Advising Tips
Foreign Language Goal 10

What is Goal 10?

Contact Dr. Wade Edwards, program coordinator, with any questions: edwardswa / x2181.

Placement: Where should a student go?

1. What’s the Goal?  All students must complete level 201 of a foreign language or higher.  This means that if you place into a 202 or a 320 course, that course will satisfy the goal.  The higher a student places, the fewer courses he/she will need to complete the goal. Students seeking a BA degree are exempt from this goal because they must complete level 202 or higher.

2. Where to Go Next?  Students who start at any point in the sequence 101-102-201-202 must continue within the sequence. Each course is a prerequisite for the next course in the sequence.  Students may not skip a class in order to finish the requirement quicker, unless they "place" into the higher level class, and they may not receive credit for a course that comes earlier in the sequence once they have completed a later course. (However, courses at the 300- and 400-levels may be taken out of sequence.)

3. What about 101?  101-level courses are designed for students with very little or no previous experience in the language.  Students who took one year of the language in high school or who never took this language are eligible to take 101.  These courses are typically blocked so that potential students can be carefully screened.  Contact the program coordinator for permission.  French or Spanish students who are denied permission to take 101 but still feel that they must start "at the beginning" may take 105.  This is an accelerated elementary-level course that starts at the very beginning and covers 2 semesters of work in one (equivalent to 101 and 102).  This 5-credit class meets every day, and students who complete it will continue to FREN or SPAN 201.  Students who have never taken French or Spanish before may not take this class.  

4. What about the Placement Test?  Students take the placement test on-line in the Language Lab or during Orientation (the password to enter is lancers1--that's lancers followed by a number one).  Students should bring that score (a number between 1 and 800) to the language faculty to have it evaluated.  It is only one part of the placement process; experience, quality of instruction, and timing are also taken into consideration when students are first placed in the sequence.  The program coordinator can search for archived scores.  To arrange to take the Placement Test, please contact Dr. Edwards.

5. What if a student is placed in a class and just can't understand anything?  Many times this is not a matter of incorrect placement, but one of adjustment to the atmosphere of immersion in the classroom.  Instructors will explain strategies students can use to understand, and will advise students to ask for clarification if they need it; they will repeat things many different ways, and even act things out to aid comprehension.  Usually students who stick it out for a week, following the strategies the instructor provides, will get along fine.  However, the faculty in the language program may allow a student to switch levels if they determine that a student has been placed incorrectly.  Students should talk to their instructor and explain the difficulty.  This re-placement must take place within the first 2 or 3 weeks of the semester. 

6. What if a student took Latin or Russian or Japanese in High School?  See "Other Options," below, for possible ways to get credit in these other languages.  Longwood offers French, German and Spanish.  If a student does not want to try one of the options below in the language studied previously, he/she may start a new language at the 101 level.

7. Other Options. 
1. Testing out:  Students with Advanced Placement Test scores of 3 will receive credit for the 201 level of the language.  Students who present scores of 4 or 5 will receive 6 credits (201 and 202).  Certain scores on CLEP language tests will give students credit in 102 and 202 levels, making it unnecessary to take those classes.  The Registrar's Office can provide information on CLEP tests.
2. Summer courses: Longwood provides language courses in the summer, as well as some summer abroad language courses. 

3. Transfer courses: Students may take language courses at other colleges and universities and transfer them to Longwood (in this case students should be sure to have the Transfer Authorization form completed before taking the class to avoid taking a class that is not accepted for transfer.  These forms are available in the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.).

4. Native languages:  Students whose native language is not English, and who attended and finished high school where the language of instruction is other than English, are exempt from this goal. 

8. Recommendations.  Ideally, students will complete the language requirement at Longwood as quickly as possible in order to minimize the delay between high school and university instruction.  Completing the requirement quickly saves the student time and money.

GOAL 10 Foreign Language

The ability to communicate and function in a globally interdependent world as developed through foreign language study (three credits). NOTE: Students who complete a foreign language course at the 202 level or above as part of the Additional Degree Requirements are exempted from this goal. Foreign language study must be at the 201 level or higher.

Outcomes: 

Students will:

* Demonstrate the ability to understand, interpret, and produce both oral and written communication in a foreign language. 

*Demonstrate an understanding of relationships among the products, perspectives, and practices of the culture(s) studied.

*Develop insight into the nature of language and culture.

Modern Language Program