First Year Advising – FAQs for foreign language courses, departments and programs
If students indicate they do not intend to begin/continue a foreign language, ask why.
- Language phobic – take an ancient language where you do not have to worry about pronunciation/accent.
- Learning differences – if they have had experience with the study of a foreign language in high school and felt that a learning difference made the work difficult:
- remind them that many students with learning differences study foreign languages at Bates
- remind them of the stellar support for student learning offered by the Office of Accessible Education and the Academic Resource Commons.
- Hated their high school language teacher: Bates language faculty are excellent and rated very highly by Bates students.
- Hated their high school language class: try a new language. Language is like murder, it gets easier after the first one.
- Liked their high school language class and teacher but tired of the language:
- you have done all the hard and boring stuff – it’s sexy poetry and action packed novels from here on out.
- study abroad in the country of the language you studied in high school will be significantly more enriching if you continue your studies.
- try a new language. Language is like murder, it gets easier after the first one.
If students have questions about the appropriate language course to sign up for,
- remind them of the language placement tests;
- remind them not to undervalue their prior learning (i.e., don’t take a lower level course than the placement tests suggest);
- direct them to the appropriate contact in the foreign language departments and programs.
- French – Prof. Alex Dauge-Roth (adaugero@bates.edu)
- Spanish -Prof. Claudia Alberto-Guzmán (caburtog@bates.edu)
- German -Prof. Raluca Cernahoschi (rcernaho@bates.edu)
- Russian -Prof. Dennis Browne (dbrowne@bates.edu)
- Japanese -Prof. Keiko Konneida (kkonoeda@bates.edu)
- Chinese -Prof. Shuhui Yang (Shuhui Yang)
- Latin and Greek -Prof. Dolores O’Higgins (dohiggin@bates.edu)
Foreign language study and study abroad
- Students planning on going abroad: requirements are
- 2 semesters of the language for those going to Japan, China, or Russia;
- 4 semester for those going to Germany or French or Spanish-speaking countries.