Modern Languages Majors

At Capital University, students can select French or Spanish as their major or minor and German as their minor through the department of modern languages. Students learn to view themselves as global citizens while also realizing their vocational objectives. The modern language faculty has among its goals to help students acquire communicative competence, ap;preciate cultural diversity, read materials written in the target language and write in the target language.

The French and Spanish majors include a wide range of courses in language, literature, culture, civilization and linguistics. Double majors and minors are encouraged for students wishing to supplement their marketable skills in careers such as business, international trade, international relations, law, government and social work.

Learn more by visiting the modern languages department Web page.

The modern languages department features small class sizes, allowing faculty to work individually with students to develop their strengths and confidence and to know each other on a personal basis.

The department's advanced classes offer diversification not found at many universities. Included are courses on contemporary France or Germany; French media or Spanish media/cinema; Francophone culture, with emphasis on French-speaking Africa and the Caribbean, and French-speaking Canada; Francophone women writers or women writers in the Hispanic tradition; French civilization or Hispanic culture and civilization; and Latin-American culture and civilization.

Class placement is based on placement exams. Classroom work is reinforced with one class session per week in the language lab, televised news broadcasts in the target language, Internet assignments, videos and other audio-visual materials.

International Affiliations

Capital University's membership in the College Consortium for International Studies (CCIS) allows students to study in 17 different countries; these programs offer a selection of courses in the target language. In addition, the university is affiliated with Central College's intensive language programs in Austria, France, Germany and Spain.

An increasing number of language students are study;ing abroad through the auspices of the programs of other institutions. Students also have studied at the American University of Paris, the Brethren Colleges Abroad in Strasbourg and Nancy, and the Université du Québec and Université Laval in Canada.

Capital University holds a charter for Phi Sigma Iota, the International Foreign Language Honor Society.

Faculty

Members of the modern languages faculty possess the doctorate and are either native speakers or fluently speak the languages they teach. They have all lived, studied and traveled extensively abroad and have served as translators and interpreters and/or consul;tants to colleagues in university, government and cor;porate settings. They are active professionally, reading papers at national and international conferences and publishing books, articles and reviews.

Careers and Placement

Capital's modern language graduates have gone on to make significant contribu;tions in careers in international business, government service, education, business administration and social work. Students are well prepared to attend graduate school.

What Are Some of Our Alumni Doing Now?

They are in professional fields as diverse as:

• International Business
• Government Service
• Education
• Law
• Social Work
• Medicine
• Publishing
• International Communications
• Anthropology
• Journalism
• Nursing

Four-Year Sample Schedule of a Bachelor of Spanish Major:

All courses subject to availability and advisor approval.

* All undergraduates must demonstrate that these General Education goals have been met. 

Courses taken by French majors fulfill the requirement for the Global Issues course of the General Education goals; the course on French Civilization fulfills the requirement for the Humanities goal; the course on Fran­cophonic Culture fulfills the requirement for the Global Issues course of the General Education goals; and the course on French theater fulfills the Fine Arts requirement of the General Education goals.



Barbara G. Keller
Professor and Chair, Modern Languages
B.A., M.A., Miami University
Diploma, Tutor Centre de Linguistique, Switzerland
Ph.D., The Ohio State University