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World Language

Welcome to the World Languages Department

"One Language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way." Frank Smith

The Nyack World Language instruction is a standards-based program aligned with the revised New York State Learning Standards for World Languages. The Standards are aligned with both the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages and high-leverage teaching practices, which outline what students should know and be able to do in the languages and cultures they study as they progress through the language proficiency pathway. 

World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (2015)Opens in a new browser tab

NYS Learning Standards for LOTE (World Languages) (2021)Opens in a new browser tab

The World Languages department's goals focus on three communicative modes (Interpretive, Interpersonal, Presentational) and also reference the incorporation of cultural products, practices, and perspectives to deepen cross-cultural understanding. The fundamental goal of the World Languages program is to enable students to communicate effectively in the target language. Teachers emphasize speaking and vocabulary development, especially at the beginning levels, rather than grammar study in isolation. As students progress from introductory to more advanced courses, grammar is taught in context as a tool for effective communication. 

The department strives to equip students with the skills to perform communicative functions, including providing and obtaining information, expressing personal feelings, socializing, and persuading. Applying speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills, students must use the target language effectively in a variety of real-life situations. In addition to the practical application of communication in the language, students strive to understand the cultural products, practices, and perspectives of the people in countries where French and Spanish are spoken.

Cultures, intercultural understanding, and validation of diversity are themes that run throughout the school mission and are referenced in the departmental goals, along with attention to real-world contexts and the need to communicate in an increasingly global world.

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The Nyack World Language Teachers… 
  • Work toward a minimum of 90% target language use in the classroom
    • Incorporate comprehensible input strategies (i.e., visuals, gestures, circumlocution, manipulatives, realia, context cues)
  • Establish a comfortable/safe classroom environment for students
    • Encourage risk-taking in the target languages
    • Establish a classroom community in which students support and encourage each other
  • Assess students based on what they can do (versus what they know)
    • Use more holistic forms of assessing student proficiency (e.g., Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs), projects, rubrics)
    • Minimize the focus on precision while placing greater emphasis on communication
  • Design curricula and experiences that connect students to the real world and other content areas
    • Use the World Readiness Standards (5 Cs) as a frame for curriculum development 
    • Embed language structures (i.e., vocabulary, grammar, syntax, etc.) in meaningful contexts 
    • Movement from topics to themes
  • Adapt our instruction to meet students’ needs and interests (differentiation)
  • Demonstrate a personal passion/enthusiasm for the target languages and cultures

Nyack World Language Department MISSION

Nyack’s World Language Program strives to empower students to communicate with confidence and compassion. Through the development of linguistic and cultural literacy, students acquire a global mindset that fosters a deeper understanding of and connection to their own culture and the world. We believe that language study in interdisciplinary and real-world contexts ignites students’ passion for lifelong learning, their willingness to embrace a global perspective, and their enthusiasm for languages and the cultures they reflect.

A GRADUATE of the Nyack World Language Program will…

  • Explore different perspectives, embrace and demonstrate empathy for other cultures;
  • Connect languages and cultures to their personal and professional lives
  • Feel confident taking risks and communicating in the target language;
  • Understand our interconnectedness and impact within our local and global communities; 
  • Use language skills to deepen knowledge of other content areas;
  • Develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills through language study;
  • Be lifelong learners of languages.

Lead with Languages

World-Readiness

Language Proficiency

World Languages: Middle & High School

District Department Contact

Elcie Douce, Ed. D.

World Language Department Chairperson,
Grades 6-12
845.353.7173
edouce@nyackschools.org