Foreign Language Department

The Department prepares graduates to be professionally effective, both nationally and internationally, in a multicultural and multilingual society.

The Foreign Language Department supports Elms College’s focus on an undergraduate education in the liberal arts and sciences, and its commitment to an ethical value system emphasizing respect for the individual and service to others.

The department offers:

• A major in Spanish, consisting of a minimum of 30 credits if the student studies abroad for a summer, a semester or a year, or 36 credits if the student does not participate in a study abroad program.
• A double major in legal studies and Spanish which allows students to combine language and cultural proficiency with an understanding of the legal system.
• A minor in Spanish, consisting of 18 credits beyond the intermediate level of language.

The foreign language program seeks primarily for its graduates to:

• Demonstrate an adequate level of proficiency and fluency in the oral, aural, and written forms of the language.
• Achieve an adequate level of cultural proficiency in their geographical regions.
• Read with understanding and enjoyment, and be able to analyze literary works in the language they are studying.
• Acquire the scholarly and critical tools required for further study in graduate school, their related careers, or independently.

B.A. Degree
Major in Spanish
(Min. at Elms College: 15 cr. /Min. G.P.A.: 2.0)
Major Requirements 30-36 credits***

*Only three credit hours in a culture course taught in English are counted toward the major for non-native speakers; up to six credit hours are counted for native Spanish
speakers.
**Required only of students who have not studied abroad.
***The major requirement for native speakers of Spanish is a minimum of 30 credits.

The double major in legal studies and Spanish at Elms College allows students to combine language and cultural proficiency with an understanding of the legal system and earn the ABA-approved certificate of advanced paralegal studies.

B. A. Degree
Double Major in Legal Studies and Spanish
(Min. at Elms College: 31 cr. / Min. GPA: 2.67)
Major Requirements            60-66 credits*

Legal Studies Requirements            31 credits

Spanish  Requirements            30 – 36  credits*

*To enter the Spanish major, students must prove that they have achieved an intermediate level of proficiency in the language. They can do so by scoring at that level in a language proficiency test or by taking the intermediate level courses SPA 201 and 202, which would also satisfy the language core    requirement.

Minor in Spanish (18 credits)

NOTE: Only three credit hours in a culture course taught in English are valid.

Core Requirements
All students at Elms College, except those who already have an associate's degree, must satisfy a foreign language requirement of six credits in the same language as part of the liberal arts and sciences core requirements of the college. The requirement may be met in any of the following four ways:

• Placement at level 3 (novice high) in the language proficiency test administered at the college. Students placing at level 1 (novice low) will be required to take SPA 101-102 or FRE 101-102, JPN 101-102 or Sign Language I and II. Students placing at level 2 in the test will satisfy the language requirement by taking SPA 102, FRE 102, or JPN 102.
• A satisfactory score on the C.E.E.B. language achievement. A student who scores 500 to 549 will satisfy the requirement, but will receive no credit. Three credits will be given for a score between 550 and 599, six credits for a score of 600 and above.
• A satisfactory score on the second level C.L.E.P. exam. A student who scores 450 to 499 will satisfy the requirement, but will receive no credit. Three credits will be given for a score between 550 and 599; six credits for a score 600 and above.
• A score of three or beyond in the Advanced Placement Exam. A student who scores three will have a semester of the language requirement waived and receive three credits. Students who score four or higher will have two semesters of the language requirement waived and receive six credits.

Placement
Placement in the appropriate language level will be determined as follows:

Students who have not studied the language in two years or more may go down to the next lower level. The department still has the option of determining placement on an individual competency basis, and moving students up or down accordingly.

The Liberal Arts or Professional Studies Major
Students who wish to include language courses as part of the liberal arts or professional studies major may count only courses above the intermediate level of proficiency (courses above 202/205).