NAC389.569. Foreign language: First year.

A course in a foreign language offered as an elective course in a public high school as a first-year foreign language course must include instruction designed to teach the pupil by the completion of the first year of high school study to:

     1. Engage in conversations, provide information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions in the foreign language by:

     (a) Talking and writing about activities of daily life using memorized phrases, short sentences, numbers, dates, times and other basic thematic vocabulary.

     (b) Giving and following simple oral or written instructions and commands relating to familiar topics using visual cues when appropriate.

     (c) Recognizing commonly used verbs and phrases in discussions about past and future events.

     (d) Participating in structured conversations on various topics, including, without limitation, state of being and feelings.

     (e) Making simple oral and written requests.

     (f) Telling and writing a simple narrative about a personal experience or event in the present tense.

     (g) Restating in the present tense, with assistance, what another person has said.

     (h) Recognizing the standard rules of usage and grammar.

     (i) Demonstrating accuracy in the imitation of modeled words.

     (j) Demonstrating occasional creativity in the production of language.

     (k) Asking and responding to basic questions.

     (l) Using appropriate expressions and gestures of courtesy.

     2. Understand and interpret written and spoken material in the foreign language on various topics by:

     (a) Recognizing a sound with its corresponding letter or symbol.

     (b) Comprehending written and spoken numbers, dates, times and other basic thematic vocabulary.

     (c) Reading and comprehending phrases, short sentences, brief written directions and simple narratives.

     (d) Writing numbers, dates, times and other basic thematic vocabulary.

     (e) Using familiar thematic words and phrases by performing skits, puppet shows or dialogues.

     3. Present information, concepts and ideas to an audience in the foreign language by performing skits, puppet shows or dialogues.

     4. Understand the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied by:

     (a) Identifying the manner in which persons in the culture celebrate important traditions, events and holidays.

     (b) Recognizing various forms of communications in the culture, including gestures, body language, dance, art and music.

     (c) Identifying the important persons, holidays, geography and history of the culture.

     5. Understand the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied by:

     (a) Recognizing the messages in highly contextualized materials, including, without limitation, signs and posters.

     (b) Identifying certain artistic achievements and contributions of the culture.

     (c) Recognizing certain unique products of the culture.

     6. Understand other disciplines by reading, writing and discussing in the foreign language familiar topics studied in other courses.

     7. Understand the nature of language through comparisons of the foreign language with the pupil’s language by:

     (a) Recognizing cognates, adopted words and expressions, and word families.

     (b) Demonstrating that languages have important sound distinctions that must be mastered to communicate meaning.

     (c) Analyzing and comparing the writing systems of both languages.

     (d) Comparing and using language and grammatical patterns.

     8. Understand the cultural differences and similarities between the culture studied and the pupil’s culture by demonstrating that there are culturally specific phrases and idioms that do not translate directly from one language to another.

     9. Use the foreign language in and outside the school by reporting about the use of the foreign language outside the classroom.

     10. Develop an interest in continuing the study of the foreign language for personal enjoyment and enrichment by planning a real or imaginary trip to a country in which the foreign language is spoken and collecting information concerning travel to that country and careers that require the use of that foreign language.

     (Added to NAC by Bd. of Education by R164-99, eff. 2-16-2000)