High School Year 1-3

The primary purpose of the French Program is not only to prepare students to be college-ready but to prepare students to be Global Citizens and Persons of Character through learning, appreciating, and experiencing the traditions and celebrations of the Francophone culture.

This is a 3-year sequence of language instruction offered by the French Program at the SMIC School. The courses focus on the four key areas of foreign language study: listening, speaking, writing, and reading.

The French Program is aligned with the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines and the ACTFL Performance Descriptors for Language Learners. The Can-Do Statements reflect the communication skills through the three modes of communication (interpersonal, presentational, and interpretive) as follows:

• Level 1 (novice): Students can identify the general topic and some basic information in both very familiar and everyday contexts by recognizing practiced or memorized words, phrases, and simple sentences in texts that are spoken, written, or signed.
• Level 2 (Intermediate): Students can understand the main idea and some information on familiar topics from sentences and series of connected sentences within spoken, written, or signed texts.
• Level 3 (High intermediate–advance): Students can understand the main message and supporting details on various familiar and general interest topics across different time frames from complex, organized texts that are spoken, written, or signed.

Year 4: AP French Language and Culture

The AP French Language and Culture course will engage the students in the three foundational modes of communication (Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational). The course will provide students with opportunities to demonstrate advanced proficiency in each of the three modes focusing on six overarching themes that are the heart of real-world communication. Emphasis will be set on developing language skills and enhancing cultural knowledge. Consequently, the course will be taught exclusively in French. Overall, this course guides students in exploring the French and Francophone cultures on both contemporary and historical aspects using a wide variety of authentic material related to Families and Communities, Science and Technology, Beauty and Aesthetics, Contemporary Life, Global Challenges, and Personal and Public Identities.