French, Latin, Mandarin and Tewa will be available next year as tutorials for motivated students interested in studying additional languages. These tutorials will meet during lunch twice every six-day rotation cycle, and students will work at their own level and speed under the guidance of a teacher. Class time will be devoted to oral practice and clarification of grammar and usage, with students doing much of their work on their own, outside of class.
Tutorials will be graded on a pass/fail basis and appear on student transcripts, but will not fulfill solid or elective credit or graduation requirements, and do not replace the Spanish language requirement.
Prep’s language program is designed to create both cultural and functional literacy. Seventh graders are introduced to the study of language and culture with Latin, the basic building block of English and Romance languages. Eighth graders then begin a three-year course of study in Spanish with a goal of achieving functional literacy. Juniors and seniors may choose to continue on in Spanish, or they can choose from a series of rotating language and culture electives—Arabic, Mandarin, Italian, French, etc.—to gain exposure to other languages and cultures that hopefully whets their appetites for further language study, in college and beyond.