2008 Woodie Awards
Foreign language requirement debated
Deena Zaru and Carl Farlow
Issue date: 3/23/07 Section: Features
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"Not knowing enough of a language to communicate is like having a car, but without any gas," said David Newton, head of the curriculum subcommittee.
The foreign language department agreed that only one semester in a foreign language is not sufficient to communicate with. They recently submitted a proposal to the curriculum subcommittee to change this requirement to include a second semester of a language.
"Right now, students are required to take only one semester of foreign language at the entry level," said Assistant Professor of Japanese Hiroko Hirakawa. "We checked how our peers and competitors are doing with their foreign language requirement, and, not surprisingly, Guilford is the only institution that requires only one semester."
"Two semesters are needed, because a year is a minimum time for students to be able to acquire a minimum functional level or proficiency in a language," said Alfonso Abad Mancheno, assistant professor of Spanish.
"[One semester] does a disservice to our students when we claim to be providing a liberal arts education and preparing them to work and live in a globalized world," said Maria Bobroff, assistant professor of French.
Sylvia Trelles, head of the foreign languages department, said that Guilford would like to keep up with changing world dynamics by offering high-demand languages such as Chinese and Arabic. The foreign language department has a Fulbright scholar teaching Chinese this year.
"Inevitably, when you learn a foreign language you also understand the culture that it comes from," said sophomore Spanish major Maria Kupper. "In the case of Arabic, learning it would provide an opportunity to bridge two fighting cultures."
"The foreign language department feels quite strongly that our courses help students understand and learn about cultural nuances and differences through the study of language," said Assistant Professor of Spanish Steffany Gamsby.
Guilford began offering courses in Chinese last year, but the language is not a permanent part of the curriculum yet. According to Hirakawa, the foreign language department submitted a request to the administration for a tenure-track position in Chinese.
The foreign language department agreed that only one semester in a foreign language is not sufficient to communicate with. They recently submitted a proposal to the curriculum subcommittee to change this requirement to include a second semester of a language.
"Right now, students are required to take only one semester of foreign language at the entry level," said Assistant Professor of Japanese Hiroko Hirakawa. "We checked how our peers and competitors are doing with their foreign language requirement, and, not surprisingly, Guilford is the only institution that requires only one semester."
"Two semesters are needed, because a year is a minimum time for students to be able to acquire a minimum functional level or proficiency in a language," said Alfonso Abad Mancheno, assistant professor of Spanish.
"[One semester] does a disservice to our students when we claim to be providing a liberal arts education and preparing them to work and live in a globalized world," said Maria Bobroff, assistant professor of French.
Sylvia Trelles, head of the foreign languages department, said that Guilford would like to keep up with changing world dynamics by offering high-demand languages such as Chinese and Arabic. The foreign language department has a Fulbright scholar teaching Chinese this year.
"Inevitably, when you learn a foreign language you also understand the culture that it comes from," said sophomore Spanish major Maria Kupper. "In the case of Arabic, learning it would provide an opportunity to bridge two fighting cultures."
"The foreign language department feels quite strongly that our courses help students understand and learn about cultural nuances and differences through the study of language," said Assistant Professor of Spanish Steffany Gamsby.
Guilford began offering courses in Chinese last year, but the language is not a permanent part of the curriculum yet. According to Hirakawa, the foreign language department submitted a request to the administration for a tenure-track position in Chinese.
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