By Rebecca Militello
The Bryn Mawr faculty is preparing to vote on a proposal to modify the foreign language requirement. If approved, it would go into effect with the freshmen class entering next year.
The new requirement means that every student will be required to take two semesters of foreign language based courses. Those who take the placement exam and are proficient in a language may take either a literature or culture course within the language department in order to fulfill their requirement. However, these courses must be taught in a foreign language, as opposed to being taught in translation.
Currently, students have the option of taking a proficiency exam in order to place out of taking a language course. However, if a student has never spoken another language or simply does not pass the placement exam they are required to complete two semesters of any language, above the elementary level, in order to fulfill their foreign language requirement.
“Students who are now exempt…wouldn’t be able to do that,” Dean Karen Tidmarsh commented at the SGA Big Cheese Forum held on November 8.
The Bryn Mawr College undergraduate catalog states the reasons for which the study of a foreign language is beneficial. The catalog reads, “The study of foreign languages serves a number of convergent curricular and student interests, including the appreciation of cultural differences, a global perspective across academic disciplines, and alternative models of perceiving and processing human experience.”
Tidmarsh commented in an email, “The goal is to expose all of our students to the cultural and linguistic learning that takes place in college-level foreign language courses. We hope that many students will want to study much more than two semesters, but it will be their choice after the required two. That will mean that students in most language courses will be there by choice, not because a requirement forces them to be there. That isn’t, however, the main reason for the change–it’s just one of the benefits,”
When informed about the new requirement, Devanshi Vaid ’13, seemed somewhat shocked. This year she had placed out of taking a language and found the new requirement to be somewhat of a burden. When asked about the new requirement she said, “ I think it would be really unfair. Having to take a language would seem pointless when the point of coming to a liberal arts college is so you can learn what you want to.” She feels that if she put the effort into learning a language in high school, why should she have to continue to take a language in college when she is already proficient?
Fortunately for students who may share her sentiment, the new requirement only applies to incoming students. It would go into effect with freshmen class entering next year.
This article is © 2008 The Bi-College News. The material on this page is free for personal or educational use, but may not be reproduced, reprinted, republished, redistributed, or otherwise transmitted to a third party without the express written permission of The Bi-College News, 370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041.
Editor's note: Articles that appear in the Last Word section are works of satire.
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