“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

- Nelson Mandela

The mission of the Franklin Lakes World Languages Program is to provide an interactive curriculum rich in skills, content, and activities in an inviting and supportive learning environment in which technology is seamlessly integrated to support development of communication skills and a mindset for world readiness/ global competence.  Students will have opportunities to develop interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational communication skills which will help prepare them for life in a global society through exposure to the Spanish, French, and Italian languages and cultures.

Students who complete the World Language sequence from grades K-8 in Franklin Lakes can expect to develop proficiency within the chosen target language in the three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational).  Students will learn to understand and utilize vocabulary and phrases, and will acquire the necessary grammar and syntax to support listening, reading, speaking, and writing.  They will be able to read and construct sentences, sing songs, participate in basic conversations, and create across various media in their new languages.

Through their efforts to develop communication skills in these three modes, World Language students additionally explore and investigate:

• cultures such that they learn to interact with cultural competence and understanding;
• connections between other disciplines while also acquiring information and acknowledging diverse perspectives for use in academia and careers;
• comparisons allowing them to develop insight about language use and culture to interact with cultural competence;
• communities, of which interaction and participation is greatly enhanced when participants are multilingual.

After completion of this course of study, our students will:

• Be motivated to acquire other languages.
• Become lifelong learners and productive citizens in a dynamic, global society.
• Make cultural connections to material presented in other disciplines, such as social studies, art, music, mathematics, etc.
• Broaden their intellectual, social, creative, technological and physical capabilities during and beyond the school day.
• Develop appreciation of cultural diversity.
• Have a competitive edge in career choices.
• Have a sense of personal satisfaction and enjoyment in their ability to communicate with people from other cultures.

K-5 World Language Program.

Students in grades K-5 receive weekly instruction in Spanish from specialized teachers.

6-8 World Language Program

Students in grade 6 are exposed to a survey of three languages: Spanish, Italian, and French.

Prior to entering grade 7, students choose a focus language to study for grades 7-8 with an emphasis on developing proficiency in the 3 modes of communication (Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational).