Madame Leidhoff's students of French 5-6 are learning the language of movies and story-telling using the past tense. They are watching Tintin in French and will retell the plot, describe the characters, and discuss this Belgian comic series and its Francophone importance to children.

Students of French 3-4 are learning about Paris: they have drawn maps and are learning about the monuments. They have also taken a culture tour with Rick Steves.

ASL students learning glossing skills

In Mrs. Redelings' ASL 3 class, students quizzed each other on their knowledge of ASL grammar by using flashcards, sign language and writing.

In ASL 1, students played a spirited game in which they used their newly found glossing skills. Although ASL has no written system, our current textbook uses the nearest English equivalents, known as "glosses," to represent signs, along with a picture.
 

¡Cantamos en español!

With a nod to Señora Morrill, Señor Lawhead leads his class in singing Marisabel.  Besides pronunciation practice, the songs that students sing teach history and grammar, not to mention just being fun!

¡Muchas Banderas!

Students in Spanish 1-2 with Profe Bañuelos took part of an activity where they tried to name all the countries of the 20 Spanish-speaking flags on the ceiling of his classroom. Spanish 3-4 students learned how give affirmative commands toward their peers.

¡Muchas Gracias!

Thank-you Rittershofer family!  Señor Lawhead and the World Languages Department sincerely thank them for their recent donation of a Staples gift card.  Their generosity, along with Staples' ink cartridge recycling program, allow us to purchase much-needed supplies for the department. 

World Languages during Open House

Open House was Thursday night, September 20 and the World Language teachers were ready to "strut their stuff".  Here is a short video of the teachers meeting and greeting parents and sharing with them the experiences that their sons/daughters will have in the coming school year.
 

 

Spanish 5 students make comic strips!

Using everything they have reviewed so far, students in Ms. Ranzolin's Spanish 5 class have been busy working on a comic strip in which their characters discuss something they did last night. They will be sharing these on Monday. Students in 3-4 have been preparing a skit in which they had to incorporate all the grammar we reviewed as well. We are looking forward to seeing what they came up with on Monday!

No, it's NOT ASL!

Señor Lawhead's Spanish 5-6 students use the TPR/S method to tell their own version of a story.  After memorizing the mini-cuento about Pepe, his Dad and baseball, the students saw a new and very different story based on a cartoon.  They told the story in their own words and the hand-motions are just a device to help them remember vocabulary.
 

ASL Learns Facial Cues & More!

Students in Mrs. Redelings ASL 1 class learned and practiced how to ask two different types of questions using their hands and faces. Here, ASL student Yasmeen demonstrates that yes-no questions are produced with eyebrows up and head tilted, while w-h (who, what, where, etc) are produced with eyebrows down and head tilted.

ASL 3 students continue to review past vocabulary. This week we concentrated on descriptions of people. Students are also solidifying their grammar concepts through practice, notes, and flashcards.

Advanced Students Very Busy in Spanish

Students in Dr. Jacobson's Spanish 5-6 class studied verb conjugations through a Power Point presentation with pictures reflective of verb meanings and questions requiring use of varied verb forms.

Spanish 7-8 students engaged in a 'Socratic Circle' where students developed 'critical thinking' questions based on two stories derived from the culture of Puerto Riico, El Jíbaro and Los Vejigantes. Students enjoyed presenting and responding to one another's questions. The activity resulted in an entire period of student-led Spanish discussion.

AP Spanish students have begun listening practice with Barron's AP Spanish preparatory audio program. 

TPR/S and Review in Spanish

Señor Lawhead's students continued their grammar review with "The Use of Gustar" and practiced the original mini-cuento:  "El Jonrón".  This mini-cuento is used in conjunction with TPR/S techniques that incorporate body movements with vocabulary and phrases.  In a week or so, students will be telling each other original stories (without notes) based on the structures they learned through this method.  For more information on TPR/S, check this link to Wikipedia.

Le Petit Prince & Rose Latulipe in French

Madame Leidhoff's advanced French students will present the ideas, drawings, connections, and important vocabulary of the first few chapters of St. Exupery's  Le Petit Prince... all in French.

Students of intermediate French have read and retold the story of Rose Latulipe, a Quebecois tale, of a maiden who danced with le diable. Enjoy a version on YouTube.

And first year students will travel to Morocco!  More details later!

HOT, HOT, HOT!!!

Students and staff of the World Languages Department suffered through the hottest day so far this year.  The thermometer in one class indicated 100 degrees!  All the teachers would like to commend their students for their effort to remain on-task and engaged in such uncomfortable circumstances.  The heat should abate somewhat next week and let's hope that the worst is over.  Great job, students!  You rock!

Over 26,000 page-views for WL Blog!

As the 2012-2013 school year begins, we invite all our visitors to explore the last three years of the Scripps Ranch High School World Languages Blog.  Since 2009, this blog has told the story of the hard-working students and creative teachers of the upper 200 wing at Scripps Ranch High School.  Each week, the blog is updated with illustrations, video and information about student and staff activities.  As of today, the SRHS Blog has received 26,275 page-views since its beginning.  15,000 of those page-views have come from outside the United States.  Whether those page-views are parents, students, staff or just someone browsing the internet...somebody's watching and we're proud to share our program!

Cést Merveilleux!

Bonjour!

 

Students of French are well on their way to a great year!

 

Students of first year have learned their numbers to 15, can culturally greet in the formal and informal register. Students of 3-4 are reviewing vocabulary and language structures by way of a communicative reading text and advanced French students have begun reading LE PETIT PRINCE.

Andrea LeMaitre, new teacher for Spanish 1-2

The World Languages Department would like to welcome Ms. Andrea LeMaitre!  Ms. LeMaitre will be teaching two sections of Spanish 1-2 in Room 255.  Students know her from a couple of years back when she taught dance at SRHS.  Besides Spanish, Ms. LeMaitre will be teaching two dance classes and one class of drama.  Welcome! 

Mr. McVeigh goes to Pt. Loma High School

Staff and students were shocked to hear that Mr. Mike McVeigh, a favorite friend and teacher, had taken a position at Pt. Loma High School the week before school began.  Mr. McVeigh shared that he was given the opportunity to teach Spanish 7-8, be near his family and to live only a five-minute drive from work.  SRHS staff and, particularly, his colleagues in the World Languages Department will miss his humor, his support and his stories very much.  Good luck, Mr. McVeigh!

Un bienvenido caluroso...¡literalmente!

(A warm welcome...literally.)

Enthusiastic to be back at SRHS, Profe Bañuelos welcomed back his Spanish 1-2 and 3-4 students in his new room, 258, in the World Languages wing. The weather has been warm and humid throughout the week and the room temperature has been high. Please have students bring water bottles to stay hydrated throughout the day. The Spanish 1-2 class worked on recognizing Spanish words that already are present in American society. The Spanish 3-4 class worked on recalling Spanish concepts learned last school year.

Yoku Ganbarimashita & おめでとう

Mr. Blackwelder's Japanese 1-2 classes have hit the ground running, as students are now able to give a short self-introduction, share basic greetings with different levels of formality, and count numbers from 1~99! As of next Friday, students will be able to write both their names in Japanese and the first ten hiragana characters! Yoku ganbarimashita!

 

The Japanese symbols above mean:  Congratulations!  And we congratulate Blackwelder-sensei as the World Languages new department chairperson! 

World Languages Represented on Bulletin Board!

Our World Language bulletin board, composed by Dr. Jacobson, welcomed students back to school through various greetings in French, Japanese and Spanish. The pictures include famous libraries in Mexico, Spain, Japan and France as well as popular tourist destinations in the representative countries.