Category Archives: World Languages

Mandarin (con’t)—World Language (Jeremy Smith)

PSCS is the only school in Seattle offering Mandarin Language and Culture!

Students in Spring Term of this year-long Mandarin II class will continue to engage with the language at an intermediate level through the Comprehensible Input Method. Participants will remain focused on high-frequency Mandarin, connecting lessons with real experiences in Seattle’s Chinatown; and practiced ordering in restaurants, grocery shopping, and discussing movies and TV shows.

Students will also continue practicing how to find and use independent language learning resources effectively. Additionally, students participate in tea tastings and learn about Chinese cultural products, practices, and perspectives from Chinese-speaking communities around the world. Students who have taken this course have described their experience as being “simple but effective.”

Throughout the class, students set and measure growth goals in proficiency, progress, and performance—covering interpersonal, presentational, and interpretive communication, as well as intercultural competency. By the end of the school year, students who prioritize practice can expect to be more confident in using their language abilities to ask basic questions for comprehension and to circum-locate for better comprehension.

Outside class-work will include practicing what we cover in class in various ways.

Note: This class is approved for students who are continuing with their Mandarin studies. Please see the Director of Program if you wish to join.

About the instructor:

Jeremy Smith, or 史老師 Shi Laoshi as his students call him, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Communitea Project and its sponsor companies: Storied Journeys, The Village Teacher, and Communitea House.

Jeremy spent the last 15 years in traditional and experiential education, mentoring new teachers, in business development, and volunteering his time in service to non-profit work for communities in the United States and abroad. He has taught pre-school through University, Special Education, English Language Learners, History, and Mandarin Chinese. He has also worked for the last six years collaborating, planning, and leading experiential education trips in countries like Taiwan and China.

  • Outside work: Occasional throughout the term
  • Sessions per week: 3

French I – WL (Sam)

World Language Credit

In this two day a week world language class, students will be immersed in foundational French language concepts. This class will experience the language in three different styles; written, vocalization and learning. During each class session, students will be expected to fully participate in speaking aloud, written vocabulary and sentence structure work and active listening to several speakers from several French speaking countries. Each student will be given the time to meet with me, one on one for additional guidance. 

To receive credit for this class, you must complete all assigned language exercises (written and oral), turn in all notes, complete vocabulary work and assigned short quizzes.

  • Outside work: A small amount (e.g., <30 min) for each session

Linguistic Anthropology – LA (Sam)

This class will meet once a week.

Linguistic anthropology is a subfield of anthropology that studies the relationship between language and culture, examining how language shapes and is shaped by social life. It focuses on how language influences human interactions, identity, power dynamics, and worldviews across different societies.

Key Areas of Study:

  1. Language and Culture – Investigating how language reflects and constructs cultural norms, beliefs, and values.
  2. Language and Identity – Exploring how language is tied to ethnicity, nationality, gender, and social class.
  3. Language Change and Evolution – Studying historical language development, dialects, and the impact of globalization on language.
  4. Language and Power – Analyzing how language is used to exert control, reinforce hierarchies, or resist authority.
  5. Language and Thought (Linguistic Relativity) – Examining the extent to which language influences cognition and perception (e.g., the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis).
  6. Sociolinguistics and Discourse Analysis – Understanding language use in different social contexts and interactions.

Linguistic anthropologists use ethnographic methods, participant observation, interviews, and recordings of natural speech to analyze language in real-world contexts. Their work often intersects with other fields, such as sociolinguistics, cognitive science, and political science.

To receive credit for this class, you must complete all assigned readings, turn in all notes, complete assignments, and relay research information.

  • Outside work: A small amount (e.g., <30 min) for each session

French 2 – WL (Sam)

Note: This class is open to high school students only.

 

World Language Credit *Prerequisite (Teacher Approval or completetion of French I)

In this two day a week world language class, students will be immersed in intermediate French. This class will experience the language in three different styles; written, vocalization and learning. During each class session, students will be expected to fully participate in speaking aloud, written vocabulary and sentence structure work and active listening to several speakers from several French speaking countries. Each student will be given the time to meet with me, one on one for additional guidance. 

To receive credit for this class, you must complete all assigned language exercises (written and oral), turn in all notes, complete vocabulary work and assigned short quizzes.

  • Outside work: A small amount (e.g., <30 min) for each session