Spanish Language and Culture / Bachelor of Arts
Total Credit Hours: 128
Major Credit Hours: 36
Objectives
The Foreign Language Program at Lewis University is unique in the area and across the nation because it is founded on intense training in speaking and listening skills in beginners’ courses, only later supplemented by the study of grammar and more traditional reading and writing and speaking courses. Lewis University also offers many opportunities to study abroad at colleges and universities, including other Lasallian institutions, frequently at the same costs as students pay in Romeoville or sometimes even lower.
Demonstrated foreign language proficiency today is a desirable skill in government, corporations, community groups, schools and school districts, food service and restaurants, churches, and neighborhood businesses. Fluency in Spanish is a particularly valuable ability. The Spanish Language and Culture major provides students with reading, writing, and oral skills; knowledge of Spanish culture in three major parts of the world: Spain, Latin America, and the U.S. Latino Community; and the opportunity to join organizations on campus which share interest in Spanish-speaking cultures. This program encourages the student to take advantage of study abroad opportunities, internship possibilities, research, and service learning opportunities.
Opportunities for those fluent in Spanish abound in every marketplace from Wall Street to Main Street, in business, education, graduate study, social work, music, ministry, international relations, health care, hospitality, culinary arts, and tourism. This major coupled with any other will give the student more choices among jobs and the promise of better salaries than another major alone.
This major is open to all students regardless of prior language experience. However, students with no prior training in Spanish will need to complete FLAN 10300 First-Year Spanish 1 and FLAN 10400 First-Year Spanish 2 prior to beginning the major. Credit will be given to students who earn a C or better in Spanish language courses at community and four-year colleges.
Students are awarded credit in First-Year Foreign Language 1 and/or 2 by earning a qualifying score on AP, CLEP, IB tests, or on any accredited foreign language proficiency examination. See relevant charts in the General Information section of this Catalog for qualifying scores on AP, CLEP, and IB tests. See the Director of the Foreign Language Program for information on other nationally-recognized proficiency examinations accepted by Lewis University.
Declared Spanish Language and Culture majors who did not earn credit through national examinations may petition the Director of the Foreign Language Program to take a Challenge Examination administered by the Foreign Language Program through The School of Graduate, Professional, and Continuing Education (SGPCE) to earn credit for prior learning in First-Year Spanish 1 and/or 2. See the Director for the Foreign Language Program for more information. Modest testing and transcript fees apply and a maximum of 6 credit hours may be earned.
Students enrolled as majors in Spanish Language and Culture may, after consulting with a foreign language advisor and for modest testing and transcript fees, request to sit for the program’s Challenge Examinations in Spanish Grammar 1 and 2, which are administered through the School of Graduate, Professional, and Continuing Education.
The Community Internship, one Capstone option among five, is meant to provide direct service to local Latino populations as well as provide the student with practical experience in the field.
All students, regardless of proficiency at entry, must complete 36 hours in the major.
Spanish majors are encouraged to pursue a second major in an area pertinent to their career goals or to personal interests. Students are also encouraged to take some advanced courses in Spanish at a university abroad. A number of opportunities are available through the Lewis University Study Abroad program and the Lasallian Consortium of Colleges and Universities. See Study Aboard in this catalog.
Degree Requirements
Program: BA-SPLC-4
I. Core Courses (21)
Students with no prior experience will need to complete FLAN 10300 First Year Spanish 1 and FLAN 10400 First Year Spanish 2 before beginning the major. Students must earn a “C” in all prerequisite courses in order to advance to the next course. All upper-division language courses require proficiency in Spanish appropriate to the course. All majors must successfully complete at Lewis University a minimum of 4 upper-division courses (12 hours) taught in Spanish.
II. Electives In Spanish Culture (12)
Choose 4 electives in Spanish Culture, one of which must be upper-division. With consent of the advisor, up to 3 appropriate Spanish culture or Spanish language-based workshops may be substituted for 1 three-credit course. Topics courses and seminars
must be related to Spanish Culture.
Topics courses and seminars must be related to Spanish culture. For example, ENGL 30900 Topics in Writing: Literary Translation; ENGL 37600 World/Ethnic Film: Spanish Cinema; HIST 39000 Topics in History: Introduction to Latina/o Studies.
III. Capstone (3)
Choose one of these courses to fulfill the Capstone requirement:
V. The ePortfolio (0)
In consultation with their advisors in the Foreign Language Studies, majors must submit an ePortfolio of writing for review. This requirement, FLAN 38000 ePortfolio, is a collection of representative assignments and projects completed in courses related to the major. The ePortfolio is useful for inclusion in the student’s résumé. Students should register for FLAN 38000 and complete the ePortfolio in the final semester (i.e. the semester in which they plan to graduate). Further information can be obtained from the student’s advisor and the Director of the Foreign Language Program.
Education majors should take this course in the semester before they student teach.