Professor Rojas
Associate Professors Colvin, Counselman, Lewis Cusato, Nieto-Cuebas, Wolber
Assistant Professor Paris-Huesca

“Language, aside from its character as a grammatical skeleton bequeathed by tradition, is at the same time a living body experience of a people’s form of life.” — Americo Castro

The curricula in the modern foreign languages are designed to develop skills in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing the language and to impart a critical and creative appreciation of the culture, civilization, and literature of the areas where the language is spoken. The Department of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) offers majors and minors in French, German, and Spanish in addition to courses in Arabic, Chinese, Italian, and Japanese.

Learning Objectives for Language Majors:

By the time students graduate with a major in French, German or Spanish, they will:

• Demonstrate strong speaking, reading, listening and writing skills in the target language that enable them to function in an environment where the language is used exclusively.

• Demonstrate awareness and appreciation of the cultural and linguistic diversity within the countries where the language is spoken.

• Analyze and interpret authentic literary, filmic and other cultural texts in organized and coherent (written or oral) presentations that reflect an awareness of the socio-cultural, historical and political contexts in which the texts were produced.

• Demonstrate awareness of how issues related to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, culture or socio-economic status influence perspectives and power relations and communicate respectfully with people of varying beliefs and diverse backgrounds.

Study Abroad:

In the MFL department we believe that study abroad is extremely important. Spending a semester abroad in an approved off-campus program is required for French majors and highly recommended for German majors. In both cases, students should consult with their (French/German) professor prior to choosing a program. Spanish majors must fulfill an immersion requirement (see “Spanish major” for more information). Detailed information about approved off-campus study programs, financial aid and billing is available in the Office of International and Off-Campus Programs.

Programs

• French Major
• German Literature Major
• German Studies Major
• Spanish Major

• French Minor
• German Literature Minor
• German Studies Minor
• Spanish Minor