World Languages

York’s World Languages programs develop communicators, linguists, and aficionados of world cultures both past and present. We value training students to understand how languages work but emphasize language as a communicative tool in performing interpretive, presentational, and interpersonal tasks. Such skills are not, however, gained in a vacuum of language study. To communicate effectively, our students also gain insight into and appreciation for the cultures of the people who speak Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. A York World Language graduate will learn to communicate in cultures that offer surprising differences and share striking similarities to their own cultures.

The York World Language requirement allows students to choose among Mandarin Chinese or Spanish and complete three years in Grades 9-12, including at least the third level of one of these languages. By means of our interactive programs, students are immersed in the language and are engaged in using it in meaningful, authentic real-world contexts, where grammar and vocabulary are acquired with the goal of achieving proficiency in communication.

Requirements.
In Grades 9-12, students are required to complete three years of a world language, either Mandarin Chinese or Spanish, through at least level III of that language.
  • Mandarin I

    This course introduces the fundamentals of Mandarin Chinese through a focus on familiar topics about self, family, hobbies, school, sports, and music. Students will develop basic listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in the target language through interactive classroom activities, with special emphasis on establishing a solid foundation in tones and Chinese characters. While Chinese keyboarding skills in pinyin will be introduced, writing simplified characters legibly is expected throughout the year. Linguistically and thematically appropriate cultural information, such as Chinese names, family life, Chinese cities, popular sports in China, and traditional musical instruments, will also be discussed.
  • Mandarin II

    Mandarin II continues to develop foundational language skills through fun games and various communicative tasks in real-world scenarios. Students will be able to express and ask about basic needs, preferences, and feelings or opinions on familiar topics of interest. To strengthen students’ Chinese orthographic awareness, emphasis will be placed on the systematic acquisition of recurring character components. In-depth cultural discussions on the celebrations of important Chinese holidays, Chinese food and associated symbolism, common health practices, and the educational system and school life in China, is also an integral part of the course.
  • Mandarin III

    Mandarin III builds on the core foundational skills acquired in the prior courses to further strengthen and develop students’ interactional competence in the target language through communicative activities and multimedia materials. With the significant expansion of their linguistic repertoire, students will be able to request and provide information in everyday conversations, talk about topics on personal interests, as well as complete paragraph-length writing assignments. Extensive cultural discussion on student life in China, contemporary and traditional performing arts, and online influences in Chinese culture today will also be featured.
  • Mandarin III Honors

    Mandarin III builds on the core foundational skills acquired in the prior courses to further strengthen and develop students’ interactional competence in the target language through communicative activities and multimedia materials. With the significant expansion of their linguistic repertoire, students will be able to request and provide information in everyday conversations, talk about topics on personal interests, as well as complete paragraph-length writing assignments. Extensive cultural discussion on student life in China, contemporary and traditional performing arts, and online influences in Chinese culture today will also be featured.
     
    While Mandarin III Honors covers linguistic and cultural topics in greater depth, its scope is also much broader and includes numerous abstract and challenging enrichment topics. As a result, Mandarin III Honors is intended for students who have a strong interest and aptitude for language learning, and who are ready, willing, and able to do the work necessary to tackle demanding communicative tasks at an accelerated pace.
  • Mandarin IV

    This intermediate-level course is designed to develop students’ ability to communicate spontaneously for real-world purposes in a culturally appropriate manner. This includes expanding vocabulary and discourse strategies that will allow students to articulate their opinions on a variety of topics, including travel, food, shopping, weather, health, development in China, and more. Students will have many opportunities to improve fluency in Mandarin through interactive learning activities and guided discussions that also help them better understand other cultures as well as their own.
  • Mandarin IV - YAS

    This intermediate-level course is designed to develop students’ ability to communicate spontaneously for real-world purposes in a culturally appropriate manner. This includes expanding vocabulary and discourse strategies that will allow students to articulate their opinions on a variety of topics, including travel, food, shopping, weather, health, development in China, and more. Students will have many opportunities to improve fluency in Mandarin through interactive learning activities and guided discussions that also help them better understand other cultures as well as their own.
     
    While Mandarin IV-YAS covers linguistic and cultural topics in greater depth, its scope is also much broader and includes numerous abstract and challenging enrichment topics. As a result, Mandarin IV-YAS is intended for students who have a strong interest and aptitude for language learning, and who are ready, willing, and able to do the work necessary to tackle demanding communicative tasks at an accelerated pace.
  • Mandarin V

    Mandarin V is aimed to enhance students’ communicative competence and prepare them to function more confidently in the Mandarin-speaking world. The course covers various social, political, and environmental topics, and is supplemented with short stories, news, videos, films, and other authentic materials to help students gain a better understanding of colloquial and idiomatic expressions. They will further strengthen communication and language learning strategies, such as inferring meaning through sociocultural context or linguistic features. Through discussions, presentations, and other cooperative learning activities, students will have multiple opportunities to apply their language skills with greater fluency and accuracy.
  • Spanish I

    Spanish I students start their language learning process acquiring basic knowledge that helps them share biographical information, articulate their likes and dislikes, give informal commands, and describe simple actions in the past. In addition, they will learn interrogative words, adjective and noun agreement, the use of Ser and Estar and the present tense of stem-changing verbs and irregular verbs. Moreover, students will be able to request information, describe places, and express existence and location. The texts used provide a variety of resources such as videos and interactive vocabulary presentations, allowing students to acquire the language and Hispanic culture in the context of real-life stories.
  • Spanish II

    Spanish II students will learn to use preterite and imperfect tense, and irregular and stem-changing verbs in the past. Also, students will study negative and indefinite words, and they will be introduced to the subjunctive. In addition, they will learn to use reflexive verbs and to talk about their daily routine. Moreover, students will study the difference of saber and conocer, the use of Indirect Object Pronoun and Direct Object Pronoun, the preterit tense of ser and ir and other irregular verbs, and they will learn to differentiate between imperfect tense and preterit. Finally, they will be introduced to the subjunctive mood. By the end of Spanish II, students will be able to express for whom they do something, narrate events in the past and describe how life used to be, and they will be able to give formal commands. The texts used provide a variety of resources such as videos and interactive vocabulary presentations, allowing students to acquire the language and Hispanic culture in the context of real-life stories.
  • Spanish III

    This is an intermediate, communicative, culture-based Spanish course. The four fundamental skills of reading, writing, speaking and aural comprehension are developed with a balanced approach. The course follows the curriculum outlined by the textbook Vistas, and it is supplemented with literature and culture-based activities. The texts used provide a variety of resources such as videos and interactive presentations, allowing students to acquire the language and learn about culture through real world scenarios. By the end of this course, students will have learned the core foundational building blocks of the language.
  • Spanish III Honors

    This is an intermediate, communicative, culture-based Spanish course. The four fundamental skills of reading, writing, speaking and aural comprehension are developed with a balanced approach. The course follows the curriculum outlined by the textbook Vistas, and it is supplemented with literature and culture-based activities. The texts used provide a variety of resources such as videos and interactive presentations, allowing students to acquire the language and culture through real-world scenarios. By the end of this course, students will have learned the core foundational building blocks of the language. While Spanish III Honors covers linguistic and cultural topics in greater depth, its scope is also much broader and includes numerous abstract and challenging enrichment topics. As a result, Spanish III Honors is intended for students who have a strong interest and aptitude for language learning, and who are ready, willing, and able to do the work necessary to tackle demanding communicative tasks at an accelerated pace.
  • Spanish IV

    This is an intermediate/advanced, communicative course based on a series of documentaries about the Spanish-speaking world. The four fundamental skills of reading, writing, speaking and aural comprehension are developed with a balanced approach. This course is based on the curriculum laid out in the textbook El cine documental. The Spanish IV curriculum reviews and elaborates upon various grammatical structures from previous years, and offers multiple opportunities to apply them in written and verbal exchanges. By the end of Spanish IV, students will be able to write and talk about various social, political, historical, and cultural topics and present their points of view in the target language.
  • Spanish IV - YAS

    This is an intermediate/advanced, communicative course based on a series of documentaries about the Spanish-speaking world. The four fundamental skills of reading, writing, speaking and aural comprehension are developed with a balanced approach. This course is based on the curriculum laid out in the textbook El cine documental. The Spanish IV curriculum reviews and elaborates upon various grammatical structures from previous years, and offers multiple opportunities to apply them in written and verbal exchanges. By the end of Spanish IV, students will be able to write and talk about various social, political, historical, and cultural topics and present their points of view in the target language. While Spanish IV-YAS covers linguistic and cultural topics in greater depth, its scope is also much broader and includes numerous abstract and challenging enrichment topics. As a result, Spanish IV-YAS is intended for students who have a strong interest and aptitude for language learning, and who are ready, willing, and able to do the work necessary to tackle demanding communication tasks at an accelerated pace.
  • Spanish V

    Spanish V students will continue the journey they started in Spanish IV. We will be reviewing grammar structures and will continue reading and analyzing different literary works in the target language. In Spanish V students will begin in the Spanish Realism Period, at the end of the XIX century, and will go through the Latin American Boom. In order to achieve these goals we will be using Repase y escriba to review grammar, and we will use online sources such as Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes to access different literary works.
  • Spanish V - YAS

    Spanish V students will continue the journey they started in Spanish IV. We will be reviewing grammar structures and will continue reading and analyzing different literary works in the target language. In Spanish V students will begin in the Spanish Realism Period, at the end of the XIX century, and will go through the Latin American Boom. In order to achieve these goals we will be using Repase y escriba to review grammar, and we will use online sources such as Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes to access different literary works. While Spanish V-YAS covers linguistic and cultural topics in greater depth, its scope is also much broader and includes numerous abstract and challenging enrichment topics. As a result, YAS Spanish V is intended for students who have a strong interest and aptitude for language learning, and who are ready, willing, and able to do the work necessary to tackle demanding communication tasks at an accelerated pace.
  • Spanish VI

    Students who are qualified and interested in extending their study of Spanish beyond Spanish V should speak with the Spanish teachers, Chair of the World Languages Department, and the Director of Teaching and Learning.

Faculty

  • Photo of Jasmine Hsu
    Jasmine Hsu
    World Languages (Chinese); International Student Advisor
    Bio
  • Photo of Jenny Nadaner
    Jenny Nadaner
    World Languages (Spanish); Global Programs
    Bio
  • Kathy Price
    World Languages Department (Spanish & French)

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Monterey, CA 93940
Phone: 831-372-7338
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