MODERN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES

Funke Fontenot, Interim Chair
Professors: Hedwig Fraunhofer and Roger Noel
Associate Professors: Louis Bourne and David de Posada
Assistant Professors: Juan Alcarria, Myron Avila, Rebecca Carte, Aurora Castillo, and Margaret Schaller
Instructor: Anisio Martins dos Santos
Lecturer: Marlene Roldan Romero

Department Contact Information:
Georgia College & State University
Modern Languages and Cultures
Campus Box 46
Milledgeville, GA 31061
478-445-4415
Department of Modern Languages and Cultures Web site
Chair, Funke Fontenot, funke.fontenot@gcsu.edu
Senior Secretary, Tabitha Humphrey, tabitha.humphrey@gcsu.edu

MISSION

The main purpose of the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures is to teach modern languages within a cultural context in order to develop an awareness of other cultures and civilizations and a broad understanding of global issues, and enhance the knowledge of one's native language, culture and civilization.

The department's first priority is to help students acquire practical skills. French and Spanish majors are expected to bring those skills to a considerable level of expertise. The Department of Modern Languages and Cultures requires its majors to visit and study in a country where their target language is spoken and where they will strengthen their personal, in-depth knowledge of the language and culture, and acquire strong communication skills in a foreign language, in addition to their native language. Non-majors are also encouraged to study abroad to develop marketable skills in Arabic, French, German, Italian, or Spanish regardless of their intended major or minor.

STUDENT SUCCESS

Earning a college degree is a significant milestone in one's life and requires dedication to one's studies and tremendous effort to succeed. In order to enable you to achieve this goal, we have dedicated ourselves to developing measures that help ensure student success in our department's programs. This process begins with the First-Year Academic Seminar (MFLG 0001), in which you are introduced to the faculty and students who make up the departmental community. You will join with other first-year students to get an overview of the subject matter covered in the major, explore career possibilities, and to develop techniques for getting the most out of your college courses and activities. You will also learn about departmental and University expectations, policies, and resources. Because the college experience at GCSU is more intense than at many other schools, we have designed each curriculum to help you each step of the way. In addition, we are committed to offering the courses necessary to ensure that students who follow the program of study will graduate in four years. Toward that end, a typical four-year program of study has been developed, which serves as a guide each term for scheduling courses. Required courses are specified, then the sequencing of courses is recommended. Students are advised to enroll in an average of 30 semester hours each year.

CAREER INFORMATION

The majority of our majors find employment with the various school systems in Georgia. Their salaries, in line with the usual starting salaries in secondary schools, are set by the school systems.

MISCELLANEOUS

Study Abroad. For information on study abroad programs, see the International Studies section of the catalog.

Honor Society. Outstanding modern language students are invited to become members of Theta Kappa, the local chapter of Alpha Mu Gamma, which is the National Foreign Language Honor Society. Outstanding Spanish majors and minors are invited to become members of Kappa Psi, the local chapter of Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society.

INTERDISCIPLINARY MINOR

The Department of Modern Languages and Cultures offers required and optional courses for the minor in International Studies, described elsewhere in this Catalog.

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

The department offers two courses (ESLG 1001 and ESLG 1002) for international students. These courses are open only to non-native speakers of English. Non-native speakers of English who have a TOEFL score under 550 (written test) or 213 (computerized test) are required to enroll in ESLG classes. Other non-native speakers of English who wish to perfect English skills may enroll.

Admitted students with scores between 500-550, or 173-213, are required to take the course(s), but in order to get into the courses, students need at least 500 or 173.

DEGREES AND MINORS OFFERED