CLASSICAL LANGUAGE

High School 2009-2010

GREEK

Greek 2

In this course, the students will complete their survey of the rules of Greek grammar and syntax as presented by the Athenaze series.  While studying these mechanics, the students will translate progressively less adapted excerpts from Herodotus, Thucydides and Aristophanes, thereby building strategies for translating Greek accurately, recognizing different Greek dialects, and for using the dictionary to its best advantage.  The students will also gain insight into the cultural, social, and political context of these adapted excerpts.

Greek Prose

In this course, the students will begin reading unadulterated works of ancient Greek literature, including selections from Lucian, Aesop, Theophrastus, Xenophon and Plato, with the goal of building proficiency in translating unadapted Greek prose with accuracy.  To aid in achieving this goal, the students will conduct a comprehensive review and reinforcement of the rules of ancient Greek grammar and syntax.  In addition to studying grammar and syntax, the students will also gain insight into the cultural, social, political, and literary context of these different works of Greek literature.

Greek Tragedy

In this course, the students will begin exploring the world of ancient Greek tragedy by reading three plays in the original language---Euripides’ Hippolytus, Sophocles’ Trachiniae, and Aeschylus’ Agamemnon.  In this exploration, the students will learn about the performance of tragedy, its structure and metrics, and its political, cultural and literary context.  The students will also continue to build proficiency in translating Greek poetry with accuracy, while obeying the rules of proper English.

LATIN

Latin Prose and Poetry

In this course, the students will begin reading unadulterated works of Latin literature.  The first semester is dedicated to reading selections from the prose writings of Sallust and Cicero that explore the conspiracy of Catiline.  The second semester begins with selections from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and ends with Book I of the Aeneid of Vergil.  The objective of this course is to help students gain fluency in reading unadapted Latin texts.  To achieve this goal, students not only will be immersed in Latin readings but will conduct a comprehensive review and reinforcement of the rules of Latin grammar and syntax.

The Aeneid

In this course, the students will read a substantial portion of Vergil’s Aeneid in the original language and all of it in translation.  In reading the Aeneid, the students will build proficiency in translating Latin with accuracy, while obeying the rules of proper English, even when translating at sight.  The students will also develop skills in interpreting and analyzing the poem’s form, structure, theme, style, character development, and rhetoric, as well as gain insight into the cultural, social, political, and literary context of Vergil, and how it affected his work.

Lyric Poetry

“Horace tells us far more about himself, his character, his development, and his way of life than any other             great poet in antiquity.”  Eduard Fränkel

“For Catullus … poetry is rarely a matter of experience recollected and transformed, in tranquility             or             otherwise.” Charles Martin

This course is dedicated to reading the Roman lyric poets Catullus and Horace.   We will focus on the Odes and Epodes of Horace and the entire Catullan corpus to examine the points of contiguity and divergence of these two writers.  On occasion, we will entertain certain works of the elegists Tibullus and Propertius to compare their treatment of similar themes and topoi.  The objective of this course is to help the students gain fluency in reading these poets and further insight into the literature of this period in ancient Rome.  Essays requiring literary analysis and a meaningful discussion of metrics and poetics will be routinely assigned.

MODERN LANGUAGES

High School 2009-2010

CHINESE

Intermediate Chinese 2

This course introduces the students to Chinese that goes beyond the textbook like stories, plays, and games.  The course will include a large speaking component: students will interview one another, make presentations, and carry on conversation with one another and the teacher.  Students will engage in complex translating tasks, gaining a strong appreciation for the central role of context to meaning.  They will be exposed to a wide range of Chinese idioms, known as chengyu, giving them unique insight into the language and culture. 

Intermediate Chinese 3

This course asks the students to master a significant number of grammar patterns.  By year’s end, the students will have completed over half of the Integrated Chinese textbook series.  Students will learn to carry on extended conversations in Chinese, expressing preferences and opinions, qualifying statements, and narrating events in chronological sequences appropriately.  Students will read and translate diverse styles of writing, including children’s stories, stories in translation, poetry, and excerpts from classic Chinese stories.  The objective is to help them become adept translators who are sensitive to the deep complexities of this task.

Advanced Chinese 1

This course teaches the students self-sufficiency and self-reliance as Chinese language learners: the use of the dictionary is taught and practiced and the class is conducted almost exclusively in Chinese.  Students will be immersed in the language in order to resolve gaps in their memories of vocabulary and grammar by finding alternative vocabulary and structures to express similar thoughts.  Students will write page-length assignments in Chinese, some to pen-pal correspondents in China.  The range of Chinese readings will expand considerably, with an emphasis on Chinese written for native speakers.  

FRENCH 1 (ACCELERATED) 

The goal of this course is to provide students with excellent language skills that will allow them to communicate effectively in French. Throughout the course, oral proficiency, effective writing, and cultural literacy will be equally emphasized.  The course will cover the fundamentals of French grammar with special attention given to the verb system.