This summer, learn to better express thoughts, feelings, ideas and questions in your native tongue and/or a second language. Through the study of language, explore new worlds and cultures by delving deeper into English, or broadening your horizons through
the study of Spanish, French, Mandarin, or American Sign Language. More than just grammar and vocabulary, language study will open your ears to new sounds and expressions, and your eyes to new ways of seeing things.
At Futures Academy, benefit from personalized 1:1, 2:1, and small group instruction options to make learning language easier. Learn at your own pace and practice using quality time with your instructor.
Over 36 foreign language courses for credit offered
One-to-one, paired & small group learning
UC, CSU, & NCAA Approved
College prep, workshop, honors & AP-level courses
In-person, online or hybrid learning options
Remediate or accelerate
Full-time or part-time
Transfer credits back to your home school
Flexible 5-18 week timeframe based on your schedule
Prevent summer learning loss
Level: Workshop, College Prep, Honors
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite:
N/A
This course provides entry level training in American Sign Language. It is an overview of the basic vocabulary, structure, syntax and grammar of ASL. Students will focus on mastering the basics of fingerspelling, numbers, colors, facial grammar and sentence structure; students will also learn conversational/cultural behaviors necessary to hold a beginning-level conversation in ASL, with deaf/hard-of-hearing native users of the language. Introductory information about deaf culture will also be presented, along with deaf humor, to provide students with a broad picture of language and culture.
Level: Workshop, College Prep, Honors
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite: ASL
1
This course provides a continuation of American Sign Language I. Students need to have completed American Sign Language I with a “C” or better as they will be continuing the basic aspects of American Sign Language (ASL) taught in Level 1 ASL. Students will complete an overview of ASL’s basic vocabulary, structure, syntax, and grammar. Students will continue to focus on fingerspelling, numbers, facial grammar and sentence structure and will also further develop the conversational/cultural behaviors necessary to hold a beginning-level conversation. More challenging examples of Deaf humor will be presented as well as additional cultural information to aid student development of awareness of and appreciation for the unique linguistic relationship between language and culture among those deaf/hard-of-hearing individuals who use ASL to communicate.
Level: Workshop, College Prep, Honors
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite: ASL
2
In American Sign Language 3, students will expand their knowledge and ability to communicate with the American Deaf Community with goals of building fluency. Students will expand their expressive and receptive skills by utilizing role playing situations taken from everyday life of Deaf individuals. Students will learn to recognize and properly express spatial relationships, facial expressions, body shifting and morphemes. Students will become more familiar with Deaf culture, including history, art, storytelling, poetry and literature. Students will also be encouraged to interact with the Deaf community. Students will also continue to immerse themselves in the Deaf community and practice their fluency in sign language through the use of these tools and exercises listed below.
Level: Workshop, College Prep, Honors
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite: ASL
3
American Sign Language (ASL) 4 continues to advance and progress develop of student’s expressive and receptive Communication skills while using modals, and learning of deaf cultural and social information. Attention to strategies used by the deaf in order to communicate with “non-signers” (including notes, gestures, speech and hearing, or speech-reading) will be learned. Editing written materials (daily parlance, news, prose, poetry, songs, and dialogues) to interpret and clarify its meaning will enhance language patterns, build and reinforce vocabulary, and strengthen conversational skills. Therefore, a student will improve comprehension and communication abilities using ASL.
Level: Workshop, College Prep
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite:
N/A
This course introduces the student to the French language by incorporating culture, sound, conversation, grammar, reading, and writing. As an introductory course, students will learn the basic communication skills in the French language. Furthermore, students will master the basic forms of speaking, reading, writing, and listening through the use of various strategies and sources. For example, students will participate in comprehension activities by listening to music and watching film clips (provided by the teacher) in connection to the lesson’s theme. Students will also communicate in spoken French during each lesson by providing information about themselves as well as answering and asking questions. Students will demonstrate the ability to read passages from the textbook as well as handouts from the teacher. Additionally, students will bring a journal to class in order to complete class assignments, as well as a log to record vocabulary. Specifically, students will be able to express several themes in French, such as introductions, family, household objects, school subjects, colors, clothing/shopping, food, transportation, sports/ other activities, and more. Culturally, students will become familiar with topics such as French hand gestures, French families, French art, French schools, and more.
Level: Workshop, College Prep
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite: French
1
This course continues to increase knowledge of the French-speaking people and their culture. Language skills are increased through more advanced conversation and practice with grammatical patterns. Reading and writing are emphasized both through exercises in the basic text and supplementary material. Furthermore, students will master more advanced forms of speaking, reading, writing, and listening through the use of various strategies and sources. For example, students will participate in comprehension activities by listening to music and watching film clips (provided by the teacher) in connection to the lesson’s theme. Students will also communicate in spoken French during each lesson by providing information about themselves as well as answering and asking questions. Students will demonstrate the ability to read passages from the textbook as well as handouts from the teacher. Additionally, students will bring a journal to class in order to complete class assignments, as well as a log to record vocabulary. More specifically, students will be able to express several themes in French, such as introductions, family, household objects, school subjects, colors, clothing/shopping, food, transportation, sports/other activities, and more. Culturally, students will become familiar with topics such as French hand gestures, French families, French art, French schools, and more.
Level: Workshop, College Prep
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite: French
2
This college preparatory course emphasizes, at an advanced level, French grammar, literary selections, listening to taped conversations between French students, and more thorough study of the culture of the French-speaking people. Students will continue to master more advanced forms of speaking, reading, writing, and listening through the use of various strategies and sources. For example, students will participate in comprehension activities by listening to music and watching film clips (provided by the teacher) in connection to the lesson’s theme. Students will also communicate in spoken French during each lesson by providing information about themselves as well as answering and asking questions. Students will demonstrate the ability to read passages from the textbook as well as handouts from the teacher. More specifically, students will be able to express several themes in French, such as introductions, family, household objects, school subjects, colors, clothing/shopping, food, transportation, sports/other activities, and more. Culturally, students will become familiar with topics such as French hand gestures, French families, French art, French schools, and more.
Level: Workshop, College Prep
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite: French
3
French 4 builds on knowledge and skills gained in French 1, 2, & 3. Students continue to develop speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. Students are expected to communicate as much as possible in the target language in class, and are discouraged from relying on the use of English in the classroom. Students will continue to practice conjugating regular and irregular verbs in the past, present, and future tenses, as well as learn the subjunctive mood. They will integrate new grammatical concepts into their existing skill set in order to read and understand a wider range of fictional and nonfictional texts. In addition to these grammatical concepts, students will expand their knowledge
Level: Workshop, College Prep, Honors
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite:
N/A
This course provides an introduction to the Spanish language. Spanish is the most widely understood language in the Western Hemisphere, and the second most-spoken language at home in the United States. The primary purpose of the course is to prepare students to be college-ready, well-rounded global citizens who can communicate effectively in Spanish and are aware of the cultural influences of the Spanish and Latino heritage at home and abroad. Students in this course will learn Spanish phonemes and basic vocabulary including numbers, colors, and greetings. Students will be expected to master proper Spanish sentence constructions, articles and adjectives, subject-verb agreement, and regular and irregular verb conjugations. As part of the course, students will be afforded opportunities to read, write, hear, and speak Spanish while they work towards becoming linguistically and culturally literate.
Level: Workshop, College Prep, Honors
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite: Spanish
1
This course continues to increase knowledge of Spanish-speaking people and their culture. Language skills are increased through oral communication, and more advanced grammatical concepts are introduced. This course provides deeper instruction
of the Spanish language. Spanish is a widely understood language in the Western Hemisphere, and the second most-spoken language at home in the United States. The primary purpose of the course is to prepare students to be
college-ready,
well-rounded global citizens who can communicate effectively in Spanish and are aware of the cultural influences of the Spanish and Latino heritage at home and abroad. Students in this course will build on their basic Spanish knowledge
by practicing more complex grammatical structures and by reading short stories, as well as gaining skills to interact with others in both social and business settings in Spanish. As part of the course, students will be afforded opportunities
to read, write, hear, and speak Spanish while they work towards becoming linguistically and culturally literate.
Level: Workshop, College Prep, Honors
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite: Spanish
2
This course provides a greater emphasis on complex Spanish language grammar and deeper cultural awareness. Spanish is a most widely understood language in the Western Hemisphere, and the second most-spoken language at home in the United States. The primary purpose of the course is to prepare students to be college-ready, well-rounded global citizens who can communicate effectively in Spanish and are aware of the cultural influences of the Spanish and Latino heritage at home and abroad. Students in this course build on their Spanish knowledge by learning more complex grammatical structures. They are equipped to read and understand a variety of literary selections and gain necessary skills to interact verbally and in writing with Spanish speakers in varied social and business situations. As part of the course, students will be afforded opportunities to read, write, hear, and speak Spanish while they work towards becoming linguistically and culturally literate.
Level: Workshop, College Prep, Honors
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite: Spanish
3
Students in this Spanish 4 course will continue to expand upon the knowledge acquired in Spanish 3 and previous levels. Students will learn to address concrete, factual and abstract topics related to the immediate and external environment. Their understanding will be shown in written and spoken manners, and often presented to an audience of readers and listeners. Students will use diverse advanced materials to further their knowledge in the language: newspapers, magazines, novels, TV shows and other medias. Students will learn to compare and contrast, and support their opinion during a conversation, often having to improvise in unpredictable situations. The course will give students the necessary tools to be able to analyze similarities and differences between cultures in the target language.
Level: Workshop, College Prep, Honors
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite:
N/A
Mandarin Chinese 1 is an introduction to basic Chinese Communication skills including speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The course will also incorporate and introduce Chinese culture to expose students to a cross-cultural understanding of Chinese. The content will cover basic simplified characters, different tones, functional vocabulary and elementary grammar and sentence structure. The content regards key introductory topics and will focus on communicating with Chinese speakers. In addition to the text, students will use ancillary materials including (but not limited to) video files, audio tapes, calligraphy worksheets, pinyin exercises and Chinese language workbooks. Through written and verbal practice, students will gain knowledge about language and culture.
Level: Workshop, College Prep, Honors
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite: Mandarin 1
Mandarin Chinese 2 is the second year of our high school Chinese courses. It continues to build upon the speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills learned in Mandarin Chinese 1. Students will learn functional vocabulary and grammar; syntactical aspects such as complex sentences, progressive forms, auxiliary verbs; and social and cultural information. This course follows Cheng and Tsui’s Integrated Chinese - Level 1Part 2 textbook, which is broken into “everyday topics” such as weather patterns, dining out, directions, inviting a friend to a party, talking about discomforts, invitation courtesy, renting a place, sports, summer vacation, and airport phrases.
Level: Workshop, College Prep, Honors
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite: Mandarin
2
Mandarin Chinese 3 is an intermediate/advanced level high school course in Chinese Language. This course will continue to build upon the speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills learned in Mandarin Chinese 1 and 2. Students will also continue to develop vocabulary and deepen their understanding of word formation and sentence structure of the Chinese language. Through various “real-life situation” lessons, students will further their listening and speaking skills and build proficiency in using the Chinese language. Students will also be introduced to various Chinese culture topics throughout the textbook’s lessons; students will also continue the exploration of the cultures and history of Chinese-speaking countries through a variety of mediums.
Level: Workshop, College Prep, Honors
UC a-g Designation: Language other than English
Credits: 10
Recommended Prerequisite: Mandarin 3
This course is designed for students who are interested in using their foundation in Mandarin to explore in greater depth the cultures of the Chinese world through art, film, literature, history, current events, and social justice issues. The primary aim of this course is to improve the student’s ability to speak, read, write and comprehend Mandarin in more sophisticated contexts. The student will review vocabulary and grammar, master new advanced language concepts, and enhance his/her knowledge of the diversity of the Mandarin-speaking world. The class is conducted entirely in Mandarin except for complex grammatical explanations and students are expected to speak in Mandarin at all times.
Our son has taken to the independence that comes with the one-to-one instruction. He has worked to develop better study skills and we don’t have to struggle with homework any more. He makes sure everything is done early in the day.
- Susanne C.
Parent
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