Middle Eastern languages come to Georgia College

     GCSU is upping its language lingo with new additions to the modern foreign language department. As students look towards other options to fulfill the four-semester language requirement of most majors in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, GCSU hopes to diversify the choices, with courses in Arabic, Italian and future plans for Chinese.
     Currently, GCSU offers eight foreign language options for students: Arabic, Italian, Japanese, Russian, English as a second language and the more commonly taught languages: French, German and Spanish. However, due to a national trend of increased demand for Middle Eastern and Asian speakers, GCSU is looking to give students more language options.
     Dr. Roger Noel, chair of the modern foreign language department, explains why GCSU added Arabic to the curriculum.
     “I think there has been an interest in Arabic because of the importance of Arab countries in the world, and at some point (GCSU) may offer a certificate in Middle Eastern Studies. However I think we need to wait a couple of years to see if Arabic remains popular,” Noel said.
     As with most new languages added to the foreign language department, student demand is crucial in keeping the new language on the school’s curriculum.
     GCSU tests out the popularity of LCTLS, or less commonly taught languages, by hiring part-time professors through the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program (FLTA), which allows native speakers to teach at GCSU for only one academic school year.
     New languages are given on a two-year cycle, with level one beginning only in the fall semester, to gauge continued student participation.
     However, for new languages such as Arabic and Italian to remain a permanent language option for students, approval from the Curriculum and Instruction Committee will be needed.
     Yet, GCSU cannot hire a full-time professor for a new language unless student demand for that language warrants it, Noel explains.
     “One thing I would love to offer at a liberal arts school like GCSU is Latin, but MFL (Master of Foreign Language) can’t afford a full-time position unless the professor can teach (another subject) besides Latin,” Noel said.
     GCSU’s current Arabic professor, Imene Khalifa, will only be at GCSU for one academic year, as is the policy of the FLTA Program. However, Khalifa advises, teaching and learning Arabic is no easy cakewalk.
     “The hardest thing (in Arabic) is the alphabet and sounds. Since it’s so different (from English), it sometimes confuses students with their production of sounds,” Khalifa said. 
     Regardless of its difficulty, 14 GCSU students are currently enrolled in both Arabic 1002 and Arabic 2002.
Sophomore Chris Hercules is in his second semester of Arabic, and says it is worth all the hard work.
     “It seems like now more than ever, (Arabic) is a very important language to learn considering current events at the moment. I think it’s something everyone should learn,” Hercules said. 
     Noah DeWalt, a junior Liberal Studies major, has already taken Italian and is now in his second semester of Arabic, but wishes GCSU would offer more language choices.
     “I think we really need Mandarin Chinese and I can’t believe we don’t have it already because I would take that in a second,” DeWalt said. “But I’d also love to see Hindu and Hebrew offered.”
     As for any other new languages GCSU might offer, Noel reveals some good news for GCSU students interested in the Far East.
“Chinese will be offered this fall,” said Noel.
     However,  for these new languages to stick around long enough to allow students to meet the four-semester language requirement, student demand must be heard loud and clear, in Arabic or Chinese, of course.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Jan 18 2008. 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