Italian courses to be offered this Fall

Students at GCSU have a new option when considering a foreign language course with the recent addition of Italian.

Italian I, which begins Tuesdays and Thursdays this fall, will be taught by Juan Alcarria; for now, only one class is being offered.

Alcarria said there may be more classes available to students the following semester, as well as with the addition of Italian II, depending on the success of the upcoming class.

Eventually, students may be able to receive all foreign language requirements in Italian.

“We plan to offer one superior level every semester until we are able to add Italian IV,” said Alcarria. “We weren’t certain how many students would be interested, but the class filled to the capacity of 25 a few days after registration began.”

Despite its relative popularity, Italian has not been offered at GCSU, primarily because there were no available instructors. According to Alcarria, also a Spanish professor, many students register for Spanish courses because there is little choice. He said he thought it was time for more options, and he proposed the idea to the Modern Foreign Language Department.

“We heard inquiries from students about Italian, and we saw that need,” said Alcarria. “The department said it was a good idea, but we never thought it could fill a class. We were very surprised when it filled up so quickly, with eight students requesting seat-modifiers.”

According to Alcarria, the Italian language is
becoming increasingly popular among students, which was another factor in the decision to bring the class to GCSU.

“We have been to other universities, and have observed that there is a growing interest in Italian,” said Alcarria. “Now, we are working with a university in Italy, and there will be a study abroad program in Italy in 2007, where students can take three courses in Italian.”

MFLD Chair Roger Noel said Italian’s arrival at GCSU is important, and that students can use the course to prepare for the new study abroad program

“Many of us here in the department speak Italian and are interested in Italian,” said Noel. “I think it’s wonderful, and obviously, students were interested in the language.”

The new class is not limited to GCSU students, and it available for people throughout the community interested in learning Italian through the Department of Continuing Education.

Freshman K.C. Firebaugh, a biology major, said she is looking forward to the opportunity of studying Italian.

“I’ve been interested in the culture for years,” said Firebaugh, “but all I’m offered (is) French, Spanish and German usually. Italian is such a beautiful, romantic language. I’m excited about it.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 31 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry