Language Acquisition

Students at Meridian High School are encouraged to study Language Acquisition courses in order to satisfy state requirements for an Advanced Studies Diploma, prepare for future studies at the university level, enhance their knowledge of the world and participate as global citizens in the 21st century.

Many four-year colleges require a minimum of two years of World Language study for admission; however most colleges and universities expect to see three to four years of study. Students are encouraged to thoroughly investigate the requirements of the college or university of their choice and should check with prospective colleges before mapping out their high school Language Acquisition courses.

The Advanced Studies Diploma contains a requirement for either three years of one World Language or two years of two World Languages. Students may use American Sign Language, French, Spanish or Mandarin courses to earn World Language Credits toward an Advanced Studies Diploma, Standard Diploma or an IB Career-related programme diploma. Additionally, French, Spanish and Mandarin exam scores can be used to earn an International Baccalaureate Diploma. The International Baccalaureate does not recognize ASL in the Diploma Programme; therefore ASL credits are not eligible to be used towards earning an International Baccalaureate Diploma.

Students can earn additional Language Acquisition credits by requesting to be signed up for the credit-by-exam assessment. Students can earn 1, 2, or 3 additional credits to be applied towards a VA Diploma. Additional information about the exam and testing window can be found here in the linked Credit-by-Exam brochure.

American Sign Language (ASL)

French

	French Course Sequencing
	French 1
	↓
	French 2
	↓
	French 3
	↓
	French 4
	↓
IB French Standard Level I		IB French Higher Level I
↓		↓
IB French Standard Level II		IB French Higher Level II

Spanish

	Spanish Course Sequencing
	Spanish 1
	↓
	Spanish 2
	↓
	Spanish 3
	↓
	Spanish 4
	↓
IB Spanish Standard Level I	IB Spanish Higher Level I	AP Spanish
↓	↓	↓
IB Spanish Standard Level II	IB Spanish Higher Level II	IB Spanish Standard Level II

Mandarin Chinese

Meridian High School

Language Acquisition

ASL 1

ASL 2

ASL 3

ASL 4

FRENCH 1

FRENCH 2

FRENCH 3

FRENCH 4

FRENCH 5, IB FRENCH B SL I & II , IB FRENCH B HL I & II

SPANISH 1

SPANISH 2

SPANISH 3

SPANISH 4

AP SPANISH 4

SPANISH 5, IB SPANISH B SL I, IB SPANISH B SL II, IB SPANISH B HL I, IB SPANISH B HL II

MANDARIN CHINESE 5, IB CHINESE B – MANDARIN SL I, IB CHINESE B – MANDARIN SL II, IB CHINESE B – MANDARIN HL I, IB CHINESE B – MANDARIN HL II