World Languages and Literatures

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241 Edmund J Cain Hall
(775) 784-6055

The World Languages and Literatures Department offers courses of study leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts with majors in French and Spanish language and literature, and Master of Arts with a major in World Languages and Literatures. In addition, the department offers minor programs in Chinese Studies, French, Spanish, Spanish Translation, and Japanese Studies as well as courses in Chinese, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Japanese. For more information on the Japanese Studies minor, please see the Interdisciplinary Programs  chapter.

The courses help fulfill requirements toward a liberal arts degree, and are also designed to assist prospective language teachers as they increase their skills. Students who complete the degree program also gain training for other careers requiring language skills and cultural knowledge.

Within the major program, students may emphasize the study of language or literature, although they must include each study emphasis in their coursework.

Foreign-born students may not enroll in lower-division classes in their native language. Native speakers of languages other than English are encouraged to consult with the department chair for special advising on remedial study or advanced work.

Foreign Language Requirement

The College of Liberal Arts, the School of Journalism and a few departments in other colleges have a foreign language requirement. In the College of Liberal Arts, students may meet the requirement by completing course numbers 209, 212 or 227 or equivalents in any language. Second-year students have a choice of a total skills sequence (listening comprehension, speaking, reading, writing) or a sequence that stresses reading; Spanish students may fulfill the requirement by completing SPAN 227  , a course for heritage speakers.

Secondary School Teacher Licensure

Students in the College of Liberal Arts who are majoring in a foreign language may be licensed to teach in middle and high schools by taking a prescribed number of courses in the College of Education. This includes 27 credits of professional education courses and 12 credits of internship (supervised student teaching) taken at the graduate level.

The teaching major consists of 30 credits in one language, all of which must be upper-division except for required courses in culture and civilization. French majors must take FREN 221 , FREN 312 , FREN 305 , FREN 306 , FREN 309  (three credits), FREN 341 , and FREN 342 , or approved equivalents. Spanish majors must take SPAN 321  , or SPAN 322  , or , SPAN 312 , SPAN 305 , SPAN 306 , SPAN 309  (three credits), SPAN 350 , SPAN 353 , or SPAN 354  or SPAN 355  or SPAN 356 , SPAN 357 , and SPAN 410 , or approved equivalent. The department strongly recommends a teaching minor in a second foreign language.

The teaching minor in a foreign language is also available to students who are working for a teaching major in another subject. It consists of 20 credits in the language of the minor with at least 10 credits earned for upper-division work. Most of the credit requirements are prescribed.

Laboratory Facilities

The department’s Foreign Language Multimedia Facility located in EJCH 250, is equipped with multimedia computers and interactive language learning software. Some of the department’s courses are held entirely in this facility, others use it for testing and to supplement regular course work. Students who are enrolled in any of the department’s courses and who wish to improve their foreign language skills may use the facility individually during hours scheduled for that purpose.

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