Learning another language opens up new opportunities and offers perspectives that might never have been encountered otherwise.

"A different language is a different vision of life." - Federico Fellini, Italian film director.

The language program at St. Joan of Arc provides students with the opportunity to learn about another language and culture. The program uses authentic songs, games, stories, and rhymes combined with lessons on grammar and language use.

Grades 2 and 3:  The focus of the Spanish program in the lower primary classes is to expose the students to the Spanish language and Hispanic cultures in fun ways that encourage language acquisition.  The goals of these years are to build vocabulary, begin to structure simple sentences, learn the relationship between letters and their sounds to enforce good pronunciation, and begin to gain an appreciation for the language and cultures.

Grades 4 and 5:  Now that the students have been exposed to lots of vocabulary and some simple sentences, they can begin to explore the grammar of the Spanish language more fully.  The focus of these years is to continue working on the goals of Grades 2 and 3 while putting a heavy emphasis on simple grammatical structures.  The students are able to demonstrate their abilities by doing fun projects that combine their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary.

Grades 6 through 8:  In the Junior High Spanish classes, the students greatly widen their understanding of the Spanish language and their appreciation for the Hispanic cultures.  The goal of these years is primarily to give the students a strong foundation to make their first year of High School Spanish an easy transition.  The students are exposed to many new grammatical concepts and many new types of grammatical structures while they further enrich their vocabulary. The students continue to be able to demonstrate their new abilities through written projects and oral presentations that have a broader scope than the ones they did in the Elementary classes.

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