Department of Modern Languages

Website: https://www.washburn.edu/academics/college-schools/arts-sciences/departments/modern-foreign-languages/index.html

Faculty

Professor Miguel González-Abellás (SP), PhD, Chair
Professor Courtney Sullivan (FR), PhD
Associate Professor Michael O’Brien (SP), PhD
Senior Lecturer Georgina Tenny (SP), MA
Senior Lecturer Kelly McClendon (IE), MA
Lecturer Hélène Perriguey-Keene (FR/SP), MA

Mission

Consistent with the mission of the University, the Department of Modern Languages serves as the main source for studying world cultures in their own languages, thus preparing students to communicate in other languages and be knowledgeable about other cultures, so they can compare and connect their culture to others and become engaged citizens in the global community.

Faculty members and language instructors, trained in humanities and linguistics studies, strive to share their knowledge and understanding of diverse cultures. The department collaborates with many other units, such as Music, History, Business, Education, and the Honors program to offer a vast array of opportunities to students wanting to bridge discipline boundaries. Through study abroad programs, and service opportunities at the local and international level, the department continues to support the mission of the university in developing skilled and informed global citizens.

The department offers a minor in International Studies; majors and minors in French and Spanish; collaborates with the School of Business in their minor in International Business; and also offers a minor with the History Department in Latin American and Latina/o Studies. It also maintains course offerings in other languages, such as Latin and Japanese, when available.

Thus, the Department aims to serve students who:

• Major or minor in a foreign modern language;
• Must fulfill the foreign language proficiency requirement (BA degree);
• Wish to combine foreign language with a professional program;
• Plan to teach; and
• Plan to go on to graduate school.

Student Learning Outcomes

Modern Languages students at Washburn University, upon graduation, are expected to:

• Demonstrate the ability to understand, interpret, discuss, and explain a wide variety of written and oral communications in the target language.
• Illustrate the ability to use with accuracy the grammar, syntax, basic vocabulary and idioms of the target language and compare these usages with English.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the institutions, history, social practices, and artistic and literary tradition(s) of the countries and culture(s) in which the language is spoken in their socio-historical background and/or their cultural significance.
• Demonstrate a functional knowledge of the strategies for independent and continuing learning of the target language.

Placement

Students beginning the study of a modern language who have had no more than 1 to 2 years in high school should enroll in the 101 level. Those who have had 2 years of recent high school modern language instruction with a minimum grade of B are eligible to enroll in a 102 level class. Students with 3 to 4 years of recent high school language with a minimum grade of B may enroll at the 201 level.

On the basis of examination scores and consultation with the student, the department may grant 0, 4 or 8 credit hours for the CEEB Advanced Placement program. Students should request that their examination scores be forwarded to the department chair.

If a student qualifies to enroll at a level higher than the 101, he or she can receive credit for the previous class(es) by departmental examination. In order to do that, the student needs to discuss with the chair or the corresponding faculty member which course(s) he/she wants to challenge, and then follow the procedure mentioned in the Credit by Examination section of this catalog. For example, if a student enrolls in FR 201 Intermediate French I, he/she can receive credit for FR 101 Beginning French I and FR 102 Beginning French II (8 hours in total) by departmental examination.

Rules excluding freshmen and sophomores from junior-senior courses (numbered 300 and above) do not apply if the student’s preparation warrants placement at the upper division level.

Study Abroad Opportunities

The department offers summer, semester or academic year direct exchange programs in France at the University of Clermont Auvergne in Clermont-Ferrand, in Spain at the University of Cantabria in Santander and at the University of Santiago de Compostela, and in Mexico at the University of Guanajuato, and the University of Monterrey (Magellan Exchange), and in Paraguay at the Universidad Nacional and the Universidad Católica, both in the capital city, Asuncion. Substantial scholarships are available for language majors and minors with a 3.0 GPA.

The Major

Students who plan to major in any of the modern languages offered in the department are encouraged to begin their language studies as soon as they enter Washburn University, and should continue to enroll in at least one language course each semester until graduation. Learning another language is a cumulative process and any period of time away from the language is highly detrimental to developing and maintaining necessary skills in the language. The department also strongly recommends study for a period of time in a country where the language is spoken (a summer or a semester) as a component of the student’s preparation for the major. Substantial scholarships for study abroad are available each year from the department and Study Abroad. For more information, visit the Study Abroad website.

Programs

Course Offerings

French

Spanish

Foreign Languages (Non-major and FL Courses)

Japanese

German