Foreign Language Elective Requirement

Ten units in one foreign language is required for high school graduation, per California ed code [Ed Code 51225.3 (a)(1)(E)], unless 10 units of VAPA has been completed. The course titles "Foreign Language A" and "Foreign Language B" must be used for units assigned by our school to cover the 10 unit elective requirement for Foreign Language. Choose these course names from the FLang/V&Parts section (8) of the ES Webfiles report card to count as the required course for graduation. The 10 credits for this course must be completed in the same language study, not studies in two different languages. If a student takes an a-g foreign language course (for schools that offer a-g courses), that course may be named according to the course name submitted for a-g approval, and will be counted as the required standards course for foreign language.

There are five required foreign language goals that must be covered for a student’s course of learning to meet the graduation requirement, and as always, the student’s learning records must clearly support that these goals have been met:

• Communication: To communicate in languages other than English

• Culture: To gain knowledge and understanding of their cultures

• Connections: To connect with other disciplines and acquire information

• Comparisons: To develop insight into own language and culture

• Communities: To participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world

Any additional courses completed in this area may be applied to the graduation requirements in the Elective area. For example: If a student studied one year of Spanish and met the required goals in their course of study, then the course must be labeled Foreign Language A and Foreign Language B. Another year of study in Spanish would then be titled Spanish 2A and Spanish 2B, and may be applied in the Special Interests elective area.

A study of any recognized world language, plus American Sign Language, that contains all of the above criteria, will meet the requirements for this section.

(Last updated 11/2006)