allowing them to understand and be understood comfortably in the target language and culture by developing their oral and written communication skills. Through the use of a variety of materials, teaching styles, and enrichment activities which allow for practice with the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in an intimate, diverse, highly interactive environment, they will be prepared to assume their roles as confident, culturally aware citizens of the global village and competent, successful participants in the global economy.

Why "Checkpoints" rather than "Grade Levels: While these “Checkpoints” are designed to describe language use by students who articulate along the thirteen-year continuum of language learning, such students are extremely rare at AISJ, and indeed at most International schools. The mobility of our students, coupled with the broad diversity of backgrounds and experiences in foreign language learning with which our students come to us, forces us to rely on benchmarks which focus more on what students are able to do with the language, than on what grade they’ve reached in school. By establishing “checkpoints”, rather than “grade-level benchmarks”, we are better equipped to meet the needs of students by offering multiple points of entry into our program, accommodating students from the various local, state, national, and international programs from which they arrive.

CULTURES:
Standard 4: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied.
Standard 5: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied.

CONNECTIONS:
Standard 6: Students acquire information and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language and its cultures.

COMPARISONS:
Standard 7: Students demonstrate understanding of the nature of language and the concept of culture through comparisons of the language and cultures studied and their own.

COMMUNITIES:
Standard 8: Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting, for personal enjoyment and enrichment .