French
The French program at Maple Street is informed by what is best for the child in terms of learning language. Increasingly, research shows that interacting with language in meaningful ways is what makes it stick in your head. In order to improve their level of proficiency, children need to engage with the language in a way that awakens the language-processing part of their brains. This is similar to, but not identical to, how they learned their first language. In French lessons at Maple Street, the language which students are exposed to is carefully planned for maximum but varied repetition of essential vocabulary and concepts while simultaneously focusing on age-appropriate tasks, topics, and activities that appeal to children.
Spanish
Spanish officially became a language of study at Maple Street School in the fall of 2017 and is offered to 7th and 8th grade students. Maple Street believes in multi-modal approaches to language learning, in both French and Spanish. By interacting in various and meaningful ways with a foreign language, students increase their depth of language learning.
We hope to instill in our students a curiosity about the world and its languages that will last a lifetime.
