Starting next fall, students who have completed French IV AP might be able to take an additional year of French by signing up for French V at the high school.

French V is an additional, supplementary French culture course devised by current French IV AP teacher Christophe Barquissau, who designed it to be taken after French IV AP.

From an administrative perspective, offering a French V course for the 2013-2014 school year appears highly plausible.

“[French V] hasn’t been formally proposed yet, but since Mountain View has [the class], it’s certainly likely,” Pasallo said. “If there are enough kids who want to take it here at the school, the class is certainly a possibility.”

Barquissau is applying to have the class be worth honors credit, as it would go deep into French culture.

“[French V was designed] to allow students to take a fourth year of French in high school, so they don’t have to take a ‘gap year’ or just three years of French,” Barquissau said.

Because the AP French test stresses mainly oral and aural skills, Barquissau said that the French V curriculum would revolve around the topics that weren’t covered due to the strict schedule of the AP class.

“While French IV AP [students] prep for the AP test, French V will dig deeper into French culture [by analyzing] French filmography and French music,” Barquissau said.

As both French movies and French music remain topics neglected in the typical French student’s career, French V would not only grant many students an additional fourth and final year in French at school, but also grant a deeper understanding of French history and French culture.

Offering a French V course at the high school would grant French and Spanish students the same foreign language education opportunities throughout the district.

“Spanish students have Spanish V or Spanish Literature AP, [while] Mountain View already offers French V,” Barquissau said.

Spanish Literature AP is offered every year if enough Spanish IV AP students sign up for it.

Barquissau plans to submit the paperwork and curriculum to the University of California’s administration offices for approval later this month.