Whitmer High School - Oracle Yearbook (Toledo, OH)

Page 14 text:

i i 4 i le i PU SI RLS Sees PONE S nur £ Danny Ross, Judy Hens, Terry Franks, and Leslie Martin listen to one of the many records and foreign tapes used in the lab. Language courses capture the beauty, In the spirit and costume of the times, Marsha Parks explains that at this place on the map Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C. All four years of Spanish put special emphasis on conver- sation. Grammar and vocabulary lessons are taught in the class room and put into practice in our language labora- tory, where students also listen to recordings of natives from other countries. The advanced classes read the Spanish novels Marta y Maria and José. Fridays are spent giving speeches and writing themes. Participants in the student exchange program this year were Kathy Drake and Sandy Kruse, who spent two months in Mexico last summer, and Madeleine Jacques, from Mexico City, who returned the visit. Whitmer’s Latin program begins with second year study. The first part of the year is spent on basic grammar and vocabulary. When the students have a working knowledge of the language, they begin translating Caesar’s Gallic Wars. While these students follow Caesar through his many adventures and campaigns, the third year students learn about Roman history by translating the works of Cicero. His orations provide insight into an age of political up- heaval. Although no modern nation has Latin as its nation- al tongue, students do use the language laboratory to help them with pronunciation and phrasing. During the entire four year French course, pamphlets, newspapers, posters, and menus in French familiarize the students with the French and French-Canadian language and culture in a way that no textbook can. Required read- ing includes French editions of the familiar books 20,000 Lieues Sous les Mers, Le Comte de Monte Cristo, Le Petit Prince, and Don Quioté. For those who are interested in a more complete knowledge of modern France, the popular magazines House and Garden and Reader's Digest are provided. 10