Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

DEPARTMENT OFFICE
King Hall D1054
Phone: (323) 343-4230
FAX: (323) 343-4234
Website: www.calstatela.edu/academic/mld/

LANGUAGE LABORATORY
King Hall D1041
Telephone: (323) 343-4236

ADVISEMENT OFFICE
King Hall D1042
Telephone: (323) 343-4229

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures offers programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree in Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish, as well as minors in Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish. In addition, classes are periodically offered in other languages such as Arabic, Armenian, German, Korean, Italian, Latin, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Thai, and Vietnamese. The Department also offers Master of Arts degrees in French and Spanish.

The Faculty

Professors: Gretchen Angelo, María Dolores Costa, Domnita Dumitrescu, Kylie Hsu, Christophe Lagier, Sachiko Matsunaga (Chair), Qingyun Wu.
Associate Professors: Gaston Alzate, Elena Retzer, Alejandro Solomianski, Toshiko Yokota.
Assistant Professors: Pablo Baler, Chisato Koike, Namhee Lee, Paola Marin, Maria F. Marquez.
Emeriti: Alfred F. Michael Atlee, Abdallah J. Beddawi, Dale Carter, Joseph A. Chrzanowski, Alfonso Gonzalez, Kazumitsu Kato, Hugh W. Kennedy, Harold E. Lionetti, G. Grant MacCurdy, Alfredo O. Morales, Françoise M. Pasques, Elba Torres de Peralta, Leon Schwartz, Hildebrando Villarreal.

Advanced Placement Credit

Course and unit credit are granted for a score of 4 or 5 on Advanced Placement Language and Literature Examinations. Students should consult the department for more information.

Placement Examinations

The Department of Modern Languages and Literaturesadministers placement examinations to assist students indetermining their level of language proficiency.

Sequence of Classes

Prerequisite courses must be completed prior to enrollment.Prerequisites appear in course descriptions in this catalog.Exceptions may be approved by departmental petition for qualified students having compelling reasons. Petitions should be filed prior to registration.

Reading Examinations

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures administers Reading Examinations in selected languages.Students in graduate programs needing to verify proficiency ina language other than English must enroll in ML 901, in thequarter in which it is to be taken.

Limitation on Language Credit

Equivalent courses taken at the college level may not be repeated for credit toward a degree. A student with one year of high school language would normally be expected to enter 100B; a student with two years of high school language would enter 100C; with three years, 200A, and so on. However, it is recognized that special circumstances may make it advisable for some students to start at higher or lower levels. Therefore,the department will allow certain students who have studied a language other than English exclusively at the high school level to depart from the equivalency formula specified above after consultation and with the recommendation of a properly designated adviser.

Students who completed their secondary education in a foreign country where a language other than English is spoken natively may not receive credit for elementary language and Lower Division conversation courses in that language.

Limitations on Credit for “Non-Traditional” Courses

A total of eight units of the following courses may be applied to major programs in the department: FREN 499, JAPN 395, ML 392, 399, 496, and SPAN 499. Exceptions may be made only in extraordinary circumstances and with the approval of the departmental adviser and chair.

Assessment

Majors in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures must demonstrate the skills and knowledge appropriate to their baccalaureate degree. This is done by means of assessment procedures that include completion of required and elective courses, evaluation of language proficiency and content knowledge upon enrollment at the Upper Division level and at the exit from the program, assignment to a faculty mentor, and the submission of a portfolio. For more information, students should contact the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures prior to enrolling in Upper Division courses.

Foreign Language Cooperative Program (FLCP)

Courses in the Foreign Language Cooperative Program (FLCP 288 lower division, FLCP 488 upper division) are designed to give eligible students the opportunity to study at UCLA a language other than English that is not offered at this campus or any neighboring CSU campus. For information regarding enrollment and qualifications, consult the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures.

Reading Examinations

Modern language reading examinations are administered by the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. Students in graduate programs requiring reading proficiency in a foreign language must enroll in ML 901 in the quarter in which it is to be taken.

German

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures does not offer a major or a minor in German. However, courses in German are periodically offered for students majoring in other fields. The study of German may be of particular value to students of music, science, history, or political science.

Knowledge of German may be helpful in securing employment with U.S. or international agencies or with international business firms.

Italian

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures does not offer a major or a minor in Italian. However, courses in Italian are periodically offered for students majoring in other fields. The study of Italian may be of value to students preparing to teach Romance languages; to those interested in the culture of Italy; or to those preparing for language prerequisites to graduate degrees.

Latin

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures does not offer a major leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree in Latin, nor a minor to accompany a major in another field. However, courses in Latin are periodically offered for students majoring in other fields. The study of Latin may be of value to students anticipating graduate study, preparing to teach Romance languages, or who are interested in the Classics and in Roman and Early Christian history.

Portuguese

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures does not offer a major leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Portuguese or a minor to accompany a major in another field. However, courses in Portuguese are periodically offered for students majoring in other fields. The study of Portuguese may be of value to students interested in Latin American Studies or to those preparing to teach Romance languages.

Russian

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures does not offer a major leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian or a minor to accompany a major in another field. However, courses in Russian are periodically offered for students majoring in other fields. The study of Russian may be of value to students who wish to acquire knowledge of the Russian language, culture, and literary forms.