Languages, Literature and Culture

We speak our world into being. We speak our world and listen to its echo reflected to us in turn in the speaking of another. We write our world as art in word and read the art of others’ writing and discover there a world much like our own.

~ Oral Expression
~ Principles of Grammar
~ Composition
~ Reading Texts

Sparhawk students learn both Classical and Romance languages, in part, as a means of cultivating a more complete understanding of their own rich cultural heritage.  The study of Latin reveals the very foundation of Western Civilization and brings it closer to the students’ own experience, allowing them to find their own story within the context of our great tale. The study of French, Italian, and Spanish as well as guided independent study of a variety of other languages opens up a view into the experience of our cultural contemporaries and encourages Sparhawk students to engage the possibilities that are the fruit of international awareness.

Classes are richly interactive and simulate, to the greatest degree possible, an immersion experience. The four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing are emphasized in an organic fashion, i.e., in the natural order of skill acquisition. Students are encouraged to hone their listening and speaking skills first and, over time, to read and write at ever higher levels of ease and fluency.

In addition to class time learning, multilingualism is an everyday component of the Sparhawk School experience. Many of our faculty and staff were born outside the USA or have lived abroad. They, and our foreign exchange students, share their various experiences generously with others, and thereby deepen the cultural understanding of all members of our community.

In accord with a European model, students, having mastered the fundamentals of their first language of choice, may elect to study additional ones. We are preparing Sparhawk graduates to live successfully in, and contribute to, an increasingly complex world, a world that requires a deeply multicultural perspective.

Classical Language: Latin

Romance Languages: Italian, French & Spanish