Languages and Cultures Learning Outcomes

Language Programs' Learning Outcomes

GOAL 1 - Students will develop a critical understanding of the languages and diverse cultures associated with the languages

At the completion of 2001/2301:

  • Students will be able to use the language of study at Intermediate Mid ACTFL level and Intermediate High level/CEFRTFL B1 as part of their ability to move between and among languages and cultures.
  • Students will be able to illustrate examples of the diversity within the cultures associated with the language of study

At the completion of the minor:

  • Students will be able to conduct critical analyses of written/audiovisual/cultural texts, by examining language uses as historically and contextually situated in a system informed by colonialism, ideologies, and faith traditions.

In addition, at the completion of the major:

  • Students will be able to illustrate how differences are discursively constructed, recognizing some of the subtleties of how language can be used to exercise and resist power.

GOAL 2 - Students will reflect on themselves and on their belonging to spaces and communities, through the lens of multilingualism

At the completion of 2001/2301:

  • Students will be able to explore in writing and in speech how their own linguistic and cultural backgrounds enter into dialogue with the cultures and languages they study.

At the completion of the minor:

  • Students will be able to examine and interpret materials in the languages they study to deconstruct nation-based notions of culture and contextualize (multi) language use.

In addition, at the completion of the major:

  • Students will be able to describe how the cultural narratives, stereotypes, and perception of the language of study and of their own expanding multilingualism are shaped along the lines of power within the communities and contexts in which they live.

GOAL 3 - Students will reflect on the world through language use and cultural understanding

At the completion of 2001/2301:

  • Students will be able to articulate questions and participate in pressing social, environmental, and political conversations locally and globally, drawing from texts in the languages studied.

At the completion of the minor:

  • Students will be able to articulate questions and participate in pressing social, environmental, or political conversations locally and globally, drawing from a variety of texts in the languages studied.

In addition, at the completion of the major:

  • Students analyze texts and topics assuming a variety of disciplinary lenses and frameworks and critically examine the implications of this multidisciplinary approach.

At the completion of a CEL course:

  • Students will be able to actively engage with the multilingual and multicultural community in and outside Fordham, building on their linguistic and cultural knowledge to be "people for others."

Linguistics' Learning Outcomes

At the end of their linguistics studies, students will be able to:

  • Apply the tools of linguistic analysis to language data;
  • Participate actively in discussions of language and linguistics issues;
  • Demonstrate a clear understanding and professional command of what language is and how language works and is used;
  • Observe and analyze how linguistic phenomena manifest in the larger world;
  • Connect language and linguistics insights with social justice issues;
  • Critically evaluate linguistic work, including empirical research, theoretical perspectives, and future directions; and
  • Enrich their interdisciplinary expertise by engaging with diverse fields of linguistic inquiry including psycholinguistics, linguistic anthropology, sociolinguistics, communications, and language learning.