Level 1

Using the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, a successful student, upon completing a Level 1 language course, will demonstrate emergent cultural awareness and sensitivity in the following topic areas and will also be able to take part in basic conversations and participate in simple exchanges, such as:


  1. *Making introductions/Basic courtesy/Exchanging personal information

  2. *Talking about oneself, including information such as physical appearance, personality, clothing

  3. *Talking about one's daily experiences including topics such as:  careers, family/friends, food/restaurant, geography, health/illness, housing, holidays, leisure activities, student life/educational system, and travel

  4. Expressing likes/dislikes

  5. Expressing present/near future events

  6. Asking questions

  7. Numbers 0-1,000 and beyond

  8. Time/days of the week

  9. Weather expressions

  10. Classroom commands

  11. Develop cultural awareness and sensitivity

Level 2

Using the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, a successful student, upon completing a Level 2 language course, will demonstrate emergent cultural awareness and sensitivity and will demonstrate the ability to take part in more complex conversations and to participate in exchanges such as:


  1. Relating past events

  2. *Talking about one's daily experiences including topics such as:  careers, family/friends, food/restaurant, geography, health/illness, housing, holidays, leisure activities, student life/educational system, and travel

  3. Formal/Informal Commands

  4. Numbers 1000 – million

Level 3

Upon successfully completing a Level 3 course, students should exhibit developing cultural awareness and sensitivity. In addition, students should demonstrate the ability to take part in more complex conversations and exchanges that evidence their expanded and further refined listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.  More specifically, students will demonstrate:

  • Listening abilities, including·

    • a greater understanding of daily conversations and interactions

    • ability to discern main points of more complex dialogues, including news broadcasts, radio, film, and podcasts.

  • Speaking abilities, including

    • conversing on a variety of topics, in both formal and informal conversations

    • discussing past, present, and future events

    • asking and answering questions with greater detail

    • expressing feelings, opinions, and emotions.

    • talking about daily experiences including topics such as: human anatomy/health/illness/nutrition, household furnishings and materials, clothing, shopping, and bartering; and relating them to the target culture.

  • Reading abilities, including

    • a comprehension of main ideas of literary texts, poetry, and short stories

    • making connections by comparing and contrasting newspaper articles and online material

  • Writing abilities, including,

    • short essays

    • brief self-reflections

    • basic summaries

    • short journal entries

  • Cultural Awareness, including

    • sensitivity to language-specific cultural norms and customs

    • country-specific awareness of etiquette with regard to cuisine

    • ability to discern informal and formal address

    • awareness of geographical aspects

    • understanding of socio-historical aspects

Level 4

Upon successfully completing a level 4 course, students should exhibit developing cultural awareness and sensitivity. In addition, students should demonstrate the ability to take part in more complex conversations and exchanges that evidence their expanded and further refined listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.  More specifically, students will demonstrate:

  • Listening abilities, including·

    • a more in-depth understanding of daily conversations and interactions

    • a greater ability to discern main points of more complex dialogues, including news broadcasts, radio, film, and podcasts

  • Speaking abilities, including

    • conversing on a variety of topics in greater detail, be it in informal or formal conversation

    • discussing more complex issues of past, present, and future events

    • discussing hypothetical situations

    • expressing feelings, opinions, and emotions using a more extensive vocabulary

    • talking about daily experiences  including topics such as:  social  problems, role of technology in contemporary life, work, and stereotypes and relating them to the target culture.

  • Reading abilities, including

    • a deeper understanding of main ideas of literary texts, poetry, and short stories

    • making more complex connections by comparing and contrasting newspaper articles and online material

    • ability to understand use of passive versus active grammatical structures

  • Writing abilities, including,

    • more detailed essays

    • self-reflections using a more extensive array of vocabulary

    • summaries with greater description

    • journal entries with greater detail

  • Cultural Awareness, including

    • greater sensitivity to language-specific cultural norms and customs

    • ability to discern and compare cultural similarities and differences

    • country-specific awareness of etiquette with regard to cuisine

    • ability to discern informal and formal address

Level 5 & Advanced Placement (Spanish Only)

  • See Advanced Placement Section