Mission

The mission of World Language education in the Edina Public Schools is to provide students with the linguistic and cultural tools necessary to develop and maintain proficiency in at least one language other than English, modern or classical, so that they understand other cultures and communicate successfully in a pluralistic society, at home and abroad. (Adapted from the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning)

Beliefs

As our national standards state, we believe that:

• Language and communication are at the heart of the human experience
• The ideal sequence of language study begins in the elementary grades and continues through high school and beyond
• Communication is at the heart of second language study, whether the communication takes place face-to-face, in writing, or across centuries through the reading of literature
• Through the study of other languages, students gain a
  knowledge and understanding of the cultures that use that language and, in fact, cannot truly master the language until they have also mastered the cultural contexts in which the language occurs
• Learning languages provides connections to additional bodies of knowledge that may be unavailable to the monolingual English speaker
• Through comparisons and contrasts with the language
  being studied, students develop insight into the nature of language and the concept of culture and realize that there are multiple ways of viewing the world
• Together, these elements enable the student of languages to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world, in a variety of contexts and in culturally appropriate ways

These beliefs are at the heart of the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning.

Course Sequence

Middle school students have the opportunity to learn French, German, Latin, or Spanish. In high school, the same languages are continued, with the addition of American Sign Language (ASL), Chinese, Japanese, and Russian.

Course specific information can be accessed through the Searchable Online Curriculum Database.

To search:

1. For 'Curriculum Area' select World Languages
2. For 'Title Keyword(s)' type the desired language
3. Click 'Go'
4. Click on the desired course