About Us

Language learning is more than ever essential as the world shrinks. International business expansion, personal travel abroad, and being an aware citizen in a global, multicultural society are conditions requiring more of us to learn another language. A working knowledge of at least one other language and culture has become a valuable personal and national resource for all educated Americans. Without this capacity to understand another culture as well as communicate in its language, we are helpless to understand the international conflicts we face.

Our Departmental mission is thus to continue to expand the opportunities for UNF students to learn how to speak a language and to understand the culture of that language. Language study here is not just the study of words for our students but also includes the images, customs, environment, symbols, myths, movements, and even politics of a culture. Our faculty help and guide students to communicate in a language and understand a culture with some facility.

From the most basic classes for beginners to advanced courses in literature and civilization, students engage in problem-solving strategies, including negotiating meaning, understanding and working within cultural diversity, and using historical background knowledge. Students will develop competence in both oral and written communication.

Students, with faculty leadership, will undertake a transformative learning experience whereby their linguistic skills and cultural understanding will prepare them for interrelating with other cultures and peoples. More particularly, they should develop confidence in how to understand other cultures of the world as they engage in personal travel or business and participate as enlightened citizens in a diverse American society.

To fulfill its mission, the department offers courses in several world languages, in culture study (some of which satisfy the Foreign Culture requirement), in film, and in literature. The department offers the B.A. in Spanish, and minors in both French and Spanish. In addition, Arabic, Portuguese, German, Chinese, Latin, and Russian are also available.