From the report and the discussion, APC draws four conclusions.
1. The courses currently designated as satisfying the foreign language general education requirement are accomplishing their purpose.
Senate Document 3684 requires that "Students must complete a two-course sequence of 6-hours in a single foreign or classical language combining intensive conversational study of the language (excepting the case of classical languages) with the study of its associated culture."
There is evidence that all the courses focus extensively on culture and that conversation is a central component of the modern foreign language courses.
2. The original purpose defined by Senate Document is inconsistent with the rationale for the requirement.
Senate Document 3684 justifies the modern foreign language requirement with the claim that "Language study expands intellectual horizons and provides the basis for communication in a pluralistic world." All modern language faculty agree, however, that the two required courses are insufficient to provide anything more than minimal communication skills.
Both modern foreign language and classics faculty make a persuasive case that students who complete only 120 or 210 to meet the requirement are not competent in the language. They also agree that the study of foreign language develops intellectual skills exceeding those specified in the rationale.
3. The current requirement does not sufficiently challenge all students.
This is not a function of the courses themselves but of the way students may exploit the registration system. Too many students are ignoring the placement tests or opting for the easier approach of taking the 110 and 120 courses regardless of their skill level. This contravenes the intention of the Board of Governors who have increased expectations about what foreign language skills students will develop.
The variation in high school foreign language instruction and offerings creates a major challenge for the Foreign Language and Classics Departments. Both need to agree on a policy which meets the expectations of the Board of Governors, does not punish students with poor high school training, is in line with what other prestigious liberal arts institutions expect, and can be adopted without increasing current total general education requirements. APC thinks the suggestion made by the Foreign Language Department on page 8 of its report is an excellent preliminary effort to address these problems, however, the department must obtain concurrence from the Department of Classics before moving the proposal forward.
4. The Modern Foreign Language Department needs to develop a plan as to how to expand its offerings to include non-European languages.
This proposal will undoubtedly require additional resources which are not readily available. The resource shortage, however, should not preclude planning to make a greater variety of foreign language studies available.