2008-2009 Spanish Program (SPAN)

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 develop continued proficiency in conversation, composition, and the reading of short fiction.
3rd Year: Students should understand and are understood by native speakers, and acquire knowledge of the major aspects of Hispanic literature and cultural history.

Objectives

The Spanish Program offers a minor (academic or teaching) in Spanish. Our courses deepen a student’s sensitivity to the everyday communication potential of a foreign language and cultivate an appreciation of cultural diversity.

The Language Faculty can advise entering students with prior foreign language study on proper course placement. Student placement at a 2nd or 3rd year level does not reduce the total number of hours required for a Spanish minor.

Generally, but subject to advisor and/or instructor recommendation, students who have studied Spanish for two years at the high school level are excluded from registering for the first semester Spanish 110 course (Spanish I).

Program Requirements

A maximum of 12 external hours (transfer, CLEP, Prior Learning. Challenge Exam, 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 coursework. (SPAN 110 is not counted toward the minor.)

Requirement Description		Credit Hours
I.	Required Courses	12
	SPAN 111 Spanish II SPAN 220 Spanish III SPAN 221 Spanish IV	4 4 4
II.	Electives	8
	Additional 300- or 400-level courses	8
TOTAL HOURS FOR THE ACADEMIC MINOR		20

*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*

Requirement Description		Credit Hours
I.	Required Courses	14
	SPAN 111 Spanish II SPAN 220 Spanish III SPAN 221 Spanish IV SPAN 356 Methods of Teaching Modern Languages	4 4 4 2
II.	Electives	8
	Additional 300- or 400-level courses	8
TOTAL HOURS FOR THE TEACHING MINOR		22

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

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 SPAN 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.
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 degree 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.

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 credit hours 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.