Modern and Classical Languages

Language is our connection to our community and to the world. The purpose of the Department of Modern Languages and Classical Studies is to develop in students the language skills that will enable them to gain a first-hand appreciation and understanding of the language, literature, history, and culture of other peoples.

As the world becomes increasingly interdependent, our ultimate goals are to encourage our students to develop cross-cultural skills and cultivate healthy visions of the future that include all past and present peoples of the world.

The Department of Modern Language and Classical Studies encourages the understanding of cultural diversity. Our goal is to enable students to respect others, whether they represent different nationalities or distinct sections of our own culture, and to become mature, responsible citizens in a global community.

Skills developed in the study of another language supplement our students' intellectual and spiritual growth and can be applied to other areas of the school curriculum; they are especially useful in the acquisition of English skills.

In order to acquire sufficient proficiency in another language to be able to communicate, students need to complete at least a three-year sequence in one language. The Department of Modern Languages and Classical Studies stresses four aspects of language learning skills: understanding, speaking, reading, and writing the language. Integral to the program is fostering the following in our students: an appreciation of the culture or cultures that speak the languages we teach; a realization of the interdisciplinary relationships among the arts, music, literature, social studies, and religion; and an awareness of the role language learning plays in a balanced curriculum.