Daily Foreign Language Instruction
Equipping students to be active global citizens demands understanding, comprehension, and communication of a language beyond Engligh. At Saint Stephen’s students take a modern or classical language five days a week. Some even take two languages through the AP level. Our language program has become a core component at every level of the school.
- Pre-kindergarten students (3 and 4 year olds) receive instruction in Spanish five days a week, using song and manipulatives.
- Students in kindergarten choose to take either Mandarin or Spanish through their Lower School years. They receive 30 minutes of instruction five days a week.
- In the Intermediate School (grades 4 through 6), students learn Spanish, eventually pairing their Spanish class with their 6th grade World Cultures class. Fourth and fifth graders have 30 minutes of Spanish instruction a day, and sixth graders have a 50 minute class. Those students who are eager to continue with Mandarin in addition to Spanish, have the opportunity for a 30 minute Mandarin elective four days a week.
- In the Middle School, seventh graders have the choice of taking Latin or Spanish as their core requirement language. This is a 45 minute, five day a week class. In addition, students who are interested may take a second language as an elective (Latin, Mandarin, or Spanish). The language courses are a two-year commitment.
- The Upper School offers three languages: French, Latin and Spanish. Students may take AP classes when offered including both the AP Spanish Language and AP Spanish Literature classes.
In addition to classes, the study of each language offers unique opportunities to showcase what students have learned. Students of Mandarin have performed at the Sarasota Chinese Academy, students of French, Latin, and Spanish have placed well on national tests and compete at the local, state, and national level. The department gives students many chances to be culturally aware and to be exposed to other ways of thinking. We Skype with students in China and Tanzania, lead trips to the Dominican Republic, and host students from France and China.
Discover the difference of a world-class education, only at Saint Stephen’s.
