Overview of the World Languages Department

Methacton’s World Languages Department, following the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) standards, believes that competence in more than one language and culture enables people to:

• Communicate with other people in other cultures in a variety of settings.

• Look beyond their customary borders.

• Develop insight into their own language and culture.

• Act with greater awareness of self, of other cultures, and their own relationship to those cultures.

• Gain direct access to additional bodies of knowledge.

• Participate more fully in the global community and marketplace.

To support this vision we believe that all students can be successful language learners and that they benefit from the development and maintenance of proficiency in more than one language; that they learn in a variety of ways and settings and that they acquire proficiency at varied rates.  Our World Languages department incorporates effective strategies, assessment procedures and technologies to achieve this goal.

We encourage students to continue their language course of study as long as possible because:

• Most college admission officers recommend at least 2-3 years of a World Language at the High School level.

• Many colleges have a graduation requirement that students take 1-2 semesters of a World Language

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages: 

Reaching Global Competence 

Oral Proficiency in the Workplace

Skills Students Gain from Language Study