Foreign Language and Culture Requirement

The study of foreign language and culture provides a foundational undergraduate competency. Foreign language study will strengthen the development of cross-cultural awareness and intercultural communication, and provide opportunities for students to explore links between foreign language and other disciplines, and to prepare for and reflect on their study abroad experience.

All students (except native speakers*) will satisfy the GCR of Foreign Language and Culture by taking 10, 8, or 4 credits following one of the following platforms.  

Platform	Placement	Required Credits	Required Courses in a Foreign Language
1	110	10	110+120+132 or 133** (Platform 1 can also be completed by taking 110+120+130)
2	120	8	120+130
3	130	8	130 + one 200-level course (see list below)
4	Beyond 130	4	One 200-level or one 300-level course (see list below)

200-level courses = ARB 234, FR 250, SP 229, 230, or SP 235.

300-level courses = FR 353, FR 357, FR 358, SP 322, or SP 350

 

In order to ensure timely completion of the GCR of Foreign Language and Culture, students need to begin to study a language during their first year. Transfer students who enter as sophomores or higher should begin to study a foreign language immediately. For all students, unless there are extenuating circumstances, the final course to satisfy the GCR of Foreign Language and Culture should not be attempted in the fall semester of the senior year.

A student may not fulfill the foreign language requirement by auditing a course. A student may not take any of the 100-level language courses as an independent study.

*Definition of Native Speaker

A native speaker is a student who has completed his or her high school education in another language and culture. It is important to distinguish between native and heritage speakers. Native speakers are typically international students and citizens of another nation, were born abroad, and their family often still resides abroad. Students should be directed to the MLLC or the HLx center directors if they believe they fall in this category.  

Students who are foreign nationals and/or native speakers and writers of a language other than English may be exempted from the foreign language requirement if they provide evidence of their proficiency. Documents serving as evidence include a high school diploma from a school where English is not the primary language, a note from a high school teacher or college faculty member from the student’s home country attesting to the student’s native-level proficiency in the language. Please contact Kathryn St. Ours, Director of the Center for Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, for more information.

**Platform 1 Course Information

Any student having previously completed 130 or a level beyond 130 may not take 132/133 for 2 credits. 132/133 (2 credits) may not count for the major.

SP 132 is intended for students completing Platform 1 and not intending to major or minor in Spanish or French. If a student is intending to major or minor in Spanish or French, or to minor in Arabic Studies, s/he should take SP 130, FR 130, FR 133 (4 credits) or ARB 133 instead of 132 or 133 (2 credits). 132-133 courses may be repeated for credit if topic is different. 

Placement Tests

Students must complete a placement test before enrolling in a language class or taking language courses abroad. On the basis of a placement test, students may be required to interview with our faculty, and will be place in one of four platforms (see above). Transfer credits are awarded pending placement test results. Placement results have an expiration date of one year-i.e., students need to retake their placement test after two or more semesters if they have not taken the language course in which they were placed, unless they have opted to satisfy their language requirement with the study of another language altogether. Regardless of an AP score, students cannot receive credit for Spanish without taking the Spanish placement exam and consulting the center director in order to be placed in the appropriate Spanish course.

Foreign Language Online Policy

Current policy at Goucher regarding online courses allows a student to take courses on an “online” basis. However, students are limited to a total maximum of 12 credits online to count towards the 120-credit graduation requirement at Goucher.

Students must successfully complete (pass) the terminal course in their platform in an on-campus course at Goucher or a regionally accredited, non-profit, public or private college or university.

 

That is to say, because students have to take the terminal course face-to-face (at the Goucher College campus or at another campus), they cannot complete their foreign language requirement exclusively online EVEN IF they are under the total online credit limit.

If a student wants to transfer online foreign language (FL) credits taken prior to their arrival to Goucher, they will need to take the placement exam upon their arrival, and complete one of the four platforms described above.

For permission to complete the FLCR with languages not offered locally or through an online course, students need contact the directors of the Center for the Study of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures or Hispanic and Latinx Studies, respectively. They will need to approve the syllabus prior to a student enrolling in the FL online course. Informal skype sessions with native speakers or self-guided instruction are not the equivalent of a college FL course.