2004 - 2005 Spanish Program (SPAN)

Program Goals | Objectives | Program Requirements | Academic Minor | Teaching Minor | Additional Academic Requirements and Procedures for the Spanish and French Programs | Examinations | Course Descriptions

Program Goals

• To become competent in the 5 "Cs" of language learning: communication, culture, connections, comparisons, and communities.
• 1st Year: Students should master the basic structure of grammar in the target language and show a "survival" level of oral proficiency and understanding of cultural traditions.
• 2nd Year: Students will write short compositions and study of short narrative works, and show sufficient oral proficiency to converse on specific "themes" or topics.
• 3rd Year: Students should be able to understand and be understood by native speakers, be familiar with major aspects of Hispanic literature and culture, and be able to function in a study abroad environment.

Objectives

The Spanish Program offers a minor in Spanish. Spanish language courses are offered to help students deepen their sensitivity to language in its everyday and artistic forms and to understand cultures other than their own.

Entering students wishing to continue a foreign language studied elsewhere are assigned to appropriate courses on the basis of placement tests and interviews (by appointment with Language Faculty). Students who have completed one or two years of high school language study are usually eligible for the SPAN 111 or SPAN 220 course, while students who have completed three or more years of high school language study are specifically excluded from SPAN 110 and SPAN 111. Therefore, faculty may initially place an incoming student in a 200-level course, if prior study reached an intermediate level. Placement does not reduce, however, the total number of hours needed for major or minor requirements in foreign language.

Program Requirements

A maximum of 12 external hours (transfer, CLEP, Prior Learning. Challenge test, or other external language exams) may be applied toward the minor (see below under "Additional Requirements and Procedures").

Academic Minor*

To fulfill the requirements for an academic minor in Spanish, students must complete a minimum of 20 credit hours in Spanish course work. (SPAN 110 is not counted toward the minor.)

*Students wishing to minor in Spanish are advised that, due to the size and staffing of the Language Department, many language courses have only one section in a given semester. Night students wishing to minor in Spanish are asked to note that some of the language classes are not offered in the evenings and must be taken as day classes. For further information and advising please see the chair of the Language Department or Spanish faculty.

Teaching Minor*

*Students wishing to minor in Spanish are advised that, due to the size and staffing of the Language Department, many language courses have only one section in a given semester. Night students wishing to minor in Spanish are asked to note that some of the language classes are not offered in the evenings and must be taken as day classes. For further information and advising please see the chair of the Language Department or Spanish faculty.

Additional Academic Requirements and Procedures for the Spanish and French Programs

Note: Please consult your individual academic major listings in this catalog for any language requirement under their governance.

Native Fluency--Students demonstrating native fluency in a language other than English may request and receive upon proper documentation a waiver for the foreign language requirement for the major (see Language Department, START Center, or Registrar's Office for proper procedure). No credit, however, is awarded for this waiver.

Transfer Credit--Only a maximum of 12 credit hours may be transferred toward the Spanish or French minor. Transfer credit may apply toward the 16 hours foreign language required for the International Business degree. Transfer hours beyond the 12-hour minor limit may apply toward total hours for graduation (see the Registrar's Office for details).

Examinations

1. Internal: the CLEP exam is a national standardized test of listening/reading comprehension in Spanish and/or French. (See START Center for details.) Westminster students successfully passing this exam receive up to a maximum of 12 semester credit hours equivalent to FREN 110, 111, and 220.
   Note: Only partial CLEP credit may be awarded if student has already applied transfer or other credit toward the language minor or International Business degree. Students should also remember that Spanish/French 110 (or the equivalent portion of the CLEP exam) does not apply toward the Spanish/French minor. For International Business students, all 12 CLEP credits may apply toward the required 16 hours in foreign language.
2. External: up to 12 credit hours toward the language minor or International Business degree may be obtained by successfully passing an accredited foreign language exam administered by another institution, e.g., University of Utah, BYU (contact the individual institution for exam information). It is the student's responsibility to pre-approve transfer credit with the Registrar's Office. External tests generally cover the equivalent of the first year and one-half of the second year of a language.

Japanese--First-year Japanese courses are offered at Westminster (see "Japanese" heading in this Catalog for more information). There is no minor in Japanese.

Latin--First-year Latin courses are offered at Westminster (see "Latin" heading in this Catalog for more information). There is no minor in Latin.

Other Languages--There is no academic program offered in any foreign language other than the minor in French and Spanish. Students wishing to obtain college credit in any other foreign language through transfer, exam, and/or prior learning credit, should consult with Language faculty or the Registrar's Office for evaluation of such credit as "general" hours toward graduation.

Challenge Examination--students who have an advanced academic ability in a subject matter may "challenge" a course for credit. (See Catalog listing and/or Language faculty for details.)

Prior Learning Credit--up to 12 credit hours obtained through successful completion of the Prior Learning Seminar/Workshop may be applied toward a minor degree in French/Spanish (see Catalog listing or Program Director for more information).

Other Language Waivers/Credit--Advanced Placement (AP) credit: a score of 3 or higher on the French or Spanish AP exam merits credit as follows:

• Eight hours total to be distributed as 4 hours credit for SPAN/FREN 110, and 4 hours 100T credit (valid only toward graduation but not toward a language minor).
• No other language waiver or credit is available other than those listed above.