ or above in Spanish 4A, 4B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied:  Elective
Other Requirements:  IB Exam Fee (students might qualify to have their fee waived)

Spanish 6A, 6B – International Baccalaureate (IB) (Dual Language Students)
Credits:  0.5 credit / semester
Grade(s): 10, 11, 12
Length of Course:  Two Semesters
Prerequisite: “C’ or above in Spanish 5A, 5B
Graduation Requirement Satisfied:  Elective
Other Requirements:  IB Exam Fee (students might qualify to have their fee waived)

Spanish 6 is a continuation of Spanish 5. IB Spanish is a language acquisition course “designed to provide students with the necessary skills and intercultural understanding to communicate successfully in an environment where the language studied is spoken.” The primary skills areas are receptive: “understand a range of written and spoken authentic personal, professional and mass media texts on topics of interests,” productive: “write texts for a variety of purposes and make oral presentations on topics of interest,” and interactive: “initiate and maintain the flow of conversations and discussions.” The IB Language B guide specifies that an IB Spanish class be designed around five prescribed themes: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization, and sharing the planet. The language B syllabus organizes the sources for comprehensible input or “written, visual, audio and audio-visual texts into three broad categories: personal, professional, and mass media texts.” According to the IB, the guiding principle is to focus students’ attention on “ways in which good communicators consider audience, context and purpose of what they want to say or write in the process of choosing and developing an appropriate text to convey a message.”