Grade 8 - Spanish Foreign language
Spanish in Middle School is the first opportunity students have to study this language in IST. This three-year program is designed for students with no previous knowledge of Spanish. It introduces the student to the culture and language of the Spanish speaking world through the acquisition of basic vocabulary and grammar.
Why study Spanish?
- Spanish is the world's third most spoken language, after Mandarin Chinese and English, and ranks second in terms of native speakers.
- At the end of the 19th century, 60 million people spoke Spanish. Today, almost 500 million people worldwide speak Spanish!
- Spanish is the mother tongue of approximately 388 million people in 21 countries (Mexico: 102 million, USA: 45 million, Spain: 44 million, Colombia: 44 million, Argentina: 39 million, Venezuela: 28 million, Peru: 28 million...) It is also widely spoken in many more where it is not an official language.
- Spanish is the second most used language in international communication, and an official language of the UN and its organizations.
- Latin culture continues to have a global influence on architecture, art and literature. Who isn't familiar with Cervantes' 'Don Quijote de la Mancha', the second most translated book after the Bible, which marked its 400th anniversary in 2005 with worldwide celebrations? Who hasn't heard that the most expensive painting ever sold is a Picasso?
- Spanish language authors like Gabriel García Márquez and Isabel Allende continue to lead global best seller lists and win international critical acclaim.
All the contents mentioned here are available in the students' online books and their online notebooks (OneNote).
