Foreign Language Department

Sequence of Study

The Foreign Language Department at the Academy of Notre Dame offers its students an extended and uninterrupted sequence of study in French, Latin and Spanish, including AP courses, as well as level 5 in French and Spanish.

Notre Dame has made a commitment to the study of languages requiring its students to study at least three consecutive years of one language in the high school, although most of our students opt to continue their study of language beyond this requirement.

Goals

In French and Spanish, our primary goal is the development of a working proficiency that will enable the students to use the languages for communication beyond the classroom walls. The four basic skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking are stressed, with communication as the primary goal in each course offered. Even in Latin, students encounter a language that is very much alive, and although conversational fluency is not a goal of Latin study, students hone their language skills by writing both prose and verse in this ancient language.

Grammar is still a focus, but our students are taught to think critically about grammar usage, often using inductive reasoning to extrapolate rules from various examples, or deductive in the rules’ application to other circumstances. They also learn to compare their own language to the target language, one of the national goals for our discipline.

An equally important part of language learning is the study of the cultures of the people who use the language. Culture is not an add-on in our classes. It’s woven into our activities and is an integral part of our curriculum. The Foreign Language Department is uniquely positioned to further Notre Dame’s commitment to social justice. Our students are afforded the opportunity to develop a greater appreciation of cultures and people different from their own, without making stereotypic generalizations.

In order to be outstanding young women our graduates must be aware of their place as global citizens endowed with a deeper and more compassionate understanding of all human kind. This awareness is essential if they are expected to respond to the problems of contemporary life.

Teachers

Dr. David Califf Sra. Maria Gallagher Sra. Susan Garcia Sra. Rosemary Guarino (Department Chair) Mlle Patricia Kingston Sra. Aurora Lopez Mlle Katherine Stine Mme Colette Sutton Sra. Clare Ziff

Highlights

• PSMLA Exemplary Program (PEP)-Golden Globe Winner 2005-2007, 2007-2009
• Annual winners in the National French Contest, the National Latin Exam, and the National Spanish Exam
• French and Spanish Clubs