Language is an inherent part of the human condition. It is a fact of consciousness, a mode of being, an intentional and intellectual structuring of reality. Foreign language study engages the entire person. It improves understanding of one's own language through comparison and identification of linguistic structures. It increases intellectual capacity by exercising analytical and synthetical faculties: memory, attention, willpower, and self-discipline. It helps to exercise discrimination in the choice of words and to develop the ownership of a most valuable possession, a language sense, the feeling for correct form, for the exact word, for an elegant style; a skill that transfers into the student's daily use of English.

Through a two-year sequence of courses in French, German, Russian or Spanish, emphasizing understanding, speaking, reading, and writing, the department seeks to develop linguistic skill and provide cultural enrichment. In addition to regular classes, students attend Native Speake sessions once a week to improve their spoken command of the language they are studying. Native Speaker is a component of all language courses at every level. In addition to deepening their knowledge of a particular language, intermediate level students use their language skills to study the culture and civilization of the countries and people belonging to that language group.

During the junior year or during the summer, a student may take advantage of approved study abroad programs in Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Vienna, Madrid, Valencia, Granada, Geneva, Montreal, Mexico, Heidelburg, Saint Petersburg, Salzburg, and other cities.

The Modern Languages and Literatures Department has access to several study abroad programs for both majors and non-majors. For details, contact your language professor and the Office of Academic Advisement.