Return to: Curriculum

In a world of global markets, global culture, and global travel, the practical benefits of learning a foreign language are obvious and powerful. Fluency in a foreign language enhances your employment opportunities, positioning you as a valuable asset to any business that depends upon international commerce. More personally, your knowledge of another language opens your mind to the experiences and cultures of people around the globe and often in your own neighborhood. In fact, one cannot learn a new language without also learning news ways of thinking, learning, and living.

Aside from the countless practical benefits, Lakeland’s foreign language programs and courses stand near the center of the college’s educational philosophy. They “liberalize” one’s outlook, encourage critical reflection, sharpen the memory and the intellect, and allow one to think of oneself as a citizen of communities larger than the immediate environment. Foreign-language study even makes one a better and more thoughtful user of English-a gift that pays for itself, both in and out of any job market.

Students who major in modern language (German or Spanish) will be able to:

• demonstrate their mastery of the target language, including its vocabulary, its structure, its grammar, and the ways that the language is used in various conversational contexts;
• communicate proficiently in the target language through speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills;
• understand the cultures that have used and given shape to that language, including their literature, history, customs, and social perspectives; and
• appreciate the ways in which other languages and cultures differ from their own, as well as the ways that they are similar.

Please refer to the appropriate links for the following majors:

German see here 
Spanish see here 

Although not available as majors or minors, courses in the following foreign languages may be found at the locations indicated:

Chinese see here 
Japanese see here 

Return to: Curriculum