OVERVIEW

Our Spanish program prepares students to interpret, compare, and explain the culture and artistic works generated by the diverse societies of the Spanish speaking world. Our students demonstrate interpretative, presentational, and interpersonal communication skills in Spanish at the Advanced Low level according to the proficiency guidelines of the American Council on Teaching Foreign Language. The broad interpretive and language level skills we offer are useful in personal and professional life and prepare our students for global citizenship.

Graduates with a strong Spanish background are in increasingly high demand within the private and public sectors, the scientific community, and, in particular, those organizations operating abroad. Additionally, our program recognizes and emphasizes the lasting African influence present in the Hispanic world and the cultures they represent.

We work with educational organizations that provide semester or full academic year programs in foreign countries to encourage travel and study abroad. Students may complete a substantial part of their requirements for a major or minor concentration in Spanish through one of these programs. Our program also sponsors its own summer study abroad programs.

Outcomes

As a result of the rigorous study in our program, graduates can:

• Demonstrate Intermediate Low to Advanced Low language skills according to the proficiency guidelines set by the American Council on Teaching Foreign Language (ACTFL) through listening comprehension, verbal communication, expository writing, and reading in French.
• Interpret and explain language and linguistic cultural artifacts across time, cultures, and diverse societies in the Spanish-speaking world.
• Analyze and critique linguistic cultural artifacts in the diverse societies of the Spanish-speaking world and compare these with their cultural backgrounds.

Major Course of Study Requirements

The Spanish major requires no fewer than 30 hours beyond the general studies requirement, HFLS 201. These hours must include HFLS 202/252, 251/303, 304, 306, 307, 308, 446, two elective courses at the 300 level, and one elective course at the 400 level. The department may approve substitutions. For honors students, HFLS 251 replaces HFLS 303. Students planning to certify as Spanish teachers at the elementary or secondary level should also take HFLS 492 Applied Linguistics and HFLS 491 Methods of Teaching Modern Foreign Languages.

Minor Course of Study Requirements

The Spanish minor requires no fewer than 18 hours in Spanish beyond the general studies requirement. These hours must include HFLS 202/252, 251/303, 304, 306, 307, and 308.