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The future of language
Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures hopes new program
brings in additional majors.
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It was a match ready to be made.
The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures had noticed more and
more students from the College of Engineering were taking foreign language
classes during the past decade. Students, it seemed, wanted to prepare
for internships and study abroad, while enjoying the experience of a hands-on
communication and culture class.
At the same time, the College of Engineering wanted to increase the international
experiences of its students.
The result is the new Languages and Cultures for Professions (LCP) program
within foreign languages and literatures – a program that integrates extensive
training in languages and cultures for a profession.
"This is the future of the department of modern languages at a university
of science and technology such as Iowa State," said Dawn Bratsch-Prince,
department chair. "More than half of our student majors are already
double majoring in another discipline. We will lose a valuable opportunity
if we concentrate our efforts solely on the traditional foreign languages
curriculum and ignore the mission and focus of the university."
The collaboration between foreign languages and engineering has now expanded
to the College of Business. Additional collaborations are on the horizon
with the College of Agriculture and professional departments within the
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Earlier this semester, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures
held a two-day workshop that brought together faculty and administrators
from throughout campus to discuss the interaction between globalization,
cultures and professions.
Each collaboration will have the same basic components - developing a
curriculum that meets the language and culture needs of professions and
preparing students for global internships. Exploring diverse cultural
practices and behaviors ranging from business meetings or social gatherings
outside of the office to differences in advertising or marketing are a
key element of the LCP courses.
"Students also will learn a sense of the cultural context of the
country they are studying," said Mark Rectanus, the program's coordinator
and professor of German. "The major will expand the boundaries of
their primary major by requiring students to develop a framework for their
professional practice as it relates to socio-cultural contexts."
The country's media, political, cultural, education and economic structures
are also discussed in contemporary culture and society courses, such as
"Germany Today." In the "Business and Professions"
course, students research potential internships, prepare a CV, write a
letter of application and apply for an internship.
"We want students to be aware of the importance of global issues
related to their own profession when they are on an internship in another
country or accept a job elsewhere," Rectanus said.
This part of the program has been funded by a two-year, $164,000 U.S.
Department of Education Title VI-A grant.
"The grant will allow us to develop our new "Today" courses
for each language from the ground up," Rectanus said. "It also
provides the department with a lot of visibility for the program, allowing
us to develop more study abroad and internship possibilities."
Rectanus says international experiences are essential for students who
want to compete globally.
"We believe that students also need to use a language within the
context of the culture, which is embedded in the language," he said.
"And you can never truly understand the culture unless you speak
the language. They go hand-in-hand."
Amy Swanson, a 2004 Iowa State chemical engineering and Spanish graduate,
agrees.
"I knew that being fluent in Spanish would only help my chances of
finding a job, either in the U.S. or abroad, when I graduated," she
said. "I eventually hope to either find an engineering job where
I can use my Spanish skills in the United States or I would like to move
to Spain and find an engineering job."
Mark Rectanus and Dawn Bratsch-Prince
Around LAS
October 18-31, 2004
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