Welcome

Familiarity with a language other than English is imperative in today’s global and multicultural society.

A working knowledge of a foreign language complements effectively careers in business, social work, the health professions, hotel management, travel and tourism, international law, communications, public administration, law enforcement, and countless others. Foreign language majors may also pursue a career in teaching at the elementary or high school level, or continue their education at the graduate level in order to teach and conduct academic research at a college or university.

Further specialized training allows language majors to secure careers in translation and interpretation. More importantly, command of a second language allows for the understanding of another culture or cultures in their complexity. Such awareness makes an individual a better world citizen, able to communicate more readily and easily with others in every sense of the word.

The Department of World Languages offers a B.A. degree in French Studies and a B.A. degree in Spanish, as well as minors in French and Spanish. In addition, the department offers beginning courses in Latin and beginning and intermediate classes in Chinese and German.

Students who wish to study French or Spanish for the first time should enroll in FRE 1120, Beginning French I, or SPAN 1120, Beginning Spanish I. Those students who have had some contact with French or Spanish, either through high school coursework or through other experiences, should take the French or Spanish online placement examination and then register according to their test results. Students may contact the department office in order to obtain instructions to take the placement test.

Native speakers of French or Spanish should meet with the department chair to determine an appropriate first class for their foreign language studies at UNF.