JISA MODERN LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY

International Mindedness
The JISA program focuses on modern language study to help students develop a natural curiosity and openness to differences in and among people groups around the world. The JISA 9 courses pose the question, “what is the world like outside my home town?” We believe that studying the culture and language of another country is fundamental to developing this perspective.

Furthermore, JISA 10 focuses on how other nations have influenced the United States and how the US influences the world in return. Through language study in conjunction with World Area Studies (JISA 9) and AP Human Geography (JISA 10), students learn to become more productive global citizens.

AP & IB Language Courses
JISA is Johnson High School’s International Baccalaureate preparatory program. While AP courses are offered at JHS, they are not typically treated as terminal courses. In other words, they are not placed at the top of our curriculum or regarded as the most rigorous courses offered at our school. Instead, AP classes are taught in the lower grades, to 9th and 10th graders, as preparation for the IB Programme of courses.

This curriculum model applies to our modern language course pathway as well. Modern language students who reach a level 5 or beyond in grades 9 or 10 are eligible to take AP Spanish Language as a precursor to IB Spanish B, which is a two year course.

3 Reasons Why JISA Students Study a Modern Language

  1. It prepares them for IB coursework in 11th and 12th grade.
  2. Colleges prefer it.
  3. Research suggests there is a connection between modern language study and improved academic achievement.

It prepares students for advanced language studies in the IB Programme.
The main emphasis of the IB modern language courses is on the acquisition and use of language in a range of contexts and for different purposes while, at the same time, promoting an understanding of another culture through the study of its language.

The aims of language study are to:

  • develop students’ intercultural understanding.
  • enable students to understand and use the language they have studied in a range of contexts and for a variety of purposes.
  • encourage, through the study of texts and through social interaction, an awareness and appreciation of the different perspectives of people from other cultures.
  • develop students’ awareness of the role of language in relation to other areas of knowledge.
  • develop students’ awareness of the relationship between the languages and cultures with which they are familiar.
  • provide students with a basis for further study, work and leisure through the use of an additional language.
  • provide the opportunity for enjoyment, creativity and intellectual stimulation through knowledge of an additional language.

“Aims” (2015). Language B Guide.

JISA students are overwhelmingly successful in modern language IB classes. So successful, in fact, that all IB Spanish and Mandarin Chinese courses have a 100% pass rate. This means that all students taking an IB language course in the 15-16 school year received at least one college credit for their language course.

Students studying Spanish B at the Higher Level, receive 2-3 college course credits at UGA and UNG. Our alumni report being well on their way to earning a minor in Spanish on their first day of college.

FACT: In May of 2016, 50% of all Spanish B HL students earned a 6 and the other 50% earned a 7 (on a scale from 0-7).  These students will enter college with 3-4 language credits if they attend UGA, UNG, or other comparable Georgia institutions.