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Section VIII: Course descriptions
Languages other than English
Spanish, French, German and Turkish courses.
On this page 14 topics
Language Courses
These are courses offered by Harmony campuses across Texas. Campus course offerings may vary.
| Course | Grade Level | Prerequisite | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish I | 8-9 | None | 1 |
| Spanish II | 9-10 | Spanish I | 1 |
| Spanish III | 10-11 | Spanish II | 1 |
| AP Spanish Language & Culture | 10-12 | Spanish III | 1 |
| AP Spanish Literature & Culture | 11-12 | AP Spanish Language | 1 |
| French I | 8-11 | None | 1 |
| French II | 8-12 | French I | 1 |
| French III | 10-12 | French II | 1 |
| German I | 8-11 | None | 1 |
| German II | 10-12 | German I | 1 |
| Turkish I | 8-9 | None | 1 |
| Turkish II | 8-12 | Turkish I or Turkish Level 1A MS | 1 |
| Turkish III | 9-12 | Turkish II or Turkish Level 1 and Level 2 MS | 1 |
Spanish I
Offered in: 8-9 Credits: 1
Level: On level
This course serves as an introduction to the Spanish language and culture. Basic listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, and sharing skills are developed--communication skills are the primary focus of this course. At the end of Level I, students will be able to express themselves and engage in simple conversations in Spanish within the limits of their knowledge of vocabulary and structure. A significant amount of this course is conducted in Spanish.
Spanish II
Prerequisites: Spanish I
The basic skills learned in Spanish I are broadened to include all verb tenses and grammatical structures, in addition to a greatly expanded vocabulary. Listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, and presenting skills are stressed with an emphasis on oral language proficiency. Students also study ancient Aztec, Incan, and Mayan cultures as well as modern Hispanic customs. While knowledge of other cultures, connections to other disciplines, comparisons between languages and cultures, and community interactions all contribute to and enhance the communicative language learning experience, communicative skills are the primary focus of this course. A significant amount of this course is conducted in Spanish.
Spanish III
Prerequisites: Spanish II
Conversational Spanish, dealing with reacting to everyday situations and solving daily problems through conversational exchange, is emphasized. Vocabulary is extensive. Grammar is covered mainly through application of the spoken language and reading; writing is used to reinforce the spoken language. Customs and geography of the Spanish-speaking countries are also reviewed. A significant amount of this course is conducted in Spanish.
AP Spanish Language & Culture
Prerequisites: Spanish III
Advanced Placement Spanish Language (Spanish IV) gives students the opportunity to comprehend formal and informal spoken Spanish. Emphasis is placed on a student’s ability to compose expository passages and to express ideas orally with accuracy and fluency. The acquisition of vocabulary and a grasp of structures allow the student to read newspapers, magazine articles, and literature with ease and accuracy. This course will prepare the students for the College Board’s AP Spanish Language exam, and is conducted completely in Spanish.
AP Spanish Literature & Culture
Prerequisites: AP Spanish Language
Advanced Placement Spanish Literature (Spanish V) is a comprehensive study of several genres of Hispanic literature. Students will read, analyze, and discuss short stories, poetry, and novels in the Spanish language. Students will also be responsible for keeping a journal in which essays on assigned topics will be written. This course will prepare the students for the College Board’s AP Spanish Literature exam, and is conducted completely in Spanish.
French I
This course is an introduction to French language and its many diverse cultures. In French I, the students learn to engage in simple conversations. They are able to introduce themselves, talk about family structures, and learn about food, colors, clothing, traveling, sports and leisure activities. They provide and obtain information in French, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions. They learn about sentence structures, using verbs in present and past tense and interpret and apply the French language in spoken form, in writing and in reading. Students expand their knowledge of the French culture, make comparisons with their own culture and the English language and by doing that, gain a deeper understanding of their own language as well as the French language and culture. At the end of the year, the goal for the students is to become lifelong learners by using French for personal enjoyment and enrichment
French II
Prerequisites: French I
In French II, the students continue to expand the knowledge they have acquired in French I. They learn to use more complex sentence structures in conversations, reading, and writing, such as using multiple tenses (past, present, future) in context. They use multi-clause structures and increase influence. They gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures through different topics like leisure activities, music, traveling, food, finances, and health. Students examine current topics through French newspaper articles and compare aspects of the French culture with their own cultures. Through projects, students actively apply their knowledge of French, wherever possible in real-life settings. In this way, the students use the French language more and more beyond the classroom setting for enjoyment and enrichment.
French III
Prerequisites: French II
In the first two courses of French I and II, the students have gained a basic knowledge of the French grammar and French vocabulary. In French III, they learn to use the indicative, conditional and subjunctive tenses, and apply them in context. They continue to expand, review, and apply this knowledge, but the focus will be on working with the French language in original French sources such as videos, newspaper articles, internet sources, and they will start to read French books. This will enable the students to acquire a much greater understanding of the French language and different aspects of the French culture. In a preparation of the AP French course, students also focus on current topics such as environmental issues, politics, science, art, music, and lifestyle. Through comparisons between the French language and cultures, the students acquire better understanding of both the French language as well as their own languages.
German I
This course is an introduction to the German language and its many diverse cultures. In German I, the students learn to engage in simple conversations. They are able to introduce themselves, talk about family structures, and learn about food, colors, clothing,
traveling, sports and leisure activities. They provide and obtain information in German, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions. They learn about sentence structures, learn to apply the nominative, accusative, and dative cases correctly, using verbs in present and past tense and to interpret and apply the German language in spoken form, in writing and in reading. They expand their knowledge of the German culture, make comparisons with their own culture and the English language, and by doing that, gain a deeper understanding of their own language as well as the German language and culture. At the end of the year, the goal for the students is to become lifelong learners by using German for personal enjoyment and enrichment.
German II
Prerequisites: German I
In German II, the students continue to expand the knowledge they have acquired in German I. They learn to use more complex sentence structures in conversations, reading, and writing, such as using multiple tenses (past, present, future) in context, and applying the nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive cases correctly. They use multi clause structures, apply the correct word order and increase fluency in conversation, writing and reading. They gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures through different topics like leisure activities, music, traveling, food, finances, and health. Students examine current topics through German newspaper articles and compare aspects of the German culture with our own culture. Through projects the students actively apply their knowledge of German, wherever possible in real life settings.
Turkish I
This is a Beginning Level/Novice Low/Mid Level Turkish course serving as an introduction to the Turkish language and culture for non-native language speakers. Novice level students can communicate short messages on highly predictable, everyday topics that affect them directly. They do so primarily through the use of isolated words and phrases that have been encountered, memorized, and recalled. Students develop basic understanding of elements of Turkish language knowledge and skills in vocabulary, pronunciation, reading, listening, speaking, grammar, and writing. This course aims to build interpersonal, presentational and interpretive communication skills mostly in the present tense.
Through the partnership with local Turkish cultural centers, students may be served opportunities to interact with native speakers under the supervision of the teacher. Communicative tasks aim to develop vocabulary and improve fluency and pronunciation. First book of a sequential textbook series is used for the course. Each unit consists of a new vocabulary theme, reading, listening, speaking, writing, grammar, and cultural topics. Turkish I is suggested for 8th and upper graders, and there is no prerequisite course.
Main Textbook: Harmony Turkish 1 (Units 1-8)
Main Topics: Greetings, Introducing Yourself and others, Language, Countries, School, Family, House, Town and Transportation
Turkish II
Prerequisites: Turkish I or Turkish Level 1A MS
This course is a continuation of Turkish I. Students who successfully completed Turkish I can be offered Turkish II. It is designed to further improve the basic grammar, vocabulary, reading, speaking, understanding, listening, and writing knowledge and skills acquired in the Turkish I. It aims to develop interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational communication skills mostly in the present and past tenses including requests and abilities. Future structure is introduced at the end of the course to be continued in Turkish III. The course also provides insights into Turkish culture through the target language or native language accordingly. Through the partnership with local Turkish cultural centers, students may be served opportunities to interact with native speakers under the supervision of the teacher. At the end of this course, students can handle short social interactions in everyday situations using a series of simple sentences with a limited vocabulary and understanding.
Main Textbook: Harmony Turkish 1 (Units 9-16)
Main Topics: Asking and Telling the Time, Abilities, Weekend and Free time Activities, Food, Health, Clothing, Weather and Vacation
Turkish III
Prerequisites: Turkish II or Turkish Level 1 and Level 2 MS
This course is a continuation of Turkish II. Students study in the present, past, and future sentence structures. As in the first two courses, the primary focus is on developing knowledge and skills for communication in three modes that are Interpersonal, Interpretive and Presentational. The course goes on using the sequential textbook series. Each unit consists of a vocabulary theme, reading,
listening, speaking, writing, and grammar topics. Authentic Turkish resources, such as TV shows, movies, newspapers, etc. are often used as well. Culture and language are inseparable; students continue to expand their target culture knowledge and experience it in every possible circumstance. Through partnerships with local Turkish cultural centers, students may be served opportunities to interact with native speakers under the supervision of the teacher. By the end of this course, students can communicate and handle short social interactions on a wide variety of familiar topics in the Intermediate L/M level.
Main Textbook: Harmony Turkish 2 (Units 1-8)
Main Topics: Describing People (Physical and Character, Daily Routines and Hobbies, Biographies, Likes Dislikes, Holidays, Animals, Turkish Cuisine, Travel