World Languages Core Content

In MPS, there are several types of elementary program models:

• Foreign Languages in the Elementary (FLES) - courses that meets 2-5 times per week in which students acquire some proficiency in listening , speaking, reading and writing and develop an understanding of and appreciation for other cultures.
• Immersion - school programs in which teachers teach core content in the foreign language all or part of the day. Students become functionally proficient, master subject content taught in the new language, and acquire an understanding of and appreciation for other cultures.
• Dual Developmental Language (DDL) - This program is offered to English Learners with the goal of students emerging fully bilingual and biliterate in both English and Spanish. Initial core curriculum and reading and writing are taught in Spanish. More English content is added each year. Teachers support students in developing biliteracy by helping students find and understand connections between the languages.

Depending on their school’s language offering, middle school students can choose to learn Arabic, Chinese, French, Hmong, Japanese, Ojibwe, or Spanish.  Time spent in learning the language varies depending on the school’s program schedule.

• To develop proficiency, a sequential course with that meets daily over 2-3 years is preferred
• In Middle Grades world languages programs, students begin to use key vocabulary and structures of the language. They begin to: engage in conversations; understand and interpret spoken and written language; present information or ideas; make connections with other disciplines; and compare cultures and languages studied with their own.

Depending on their school’s language offering, middle school students can choose to learn Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Ojibwe, or Spanish.  Classes typically meet daily for 55 minute periods. High school students may continue a language studied in middle grades or choose a new language.

• Three to four years of high school study is recommended to progress to high levels needed for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams or College in the Schools credits.
• Colleges recommend a minimum of two years high school study of the same language for entrance; three to four years for more selective colleges, or for placement into upper levels and study abroad opportunities.