World Language

Elizabeth K. Lapman 

Director of English Learners/World Languages 

Hamden Public Schools 

2040 Dixwell Avenue 

Hamden, CT 06517

elapman@hamden.org 

203-407-2205

 

Our Curriculum

Hamden Public Schools offers 5 languages: Italian, Latin, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Spanish for Heritage/Native Learners. Our curriculum is based on the World Language Readiness Standards and focuses on literacy, real-world applications of language, and 21^st century skills. World Language Teachers strive to conduct classes in the target language 90-100% of the time, use authentic cultural texts, and design communicative activities to push students toward achieving higher proficiency levels. Learning languages prepares us to connect in the multi-lingual and multiple-cultural world we share.

What is Proficiency?

Language proficiency refers to what students can do with the language in terms of speaking, listening, reading, and writing in a real-world context, and to what degree. Levels of proficiency are described along a continuum beginning with novice and progressing through intermediate, advanced, superior and distinguished as described by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). ACTFL’s Can-Do Statements  guide language learners to identify and set learning goals and chart their progress towards language and intercultural proficiency

Latino Cultures in the U.S.

Día de los Muertos