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Foreign Language Department

**Mission** ====  The mission of the Malden Public School's Foreign Languages Program is to offer the opportunity for all students to be educated to communicate in languages other than English. The need for all learners to become competent in their ability to communicate with people of other countries and cultures is increasingly apparent due to instantaneous worldwide communication networks and an economy that is globally interconnected. The MPS Foreign Languages Program emphasizes the development of 21st Century Skills through which students are actively engaged in listening, speaking, reading and writing for real purposes in culturally authentic contexts. ==== **Goals ** ==== The Foreign Languages Department of the Malden Public Schools holds clearly to the concept that studying a language is a learning adventure with multiple benefits. As stated in the Massachusetts State Frameworks "Language learning is never just about words. Language is the medium in which human beings think and by which they express what they have thought. The study of language - any language - is therefore the study of everything that pertains to human nature, as humans understand it". Our students will not only the gain acquisition of another language; they will also gain immeasurable insights of the world around them. They will better appreciate and understand themselves and others. ==== **Program Overview ** The languages offered in our schools K-12 are **French, Italian, Spanish, and Latin. **We have aligned our Foreign Languages Curriculum with state, regional and national standards. Those standards are reflected by communicative, proficiency based performance tasks for our students. The foreign language educators incorporate all of the latest pedagogical methodologies, keeping in mind the varying learning styles and needs of the students. Our Assessment Program reflects the curriculum and instructional methods and features both formal and informal assessment opportunities, including oral and written portfolios for our students.