Updated January 2021
Burnaby North currently offers courses in French, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, and Spanish. Whether you have some experience with a target language or are a complete beginner, we have a course for you.
Learning a language can improve many aspects of your learning (https://universeofmemory.com/benefits-of-language-learning/ ) so consider adding a language (or two!) to your timetable.
French (le français)
French 8
This required course is introduced by a bridging unit that allows students with little or no French to develop the skills necessary to learn alongside those who may have begun learning French as early as Grade 4. Students will be able to derive meaning in new language situations and share information about activities and interests.
French 9
Students who choose to continue in French will develop their ability to participate in selected meaningful, real-life situations, to share opinions and preferences, and to respond to authentic creative works from the Francophone world.
French 10
French 10 is an opportunity for students to develop their ability to describe events and experiences in the past, present and future. They will be given opportunities to exchange ideas, thoughts, opinions and points of view, giving reasons and reactions.
French 11
French 11 provides the opportunity for students to retrieve, research and use relevant information from French-language resources to complete authentic tasks. They will be able to identify the contributions of Francophones to Canada and the world.
French 12
This course is the culmination of five years of study of French language and culture. Students will be asked to synthesize acquired information in oral, visual and written form and to interact spontaneously in a variety of meaningful real-life situations. They will have opportunities to discuss contemporary issues in the Francophone world.
Advanced Placement French Language & Culture 12
(Students are encouraged to write the A.P. Examination.)
Conducted almost exclusively in French, this course covers the French 12 curriculum and many university-level topics. Students are expected to exchange ideas, thoughts, opinions and points of view, giving reasons and reactions. They will practice adapting language, expressions and behaviors to suit cultural contexts. Extra course time will be needed to complete requirements.
Italian (lo italiano)
Italian 9
Students learn the basics of the Italian language. With an emphasis on conversation, students also learn to read, write and understand Italian. They are also exposed to Italian culture and tradition through different types of media; such as internet, music, DVDs and art.
Italian 10
Students expand their knowledge of the Italian language through written and oral comprehension activities that will broaden their ability to communicate in Italian and increase their appreciation of the Italian culture.
Introductory Italian 11
This is a fast-paced course encompassing Italian 9 and 10. It will give students a basic knowledge of Italian while introducing them to Italian customs and traditions.
Italian 11
Students expand their knowledge of Italian further. They explore the immigration of Italians to Canada and to other countries. Students discover current trends and events in Italy and attain a more sophisticated appreciation of the Italian language and culture.
Italian 12
This course provides an in depth look at the Italian language emphasizing communication and examining culture through authentic materials and more sophisticated real life situations.
Japanese (日本語 / Nihongo)
Japanese 9
In this course students will be introduced to the basic skills required for oral and written communication in Japanese. There will be an emphasis on cultural understanding and writing skills in Hiragana. Elementary Kanji will also be introduced.
Japanese 10
This is a continuation of Japanese 9 with further emphasis on written and oral communication skills. Katakana is introduced. The importance of the Japanese language as a socio-cultural tool is also stressed through conversation practice.
Introductory Japanese 11
This is an introductory course designed to provide students with a basic knowledge of the Japanese language. Students will concentrate on pronunciation, grammar and practical elementary expression skills in Japanese, in addition to studying the culture of Japan. This course covers the equivalent of Japanese 9 and 10.
Japanese 11
Communication and comprehension skills are stressed. The importance of respect language (Keigo) is introduced.
Japanese 12
Students will study more complex facets of the oral and written language and will explore Japanese culture in greater depth.
Mandarin (普通话 / 普通話 / Pǔtōnghuà)
Mandarin 9
This course is intended for beginner students who have no or little Chinese language background. In this course, about 220 Chinese characters and functional Chinese expressions and dialogues will be introduced. Culture is considered an integral part of the language study and will be introduced in the form of group projects. By the end of the school year, students should be able to express basic greetings, count to 100, introduce themselves, friends and their family members, talk about their hobbies, their favourite sports and athletes, talk about some countries and the languages they use, time and daily routine, occupation and method of transport to school and work; learn to use Chinese phonetic symbols (Pin-yin Romanization).
Mandarin 10
This course is intended for students who have prerequisite of Mandarin 9 or equivalent. In this course, about 450 Chinese characters and functional Chinese expressions and dialogues will be introduced. Culture is considered an integral part of the language study and will be introduced in the form of group projects. By the end of the school year, students should be able to use simple Chinese to talk about their houses and clothing; conduct basic conversations in shopping, telephoning their friends, eating out in a restaurant or in a friend’s house, and talking about the weather, their hobbies and school life.
Intro Mandarin 11
This course is intended for beginner students who have no or little Chinese language background. In this course, students are expected to learn Mandarin 9 and 10 contents as described above.
Mandarin 11
This course is intended for students who have prerequisite of Mandarin 10 or equivalent. In this course, about 560 Chinese characters and expressions, idioms, dialogues and reading passages will be introduced. Culture is considered an integral part of the language study and will be introduced in the form of group projects. By the end of school year, students should be able to function effectively in the authentic communicative situations and use basic Chinese to talk about Chinese and Western food and restaurant order, describe how they celebrate their birthday and festivals, describe their sickness symptoms and read prescription, and talk about their shopping experience and do bargaining, describe their housing and environment. They should be also able to do dialogues, write notes, letters and small paragraphs.
Mandarin 11 Enriched
This course is intended for students (including both Mandarin and Cantonese speakers in grade 9,10,11) who have attended schools using Mandarin/ Cantonese as an instructional language for about three or more years or students who have equivalent language levels. This course is intended to build a solid foundation for students who wish to continue with AP Chinese 12 in the following years. They will also have an option to take regular Mandarin 12 if they find it a bit challenging to go directly to AP Chinese 12. In this course, students will be involved in more advanced language learning and participate in a variety of activities. They will go over pinyin learning and practice, group discussion and project presentation, role play and drama, authentic Chinese readings such as prose, short stories, articles and short essay writing. Culture is considered an integral part of the language study and will be explored in greater details. By the end of the school year, students are expected to improve their fours skills in listening, reading, writing and speaking while gaining personal enrichment and enjoyment.
Mandarin 12
This is an advanced-level course which is intended for students who have prerequisite of Mandarin 11 or equivalent. In this course, students will explore Chinese culture in greater depth. They will also do more advanced reading and writing exercises including dialogues, notes, letters, and paragraphs. Individual/ group projects, paired role-play and group drama. Themes will include but not be limited to: more detailed facts about China and Chinese language, travel, food and fashion, personalities and occupations, biographies.
AP Chinese Language and Culture 12
This course is designed to be comparable to fourth semester university courses in Chinese language. It is intended for students who have prerequisite of Pre-AP Mandarin 11 or equivalent. It prepares students to demonstrate their level of Chinese proficiency across the three communicative modes- interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational mode. Literature, Chinese culture, history and social issues are explored in greater depth than at previous grade levels. Comparative studies will be integrated into contents learning. Group discussion, report making, drama, cultural projects will be the format of learning in this course. Mandarin will be the instructional language used in the classroom. Students in this course will be prepared to write the Internet-based AP test in May. They will receive both Mandarin 12 and AP Chinese 12 credits and marks in the same year.
Spanish (el español)
Spanish 9
Students are taught to understand, speak, read and write the Spanish language. Traditions and daily living of Spanish-speaking people in the Americas are also explored.
Spanish 10
This course expands the students’ written, oral and comprehension skills and their appreciation of Spanish culture.
Introductory Spanish 11
This course is designed to help students develop a basic knowledge of the Spanish language. It will also introduce students to the culture of Spanish-speaking countries. This course covers the equivalent of Spanish 9 and 10. See the course descriptions for these courses for more details.
Spanish 11
Students will expand their oral, written and comprehension skills at a more sophisticated level. The culture of Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas is explored further.
Spanish 12
This course emphasizes oral, written and comprehension skills in much greater depth. Students’ knowledge of language and culture is further developed.