Foreign Languages

Middle School Foreign Language Philosophy

The Browning foreign language program begins in the Middle School with Grade Five students studying one half-year each of French and Spanish.  This year introduces students to practical vocabulary and the distinctive cultures of the French and Spanish speaking worlds.  Emphasis is on fostering students’ comfort speaking and listening to a language other than their usual one, and this is achieved through a deliberate program of language immersion.  All students choose one modern language for a full year of study in Grade Six and continue that language through at least Form II.  In Form I, students add to their modern language the study of classical Latin, which they continue to take through at least Form II.  The objectives of Latin in Forms I and II are grounded less in the acquisition of oral skills than in the recognition and generation of the written language, familiarization with classical civilization and mythology, and developing awareness of the primary role of Latin in the formation of English vocabulary.

Upper School Foreign Language Philosophy

The Upper School requires students to pursue study of at least one foreign language through Level III.  Latin, French, and Spanish courses are available through the Advanced Placement level and qualified students have the opportunity to pursue language even further via an independent study. In certain years, students taking Latin in forms IV and higher may be given the opportunity to study Ancient Greek.  Upper School classes in French and Spanish continue the immersion method begun in the Middle School years.  Students are expected to commit themselves to developing oral fluency as well as proficiency in reading and writing.  Toward the latter goal, literary works in all genres are read and written work is assigned regularly.  Latin in the Upper School takes students rapidly into the most sophisticated grammatical constructions and introduces them to Latin prose through the works of Julius Caesar and to Latin poetry via Catullus whence they move on to reading other Roman authors. When Greek is given, it proceeds rapidly through syntax, morphology, and vocabulary to the texts of Plato, lyric poetry, and classical tragedy.