GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goals and objectives for the Department of Modern Languages relate specifically to the following portions of the DePauw University mission statement called "The DePauw Education and Its Purposes":

At DePauw, the study of the liberal arts provides a foundation for a lifetime of learning, intellectual challenge, and personal growth. It allows students to range widely and come to appreciate how different ways of knowing may interact.... A DePauw education means more than gathering knowledge. It emphasizes critical thinking, problem-solving, interpretation, learning through experience, and learning through reflection. Along with developing ideas, it emphasizes expressing them articulately and distinctively in speaking and writing.... A DePauw education asserts that developing a global perspective is vital for living in an increasingly interdependent world and developing an appreciation and tolerance for a more diverse society.... Finally DePauw is a place where the intellect is challenged by experience. Through internships, off-campus study, and research projects, DePauw students enrich the classroom with practice and application

I. Instructional Goals and Objectives
  A. Students will possess improved linguistic skills and increased communicational knowledge.
    1. Students will be able to understand and to communicate in the foreign language (Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish), by
      a. attaining proficiency in the four basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing at the following levels:
        1. basic: sufficient to ensure survival in the foreign country
        2. intermediate: using the foreign language in formal and informal settings of social interaction
        3. advanced: active use of the foreign language in all aspects of their daily lives, careers, etc.
      b. learning appropriate non-verbal skills (gestures, body language, etc.)
      c. understanding the cultural contexts of language usage (forms of address, registers, etc.)
    2. Students will be able to use their foreign language skills to access new knowledge, from
      a. native-language media (TV, newspaper, radio, videos, magazines, music, film, computer networks)
      b. untranslated documents, reference books, literature, and literary criticism
      c. interaction with native speakers
    3. Students will gain insight into the nature of language in general and the English language in particular, by
      a. knowing the structural similarities and differences between the foreign language and English, including
        1. patterns of syntax, grammar, and vocabulary
        2. pronunciation and intonation
        3. semiotic content (denotation, connotation, etc.)
        4. the fundamental building-blocks of language morphology (word formation, etymology, etc.)
    4. Students will have sufficient foreign-language/culture preparation for success in off-campus programs and summer intensive study, including
      a. for majors/minors (with intermediate to advanced language training):
        1. AHA programs in Segovia, Oviedo, and Granada (Spain)
2. BCA programs in Strasbourg and Nancy (France); Barcelona (Spain); Quito (Ecuador); Xalapa (Mexico), and Marburg (Germany)
        3. Alma programs in Paris (France), Kassel (Germany), and Mexico City (Mexico)
        4. CIEE progams in Paris (France), Santiago (Dominican Republic), Santiago (Chile), São Paulo (Brazil), Nanjing and Beijing (China), and Taipei (Taiwan)
        5. SIT programs in Paris and Toulouse (France), Madrid (Spain), Cuenca (Ecuador), Mérida (Venezuela), Fortaleza (Brazil), and Cochabamba (Bolivia)
        6. EP program in Brussels (Belgium)
        7. IES programs in Dijon (France), Freiburg (Germany), Madrid and Salamanca (Spain), La Plata (Argentina), Beijing (China), and Taipei (Taiwan)
        8. CET programs in Beijing and Harbin (China) and Taipei (Taiwan)
        9. The Chinese University of Hong Kong
        10. Nanzan University in Nagoya (Japan)
        11. Kansai-Gaidai University in Osaka (Japan)
        12. GLCA/ACM Japan Study program at Waseda University in Tokyo (Japan)
        13. University of Kansas programs in San José and Golfito (Costa Rica)
        14. Beaver program in Guadalajara (Mexico) and Potsdam (Germany)
        15. Antioch program in Amazonas, Paraná, and Santa Catarina (Brazil) and Tübingen (Germany)
        16. EPA Internships in Europe (Brussels, Paris, Madrid)
        17. ACM program in Krasnodar (Russia)
        18. Internships in Francophone Europe
19. Independent overseas study and/or internship opportunities
20. Central programs in Granada (Spain) and Yucatán (Mexico)
      b. for General Education students (with elementary to intermediate language training):
        1. Winter Term in Service (countries like Bolivia, Nicaragua, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Brazil)
        2. Alma programs in Paris (France); Segovia (Spain); Mexico City (Mexico)
        3. CIEE program in Alicante (Spain)
        4. Temple art program in Rome (Italy)
        5. Syracuse art program in Florence (Italy)
        6. IES European Community Program in Freiburg (Germany)
        7. DePauw Music Program in Vienna (Austria)
    5. Students will have appropriate training for graduate study in foreign languages and cultures, including the ability to work with primary historical documents, in order to pursue
      a. advanced degree programs in French, German, Spanish, European Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Comparative literature, civilization, cultural studies, etc.
      b. study International law and diplomacy, international affairs, etc
      c. study International business, business administration, etc
    6. Students will possess those intercultural communication skills which are important not only for success in certain professional careers, but also to ensure cross-occupational flexibility in fields such as
      a. Teaching (elementary, secondary, post-secondary, ESL, etc.)
      b. Translating and interpreting (publishers, government, business, industry, hospitals, etc.)
      c. Libraries and museums (archivists, cataloguers, research technicians, etc.)
      d. International business (management, sales, marketing and development, entertainment and recreation, etc.)
      e. Travel and tourism (airline industries, hotels, travel agencies, etc.)
      f. Public relations (corporate, business, agency, etc.)
      g. Government (foreign service, Peace Corps, CIA, diplomatic corps, etc.)
      h. International banking and finance
      i. Journalism and media (TV, radio, publishing, etc.)
      j. Medical and health professions
      k. Applied science (telecommuncations, archeology, etc.)
      l. Computers and software (sales, international networks, etc.)
      m. Religious organizations (overseas ministries, etc.)
      n. Other professions where foreign-language training and multicultural skills are a valuable asset
  B. Students will possess more knowledge about a foreign society and its culture.
    1. Students will understand the fundamental attributes of the foreign culture studied, in particular
      a. its geography, history, and traditions
      b. its political, social, and economic institutions
      c. its citizens' values, habits of daily life, social customs, and points of view
      d. its aesthetic products: literature, theater, music, painting, cinema, etc
    2. Students will gain new insight into their own culture, by
      a. seeing it from the "outside"--i.e., from not only a national but also an international perspective
      b. identifying the underlying premises of their own cultural values and behaviors
      c. understanding the problems confronting ethnic minorities within their own society
      d. appreciating the indigenous character of US-American literature, art, film, music, etc.
      e. recognizing ethnocentric and/or stereotypical biases when they see them
    3. Students will have a more accurate and global worldview, so that they will
      a. understand more fully the context of current international events
      b. have more informed and up-to-date opinions
      c. develop an international perspective on domestic issues
      d. comprehend different value systems
    4. Students will enhance their critical and analytical abilities, by
      a. studying authentic texts from foreign sources (newspaper, electronic, advertising, etc.)
      b. analyzing the content and structure of literary, artistic, musical, and cinematic works of that culture
      c. learning to objectively compare and contrast cultural similarities and differences
      d. understanding the dynamics of intercultural communication
  C. Students will develop attitudes and values appropriate for living in an increasingly multicultural world.
    1. Students will be comfortable with and sensitive to issues of multiculturalism by
      a. understanding at least one foreign culture in its basic principles
      b. learning to appreciate language as a vehicle of culture, as expressing a basic vision of reality
      c. seeing how ideas and artistic styles are often international in scope
      d. grasping something of what the "immigrant" experience means
      e. becoming less narrow and ethnocentric in their viewpoints
      f. interacting with members of another culture, abroad or at home
    2. Students will understand the value of diversity by
      a. learning how people of other cultures think and communicate, view the world, live their daily lives, express their creativity, and make value judgments
      b. recognizing the practical advantages of diversity in the modern world
      c. realizing what contributions the foreign culture has made to literature and the arts
      d. understanding the multicultural roots of American society
    3. Students will have an improved sense of aesthetic awareness, by
      a. knowing the significant works of literature, art, music, cinema, etc. produced by another culture
      b. being able to appreciate different artistic perspectives and viewpoints
      c. seeing common patterns of creative expression between other cultures and their own
      d. learning how to make critical aesthetic judgments
    4. Students will have enhanced leadership abilities, as a result of their
      a. improved linguistic skills and intercultural knowledge
      b. capacity to communicate with a wide variety of audiences
      c. more complete and accurate understanding of the world
      d. greater levels of tolerance for and "adaptivity" to foreign environments
      e. practical experience in dealing effectively with people, abroad or at home
      f. learning how to mediate between differing cultural norms
II. Service to the University
  A. To provide sufficient courses to enable students to satisfy general education requirements or electives, or to complete majors or minors, including
    1. First-year classes (requirement level) in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish
    2. Elective classes at the second-year level: may lead to majors/minors in some languages
    3. Classes at advanced levels: language majors/minors, area minors in international business, DePauw Hispanic students
    4. Independent study opportunities (when needed)
  B. To provide support for other DPU academic departments and programs, including
    1. "W" and "S" competency programs
    2. International Education: preparatory courses, orientation, interviews
    3. Winter Term: in Service, off-campus trips, etc.
    4. Education: teacher training program
    5. Communications: intercultural comm., media, theater
    6. Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Russian Studies, Asian Studies, European Studies: language, culture, literature
    7. Women's Studies: women writers
    8. Music School: opera, history of music, music literature
    9. Art: art history
    10. History: European and Latin American history
    11. English: European and Latin American literature
    12. Political Science: international politics
    13. Economics: international economics
    14. Honor Scholars: international and literary studies advising
    15. Management Fellows: preparation for internships
    16. Philosophy: western philosophical thought
    17. Sociology/Anthropology: structure of society, language and culture
    18. University Studies: history of film, multiculturalism, ESL
    19. Black Studies: readings in African and Caribbean francophone literature
    20. Developing interdisciplinary teams with professors fluent in the language to allow students to do work in a foreign language relating to that particular discipline

Last updated: 10/1/07