Academic Affairs

Department of Languages Learning Goals

 

Chinese:

Overarching programmatic learning goals are to enable students to:

  • Communicate effectively in Chinese, oral and written
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the rich and different cultures of Chinese speaking countries so that they are more culturally aware and ready to be global citizens
  • Critically analyze different types of Chinese literary texts (in English) within their own cultural, social and political contexts

 

Classics:

The Classics program aims to enable students: 

  • to acquire a knowledge of Latin and/or Ancient Greek vocabulary, morphology, and syntax, including the technical terminology used to describe grammatical phenomena 
  • to translate authentic Latin and/or Ancient Greek texts into English 
  • to interpret and analyze Greek and Roman texts, whether read in the original language or in English translation 
  • to gain an understanding of key aspects of ancient history, literature, and culture
  • to investigate in depth specific topics related to the Classical world or Classical reception 
  • to examine the continuing influence of the Classical world beyond antiquity 
  • to develop skill at analyzing and/or synthesizing evidence from a variety of genres or media 
  • to express interpretive and analytic ideas in oral and written forms
  • to undertake research activities appropriate to the field of Classics

 

French:

Upon successful completion of the requirements for the French major, students will be able to: 

  • To achieve proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in French and in understanding spoken French;
  • To acquire broad empirical knowledge of French and Francophone culture across time;
  • To analyze French and Francophone texts--both written and visual, as well as other forms of media (the plastic arts, music, etc);
  • To examine how cultural differences help determine political, economic and social institutions;
  • To acquire critical thinking skills through the analysis of literature and cultural artifacts.

 

Spanish:

The learning goals for majors in the Spanish program are as follows:

  • Acquire an overview of Spanish literature from late medieval period to 17th century. 
  • Acquire an overview of Spanish literature from the neoclassic movement of the 18th century to contemporary works.
  • Acquire an overview of Spanish-language Latin-American literature from pre-Columbian times to the present.
  • Be able to analyze and contextualize (using historical, political, cultural and social frameworks) literary texts and/or other cultural products.
  • Demonstrate a broad knowledge of Spanish and Latin American literary genres, styles, and canonical authors and their works. 
  • Develop the ability to write proficiently in Spanish without the use of a dictionary or textbook composing compound-complex sentences with a wide variety of simple and perfect tenses in both the indicative and subjunctive moods.
  • Express orally in Spanish complex thoughts and ideas with an expansive vocabulary, compound-complex sentences with a wide variety of tenses and moods, and with accurate Spanish pronunciation.