Modern (Foreign) and Classical Languages

As we approach the beginning of the twenty-first century, we in MSAD #16 believe more strongly than ever that we must educate students who are linguistically and culturally equipped to interact successfully at home and abroad as citizens of the global community. We believe that ALL students can develop and maintain proficiency in more than one language, modern or classical, through long, uninterrupted sequences of study. Among the numerous benefits gained through competence in more than one language and culture is the ability to act with greater awareness of self, of other cultures, and our own relationship to those cultures.The program of studies offered by MSAD #16 in modern (foreign) and classical languages is an exemplary one. It is rare within the State of Maine to find a district (of any size) where children are offered the opportunity to learn one foreign language, not to mention three, beginning in the third grade. The fact that one of these is Japanese, a less commonly taught language, gives our students a definite advantage in an increasingly diverse nation and an ever-shrinking world. We are proud to continue to attract students to the study of the more traditional modern (foreign) languages, French and Spanish, preparing them to participate more fully in the global community and marketplace. And we are fortunate that Latin continues to hold a viable position in our program at the high school level because the study of Latin offers students unique benefits in a multicultural, global society.

The curriculum for this area of study has been in place since the program was expanded to the elementary school in 1993. It was reviewed and rewritten by the district's foreign language staff beginning in the fall of 1995. For guidelines, we relied primarily on the National Standards in Foreign Language Education, as well as the Learning Outcomes Framework developed by the College Board, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, and the New England Network of Academic Alliances in Foreign Languages and Literatures. Naturally, we also brought to this project our own expertise derived from many years of actual classroom work with students.

MSAD #16 Framework for Academic Standards Fall 1997

Modern & Classical Languages 81