Bookmark and Share

Department of

Languages and Literatures

Learning Objectives

The Core Curriculum Requirement

The Core Curriculum requirement for languages is to complete three semesters* in the target language. During these three semesters it is expected that the student will:

  • develop the linguistic skills to communicate with other people in other cultures in a variety of settings and be able to acquire additional linguistic competence on their own,
  • look beyond their customary borders,
  • develop insight into their own language and culture,
  • act with greater awareness of self, of other cultures, and their own relationship to those cultures,
  • gain direct access to additional bodies of knowledge, and
  • participate more fully in the global community and marketplace.

The purpose of the Core Curriculum Language Requirement is to enable students to reach competency in another language. By that we meant, "the ability to listen, converse, read and write in the target language with sufficient basic skill, vocabulary, accuracy and cultural awareness [in order] to communicate needs in every day situations in a culturally appropriate way" or, more succinctly, "the creative ability to use the language in unrehearsed situations." (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages [ACTFL]).

The goals are clear: the emphasis is on communication that involves comprehension (listening, reading) and production (speaking, writing), as well as a measure of "cultural awareness."

The French Major: Learning Goals and Outcomes

Goal 1: Communicative Proficiency
LO 1: Recursive skills: Majors can communicate in French in the two basic "recursive skills," reading and writing, at the Advanced-Low to Advanced-High level according to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines.
LO 2: Immediacy skills: Majors can communicate in French in the two basic "immediacy skills," listening and speaking, at the Advanced-Low to Advanced-High level according to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines.

Goal 2: Intercultural Competence
LO 3: Diversity, inclusion, and social justice: Majors can identify and explain fundamental issues of diversity, inclusion, and social justice in historical and current contexts of the Francophone world.
LO 4: Intercultural competence: Majors can demonstrate the capacity to interact appropriately and effectively within diverse social settings and cultural contexts in the French-speaking world and beyond.

Goal 3: Knowledge, Understanding, and Critical Thinking
LO 5: Knowledge and understanding: Majors can identify and cogently explain the historical significance of principal figures, works, and tendencies in the literature and other forms of cultural production throughout major historical periods of the French-speaking world.
LO 6: Critical thinking: Majors can critically analyze a text, define a position, and substantiate it using thorough research techniques, the integration of disparate areas of knowledge, and innovative thinking.

The Spanish Major: Learning Goals and Outcomes

Goal 1: Communicative Proficiency
LO 1: Recursive skills: Majors can communicate in Spanish in the two basic "recursive skills," reading and writing, at the Advanced-Low to Advanced-High level according to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines.
LO 2: Immediacy skills: Majors can communicate in Spanish in the two basic "immediacy skills," listening and speaking, at the Advanced-Low to Advanced-High level according to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines.

Goal 2: Intercultural Competence
LO 3: Diversity, inclusion, and social justice: Majors can identify and explain fundamental issues of diversity, inclusion, and social justice in historical and current contexts of the Spanish-speaking world.
LO 4: Intercultural competence: Majors can demonstrate the capacity to interact appropriately and effectively within diverse social settings and cultural contexts in the Spanish-speaking world and beyond.

Goal 3: Knowledge, Understanding, and Critical Thinking
LO 5: Knowledge and understanding: Majors can identify and cogently explain the historical significance of principal figures, works, and tendencies in the literature and other forms of cultural production throughout major historical periods of the Spanish-speaking world.
LO 6: Critical thinking: Majors can critically analyze a text, define a position, and substantiate it using thorough research techniques, the integration of disparate areas of knowledge, and innovative thinking.