Our Mission
The Department of Foreign Languages has diverse but firmly integrated goals for student learning. Whether they are language majors or simply meet their foreign language distribution requirement through completion of one or two courses in the department, our students will be challenged to think critically about their place in their own culture as well as their larger global culture, to master at least basic technological skills and to speak a foreign language with a skill appropriate to their course level. Additionally, the department has an abiding commitment to engaged and collaborative learning that leads students and faculty to reach beyond the classroom and campus into service with our local, state, national, and international communities.
Our Program
The department offers majors in Chinese, French, German and Spanish. For students who do not major in one of these languages but who continue past their introductory course, it is possible to select minors in Chinese Studies and German Studies. Additionally, the department offers a certificate for students completing a concentration in Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies. Lastly, the department collaborates with the department of Accounting and Finance to offer a major in Intercultural Studies for Business for which there are tracks in Chinese, French, German, Spanish, and Culture.
Skills
The department expects all language majors to participate in at least one semester of foreign study through a program sanctioned by Wofford College and all language and ISB majors are expected to take part in both the ACTFL oral proficiency and writing proficiency evaluations.
High School Preparation
The Wofford College Department of Foreign Languages strongly recommends three years of language study of a living language prior to enrolling.