Classroom performance is graded A-F, and grades are reported to families and home schools after each quarter. All language course levels contain a program of intensive grammar review with substantial attention given to the development of speaking and writing skills. Vocabulary development is stressed. Teachers employ a variety of materials and techniques, including fiction and non-fiction readings, papers, oral reports, listening comprehension activities, videocassettes and films. The core program is supplemented by outside reading in newspapers and periodicals.
Students read and in some cases memorize poems.
Qualified students are placed in a section that covers readings equivalent to a college survey course. This includes, but is not limited to, authors and works chosen by ETS for their Advanced Placement program in Spanish Literature. Students study poetry, plays, novels and short stories in their historical context, regularly writing literary analyses of the works studied. May. Summer reading preceding arrival at School Year Abroad is required. This course offers a survey of Spanish and Spanish-American literature and thought while enriching the students knowledge of the Spanish language.