Modern Languages

French | German | Spanish

Professors Arnold, Dougherty and Krakusin; Assistant Professor Liu; Instructor Brines.

Alma's Modern Language Majors emphasize language acquisition and the study of culture, civilization, literature and literary analysis. Students who complete majors in French, German or Spanish are required to spend at least one semester in an approved international program. Alma overseas programs in France, Germany, Mexico, Spain, and South America provide students with total immersion in a foreign culture and help them gain fluency in the foreign language.

Alma's Modern Language Program graduates enter teaching careers or, more commonly, combine a degree in language study with another major to create a variety of career options. Satisfactory completion of any foreign language major should enable students to meet the language and literature requirements for teaching and for advanced study in language or other appropriate disciplines, or to satisfy standards for acceptance into the training programs of the government, social agencies and business enterprises.

Department Honors

Students may achieve honors in the Modern Languages Department by

  1. Having a 3.5 CPA in all language classes.
  2. Performing beyond minimum requirements on the Language Exam portion of the Departmental Comprehensive Evaluation.
  3. Presenting a Senior Thesis of honors caliber.

Advanced Credit

Advanced Credit in a second language may be earned by

  1. Scoring at the 4 level or higher on the Advanced Placement (AP) exam.
  2. Successfully completing the International Baccalaureate Program (IB) or the National Foreign Language Examination.