Learning Outcomes

B.S. and B.A. Programs

Students who graduate with a B.A. in French, Italian, and Spanish will be able to reach the Intermediate High level on the ACTFL proficiency scale. Upon graduation, students will be able to do the following in the target language:

1. converse with ease and confidence when dealing with the routine tasks and social situations, exchanging basic information related to their work, school, recreation, particular interests, and areas of competence (communicative competence),
2. understand information conveyed in simple, sentence-length speech on familiar or everyday topics (listening ability),
3. understand information conveyed in simple, predictable, loosely connected texts, relying heavily on contextual clues (reading ability),
4. speak about familiar topics related to their daily life, recombining learned material, asking simple questions, handling straightforward survival situations, and producing sentence-level language, ranging from discrete sentences to strings of sentences, typically in present time (speaking ability)
5. write simple messages and letters, requests for information, and notes; create with the language and communicate simple facts and ideas in a series of loosely connected sentences on topics of personal interest and social needs, primarily in present time (writing ability)
6. make comparisons between cultural products (such as literaterary works, films, music and the arts) and practices to help themselves understand cultural perspectives (intercultural competence)

Students who graduate with a B.S. in French, Italian, and Spanish will be able to reach the Advanced Low level on the ACTFL proficiency scale. Upon graduation, students will be able to do the following in the target language:

1. participate in most informal and some formal conversations on topics related to school, home, and leisure activities and on some topics related to employment, current events, and matters of public and community interest (communicative competence)
2. understand short conventional narrative and descriptive texts with a clear underlying structure, understanding the main facts and some supporting details (listening ability)
3. understand the main ideas and some supporting details of conventional narrative and descriptive texts with a clear underlying structure and high-frequency vocabulary and structures (reading ability)
4. speak by combining and linking sentences into connected discourse of paragraph length, handling appropriately the essential linguistic challenges presented by a complication or an unexpected turn of events (speaking ability)
5. complete written work in the target language in basic work/academic scenarios, narrating and describing in major time frames with some control, and composing simple summaries on familiar topics (writing ability)
6. explain some diversity among cultural products (such as literaterary works, films, music and the arts) and practices and how it relates to cultural perspectives (intercultural competence)
7. use communicative strategies such as rephrasing and circumlocution (strategic ability)

M.A. in Romance Languages

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of historical, political and social contexts that shape language, culture, and literature;
2. Students will conduct research using all available scholarly resources;
3. Students will apply critical analysis and a variety of theories to the study of literature, language and culture;
4. Students will write critical analyses of literary works and cultural artifacts from a range of periods, currents and genres;
5. Students will engage in informed discussions about literary works and cultural artifacts from a range of periods, currents and genres;
6. Students will advance their written and oral communicative abilities in the language of study.
7. Students will articulate the significance of literary and cultural artifacts within their historical and cultural context;
8. Students will create original work in the target language.

Bilingual Education/TESOL

At the program's completion, graduates will be able to:

1. Develop and deliver effective academic programs for English language learners based on a sound understanding of language development theory and language learning pedagogical principles and on personal reflection concerning one's own professional practice;
2. Effectively teach English as a second language and develop ESL and/or bilingual education programs in a variety of instructional contexts and for various levels of language abilities;
3. Indicate through their practice their value of the maintenance and the appropriate use of the learner's native language for the learner's academic development and second language development; and
   1. (for those who are proficient in a language other than English) effectively teach content to English language learners in a bilingual setting, that is, in English and in the primary language.
4. Effectively advocate for the social, emotional, and instructional needs of English language learners.
5. Effectively engage in professional discussions and activities related to the field.