At all levels of foreign language teaching, our primary goal is to introduce the cultures, art and geography of the Hispanic and Francophone worlds to our students in a dynamic and challenging format. We believe that foreign language learning is an integral part of a broad-based liberal arts education and contributes to the development of global citizenship. Through the study of language, students enhance their appreciation and understanding of different cultures, develop their analytical skills and, ultimately, prepare themselves both for further study at university level and for a professional life. We believe that by assisting students to master the basic structures of Spanish and French they will be able, in time, to function effectively in a Hispanic or Francophone environment and to access foreign language materials across different academic disciplines.

Students at the Harare International School are provided with a unique and challenging teaching opportunity. Some of our students from Francophone or Spanish speaking backgrounds, have attended Spanish or French language schools in the past or have, at least, been exposed to multi-cultural, multi-lingual environments. Thus we have developed a two tier streaming system to respond to these diverse educational needs.

Students with little or no prior background in French or Spanish are placed in beginner level classes where they are taught the fundamentals of the language. Students with an enriched background are placed in more advanced classes in which  both pace and course contents are accelerated. At the end of each school year, students are assessed in a written and oral examination to determine their level and placement for the following academic year. New students also go through this assessment process.

French is offered from grade two through IB. Students in the elementary school and in  sixth and seventh grades have three periods of instruction per week, exception made to grade two students who have two periods, only. High school students study four periods per week. Spanish is offered from grade five through IB, with the same system of instructional hours as French. Although only two years of foreign language study are required for graduation, many students take three or more years.

Our Modern Languages program is intensive and rigorous at all levels. Class sizes are comparatively small and offer students the opportunity to develop and to master basic concepts in both their oral and written work.

The elementary school French curriculum was completed during the 2000-2001 school year and its content is being designed to match the Primary Years Programme requirements enhancing the cross-disciplinary potential of the subject matter.

The middle and high school French curricula are based on different textbooks: grades 6 & 7 Regular students use Junior I & II Textbooks.  Students in French I, II, Ab Initio I & II use Francoscope plus a variety of other textbooks. Grade 6, 7 and 8 advanced use Dis-Moi  plus a variety of textbooks. French III & IV use Elan 1. IB1 & 2 classes use Elan 2, Essor, Authentik magazines and a variety of other books. In addition to these resources, students learn from materials created by the department and from supplementary texts. Our students are regularly presented with exercises patterned on the American AP exams, the British O’ level examinations and Zimbabwean national French exams.

Lessons for middle and high school Spanish students are conducted in Spanish and spoken at native speed wherever possible. The Spanish curriculum is based upon the ELE series for the middle school and the Gente series for the high school. Both books are published in Spain and have been designed for the teaching of Spanish as a second language. Supplementary texts for mother Spanish speaking countries as well as radio tapes and CD ROMs are used in classroom instruction.

In addition to formal classroom instruction, the Modern Languages Department encourages students to gain first hand exposure to French and Spanish speaking environments. In March 2000, for example, twenty -seventh and eighth grade- French students traveled to Reunion on a trip organized and led by the Department head. This trip provided a unique and rich educational opportunity for students to experience a Francophone environment and to see and hear the language in context. Many students also have the opportunity and encouraged to travel during holidays with their families to Spanish and French speaking countries. Finally, the Modern Languages Department is striving to work with departments to develop interdisciplinary projects. In the fall of 2000, Spanish students, for example, completed two projects with the art department. Likewise, French students learnt to sing and play classic French children’s songs in conjunction with their music lessons. We hope to increase these cross-disciplinary links in the future.

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While we have established clear language goals and methodologies for each level of French and Spanish, we are still seeking new ways to improve the quality of instruction offered to our students.

Through a rigorous academic program and by developing an awareness of the similarities and differences among languages, we hope to enhance our students’ understanding of both the uniqueness of culture and shared aspects of the human identity. We believe that the study of a foreign language is essential for the development of the individual and for the promotion of international understanding and mutual respect.