World Languages

Languages

We are proud to offer nine languages here at BTW:

• Chinese
• French
• German
• Modern Greek
• Italian
• Japanese
• Latin 
• Russian 
• Spanish

Levels Offered

With the exception of Modern Greek and Italian, incoming freshmen may select to enroll in level one of any of the languages.  This will allow a student who chooses to stay in a language program all four years to reach the AP and/or IB level by their senior year.  Since scheduling conflicts sometimes exist we encourage students to prioritize their top three language choices when enrolling.  Students must be concurrently enrolled in level 3 or higher of another language to be eligible to take Modern Greek or Italian.

Placement Tests

For students who have started their world language studies before coming to high school and who want to continue studying the same language we do everything possible to place them in an appropriate level.  We administer placement tests in French, German, Russian and Spanish. Testing takes place at BTW in the spring after acceptance letters have been mailed.  For students unable to test in the spring we offer the tests again in the fall during their language class.  Testing is important since students come to BTW with varied backgrounds in their world language studies, ranging from a single quarter or semester of language study to a full elementary immersion program.  The testing results are used as a tool to help the student and their parents decide which level is best for the student.  We know that there is often a fine line between being bored and being overwhelmed.  Our goal is to assist in finding a perfect fit.

Honors and Recognition

BTW students have the opportunity to see how their language skills rank at the state and national levels by taking exams and participating in language competitions in French, German, Latin, Russian, and Spanish.

More Travel

Our French and Spanish teachers have lead educational trips for students during the summer and spring break.  Recently students have traveled to London,  Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, and Puerto Rico.

Exchange Programs

Currently we have teachers managing exchange programs with schools in Tulsa’s Sister Cities in Russia, Germany, China and Japan.   BTW teachers and a group of students may spend 2-3 weeks during the school year or summer visiting these cities and representing Tulsa.   We also welcome international visitors to our school throughout the school year.  Some BTW students and their families participate in this cultural exchange by housing the visitors during their stay.