DRAFT ***FLLC MAJOR ASSESSMENT OF GRADUATING SENIORS*** DRAFT

The Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures Major has concentrations in French, German and Spanish, and minors in those three languages as well as in Italian and Japanese.

We adhere to the guidelines established by ACTFL, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, to judge the quality of language acquisition of our graduating majors. Our majors are required 22 to 31 credit hours in courses in the target language, plus FLLC courses taught in English, and a semester of study in a country where the target language is spoken.

In their senior spring, our senior majors take the 402 capstone course in the language of their concentration and usually write a thesis of some twenty-five to forty pages in the target language. The topic may be literary or cultural, but we have also had translations and even a piece of fiction in the form of the diary of an 18^th century woman. At the end of the semester, after many rewrites and discussions with the thesis advisor, the students give an oral presentation in English to their peers, friends and the FLLC department; and then an oral exam / thesis defense in the target language with the faculty of the concentration. The 402 course is a good measure of our students’ language acquisition, both written and oral; and their understanding of the literature, history and culture of one of the countries where their chosen target language is spoken.

General Program Goals for Majors

The FLLC department seeks to educate majors who are capable linguists in their chosen target language with the knowledge base and analytical skills to enter graduate school or to be employable in a variety of jobs that require regular use of the target language, including jobs as teachers in grades K-12.

Student Learning Outcomes

Graduating seniors will be able to

1. communicate in the target language at the proficiency level necessary to communicate successfully with native speakers. ACTFL guidelines currently look at language control, comprehensibility and comprehension as the three domains in communication. In their target language, graduating seniors in FLLC

a. demonstrate few errors in oral and written presentations and communication

b. express their own thoughts and show little interference from the native language

c. have a sophisticated level of vocabulary, verb tenses and moods, pronoun usage, relative clauses

d. understand main ideas and significant details on a variety of topics found in the media in the target language

e. have an awareness of tone, style and author perspective in reading

f. demonstrate independence as a reader or listener and generally comprehend what they read and hear without relying solely on formally learned vocabulary

2. understand the literary and other cultural features of the target language and appreciate the contributions of the target language and culture to the world. The literature component of the FLLC major is designed so that graduating students

a. demonstrate a knowledge of the literature of the target language

b. demonstrate a knowledge of the history and key cultural elements of some of the countries of the target language

c. apply ethical principles in critical reading of literature

d. read and discuss a literary text critically

e. write effective critical essays

f. understand and use basic theories of literary criticism.

3. understand the contemporary culture of one or more of the countries where the target language is spoken, both from culture-based course work and from a semester abroad. Through the culture component our students

a. experience at least one of the cultures of the language and learn about the social forces that have shaped those cultures

b. gain a comparative understanding of some of the different cultures and the diverse ethnicities within the area of concentration

c. become global citizens through total immersion in another culture

d. compare & contrast the target culture with their own while learning to appreciate and value the richness of differences and to approach the “other” with respect and understanding

e. apply ethical principles as they observe, compare and contrast other ethnicities, and as they participate in other cultures.

The chart below demonstrates in which courses and experiences our student outcomes are measured and how we can use the information of that assessment. Again, the three outcomes we are assessing are the students' abilities to:

1. communicate in the target language at the proficiency level necessary to communicate successfully with native speakers

2. understand the literary and other cultural features of the target language and appreciate the contributions of the target language and culture to the world

3. understand the contemporary culture of one or more of the countries where the target language is spoken, both from culture-based course work and from a semester abroad

Means of assessment	Outcm 1	Outcm 2	Outcm 3	Use of the information
Courses in lit	x	x	x	Yearly FLLC major filed meeting will determine whether expected outcomes are being met by graduating seniors to determine what changes may be necessary
Courses in culture	x		x	same as above
Courses in literary theory		x		same as above
Courses in conversation & composition	x		x	same as above
Semester abroad & presentation on OCS experience	x	x	x	same as above
402 capstone course				same as above
Thesis	x	x	x	same as above
Oral exam	x			same as above
Public presentation		x	x	same as above