Phone 206.325.4109 info@sealang.org
| << back to SLA Home next >> | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign Language Programs |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 CurriculumCourse Formats Placement Exam Credits and Clock Hours Objectives & Methods: Modern Language Program Objectives & Methods: Ancient Languages Program CurriculumThe SLA curriculum comprises of a first-year series (101-104), a second-year series (201-204), and, for some languages, advanced reading and conversation classes (300 series). Each of the first two series, 101-104 and 201-204, corresponds roughly to one year of college instruction.Course FormatsStandard Classes meet twice per week in two 1½ hour sessions and run for ten weeks, for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction.Mini Classes meet once per week for 1½ hour. Like Standard Classes, Mini Classes run for 10 weeks, for a total of 15 hours of instruction. Only classes in Ancient Languages, and some 300 level Modern Language classes, are taught in the Mini format. Accelerated Classes are compressed standard classes. The Accelerated Class meets twice weekly in two three-hour sessions and runs for five weeks, for a total of 30 hours of instruction. Accelerated classes are generally offered only in summer quarter. Series Intensive Classes compress levels 101-104 into ten weeks of instruction. Normally offered in Arabic, Chinese, French, Italian and Spanish, these classes meet four times per week, 3.5 hours per session, for a total of 140 hours of classroom instruction. Like Accelerated Classes, Series Intensive Classes are generally offered only in summer quarter.
Placement ExamStudents unsure of their proficiency level in the language which they would like to study should arrange to take a placement exam or a diagnostic interview through the SLA office at least one week before the registration deadline.Credits and Clock HoursSLA’s classes are considered adult-focused continuing education, although credits and clock hours are available for its classes; SLA does not grant degrees and is not a certificate program.Credits SLA is accredited by NAAS—Northwest Association of Accredited Schools—and on request provides credits and official transcripts for completed coursework. Since SLA is not a degree-granting institution its credits are not recognized by most colleges and universities. Most Washington state high schools will recognize and accept SLA's credit. Additional fees apply. For more information, please contact the SLA office. Clock Hours SLA is an Approved Provider of Washington State Clock Hours. Clock hours are continuing education credits to maintain validity of educator certification P-12 in the state of Washington. All Foreign Language Program classes at SLA can result in clock hours upon request; one clock hour for every class hour attended. Students interested in earning clock hours must request them at the time of registration. Additional fees apply. For more information, please contact the SLA office. Objectives & Methods: Modern Languages ProgramCourse ObjectivesThe Modern Languages curriculum is designed to result in broad and well-grounded linguistic proficiency. In the first-year sequence, students learn the core structural elements of the language and gradually build up a working vocabulary of its most common words and expressions. All four language skills – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – are taught simultaneously and from the outset. The second-year sequence, in which students hone their conversational skills and broaden their vocabularies, focuses on review, reinforcement, and expansion. While this model may vary for non-Indo-European languages such as Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese, the basic idea of foundational learning remains the same for all languages: the first year lays the groundwork, the second and third years build on and expand that base. 
Methods SLA instructors use communicative teaching methods. Teachers illustrate or model the language-phonetics and usage-and create scenarios simulating real-life situations in which students put the language to work for themselves. Analysis-written paradigms and explanations-follows, and is always subordinate to practical application. Instruction takes place in the target language; English is used sparingly in class or not at all. Texts and Materials All required texts and materials are available for purchase at SLA. Supplemental materials, including workbooks, laboratory manuals, audio cassettes, and CDs, may be special ordered during the first week of classes. For a complete list of textbook titles and prices, refer to Tuition & Texts. Objectives & Methods: Ancient Languages Program Course ObjectivesThe aim of the Ancient Languages curriculum is proficiency in reading Latin or Ancient Greek. In the first-year sequence, students are introduced to the building-blocks of the languages: the pattern of grammatical cases in the noun system; the tenses and moods of the verbal system; and the basic vocabulary. The second – year sequence is aimed at consolidating and expanding the skills developed in the first year. The series comprises two parts: a grammar and composition section focusing on the translation of English into Latin or Greek; and a reading section in which students first encounter extended passages in the target language (although the grammar and reading components in the second – year curriculum are offered as separate Mini Series classes, they are designed to complement each other; students who enroll for both classes concurrently pay only tuition for a single Standard Series class). In the third-year series, students read works of Latin and Greek authors of various periods. The texts are accompanied by full grammatical notes, and-in some instances-by vocabulary as well. Roman authors taught in this series have included Catullus, Cicero, Livy, Ovid, Tacitus, and Virgil; Greek authors have included Aeschylus, Euripides, Homer, Herodotus, Xenophon, and Plato. The goal of instruction at this level is to facilitate the student's engagement with the text at a level that permits real literary appreciation. Methods The teaching of Latin and Greek differs from that of spoken languages: the focus of instruction is ease of reading-although accurate pronunciation of the languages is indispensable for literary appreciation. Beginning in the first quarter, students read practice sentences from their textbook as well as short selections of authentic Latin or Greek. Skill in reading is both reinforced and supplemented by translation into the target language. Oral recitation in class helps to fix the multifarious grammatical forms of the language in the mind, while memorization of brief mottoes and sayings familiarizes students with the languages' characteristic forms of expression. In the second-year series, students deepen their understanding of the language through structured translation from English as well as the reading of substantial passages of Greek or Latin prose. Texts and Materials For information about purchasing texts and materials for the Ancient Languages Program, please see Tuition & Texts. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| << back to SLA Home next >> |