The aim of all English courses is to develop the students' powers of expression, both in written and oral communication and in a variety of styles and situations. Students will develop an understanding of literary techniques and their applications and move toward a personal appreciation of literature. It is important that students experience an international range of classical and contemporary texts. By learning how to approach and study these texts, students will acquire lifelong critical thinking skills.

ENGLISH CORE COURSES

ENGLISH LITERARY FOUNDATIONS
one year
Prerequisite: ESL teacher approval

Students will strengthen their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills through extended practice using and understanding English. They will be introduced to the key components of literary analysis and will explore themes that will help them to excel in upper-level English literature courses. This course is intended as a bridge between the ESL program and the regular English program. Upon recommendation from the ESL instructor, students of varying grade levels are eligible for this course.
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ENGLISH 9
one year

Ninth grade English students will begin the transition to learning the kind of reading and writing skills necessary for success at the high school level (including IB and AP courses). Using literature (novels, plays, short stories, poetry, and essays) suitable for the ninth grade level, students will develop reading comprehension and coherent sentence/paragraph writing skills. Grammatical principles that apply to good sentence structure will be studied and/or reviewed. Students can expect to read several novels and plays, in addition to numerous short stories, poems, and essays.
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HONORS ENGLISH 9
one year
Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation

In addition to the content and skills covered in the regular English 9 class, students in Honors English 9 will have more reading and writing opportunities and should expect to be held to more demanding standards.
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ENGLISH 10
one year

Tenth grade English is designed to further develop skills in composition, speech, reading comprehension, and critical thinking through the study of literature and (according to student need) grammar. Students will read and write about novels, plays, short stories, essays, and poetry. Students will develop research skills and write a formal research paper.
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HONORS ENGLISH 10
one year
Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation

In addition to the content and skills covered in the regular English 10 class, students in Honors English 10 will have additional reading and writing assignments. Students will study various rhetorical devices, finding them in literature and applying them in their writing. Students should expect to be evaluated according to more rigorous standards.
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ENGLISH 11
one year

Students in this course will engage in the dominant movements, authors, and ideas associated with US literature. They will continue to use the writing process, various research techniques, and presentation skills as they begin to employ advanced rhetorical techniques and critical analysis. Students are expected to begin to embrace the necessity of independent learning.
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ENGLISH 12
one year

In the first semester, this course comprises a survey of major works in British literature. Students will apply their critical thinking, writing, and presentation skills to better understand the literary movements, authors, and works of England’s past and present. The second semester will present students with a variety of works from related genres or authors or deal with related themes. Work in this semester will test the students’ abilities in critical analysis, research, and independent direction.
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IB ENGLISH A1 (Higher and Standard Levels)
two-year courses
Prerequisite: Recommendation of current English teacher; in general, a B average in 10th grade English, dependent on teacher recommendation; fluent in English; willingness to comply with the requirements of the IB program.

Students enrolled in IB English A1 are expected to have native or near-native command of the language. IB English A1 HL and SL are two-year courses that cover a variety of works and themes that culminate in the IB English A1 exam. A minimum of 15 works, including such authors as Shakespeare, Kafka, Steinbeck, Dickens, and Ibsen, will be read and examined in detail. English A1 will also stress critical thinking and analytical skills, coupled with writing and speaking skill development. The student should expect to produce a number of essays during the two years. In addition, the student will be required to read works during each of the school vacations. Students are expected to take the IB exam. Students in the higher-level course will write one more paper for external assessment and will be graded more rigorously, both in class and on the IB exams.
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IB ENGLISH A2 (Higher and Standard Levels)
two-year courses
Prerequisite: Recommendation of current English teacher; in general, a B average in 10th grade English, dependent on teacher recommendation; bilingual, although not necessarily biliterate; willingness to comply with the requirements of the IB program.

IB English A2 HL and SL are two-year courses designed for bilingual students who prefer to take IB Spanish A1 but who are still very competent in English. These courses give students from a wide variety of backgrounds the opportunity to reach a high level of competence in a second language and, at the same time, to appreciate the range of issues generated by the study of language and culture, such as the notion of bilingualism and the relationship between languages. Students at both levels will complete the same work; however, students in the higher-level course will be externally assessed using more rigorous standards. Note: Students planning to study courses in an English-medium college or university that involve a high level of English competence, such as law, history, literature, etc., should choose IB English A1 rather than this course.
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AP ENGLISH LITERATURE
one year
Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation; plan to sit the AP English exam

The AP course in English Literature and Composition engages students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through the close reading of selected text, students should deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. As they read, students should consider a work’s structure, style, and themes as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone.
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ENGLISH ELECTIVES

JOURNALISM
one or two years

Journalism involves the study of newspapers—how to write the articles and how to put newspapers together. It is also the study of the role of a free press in a democratic society. First-semester students will concentrate on the following areas: studying the various elements that make up a newspaper, as well as an examination of the people involved in the creation of a newspaper—who they are and what they do; learning to write like a journalist—the pyramid style, hard news vs. soft news, feature writing, column writing, sports writing, and editorial writing; and learning how to put a newspaper together as professionally and effectively as possible. Second-semester students will further refine and enhance skills learned in their first semester of journalism and add the following areas of focus: studying the functions of a free press in a democratic society, including the rights and responsibilities of journalists and newspapers; examining the ethics involved in journalism; and learning the responsibilities of editors. Third-semester students will add investigative journalism to their repertoire of skills; fourth-semester students will develop skills in writing for varying audiences. In every semester, academics come before production.
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CREATIVE WRITING
one year

This course is conducted in a workshop format where students write original pieces, participate in class critiques, and revise their work together. The expectation is that students will gain confidence in their ability to write expressively and will benefit from the constructive input of others. Throughout the year, students will experiment with various forms of writing as they learn from the work of contemporary authors. The first semester’s focus is poetry, and the second semester’s focus is prose. Students will be expected to compile portfolios emphasizing their growth as young authors. This specialized writing course is offered for students in grades 11 and 12.
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MEDIA/FILM
only available second semester

This class is an introduction to film and video. Students will look at both sides of these media by analyzing professional works and producing their own videos. Students will learn the basic aesthetics of film and discover ways in which directors use the medium to tell a story. Students will analyze film form, genre, and the style of particular directors. In addition, students will learn basic filming techniques, including the use of the camera, composition, lighting principles, analog editing techniques, audio recording, and digital video editing. This class consists of lectures, screenings, video projects, and formal and informal written compositions.
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