Modern Language

Imagine traveling to Shanghai or Guadalajara and chatting with the locals, watching Les Diaboliques without subtitles or reading Chac Mool in the original Spanish. Imagine learning to communicate easily and effectively in another tongue. That's our goal when you go through the language courses in the Modern Language department at Kent. We offer classes in Cultural Italian, Chinese (beginning through advanced), and French  and Spanish, ranging from beginning level to AP.

Lower-level classes give you a solid foundation in grammar and pronunciation and begin to introduce you to the art and culture of the countries where your new language is spoken. As you move into higher-level courses, you take on more literature and begin watching—and discussing—films in the target language. But through it all, the emphasis is on enjoying the skill that you are building and taking pleasure in something you can use for the rest of your life.

You may start with a language you don't know at all or one in which you have some familiarity and if you progress through the AP level, you might decide to start another language as a sixth former or even embark on an independent study as a student recently did with Italian. At Kent we have a history of offering independent studies for students who show an interest in language beyond what we regularly offer.  We are always pleased to consider a number of options for students who are genuinely interested in expanding their language studies.

In the classrooms, you'll work with many different books, newspapers, audio and videos. If a foreign film hits town, you might even head off to the theater. And you'll have time, both in class and independently, to use Kent's wonderful Language Learning Center.

So perhaps the hard part now is choosing which language—or languages—to study!