Through the Department of Foreign Languages, King’s students are given the opportunity to pursue French, Spanish, and/or German in beginner-to-intermediate level language courses. Courses are designed to help the student develop skills in speaking, writing, reading, and understanding the target foreign language. Instructors offer a variety of ways to accomplish this goal and help the student succeed in the course and in the development of skills through group projects and activities, online assignments, and video-chatting with a native French, Spanish, or German speaker. In doing so, this may enhance the student’s employment opportunities in a variety of ways, in addition to contributing to the student’s broad humanistic education. If interested, students may declare a major or minor in French or Spanish.

     There are additional chances for students to improve their language-learning even away from King’s campus. The Department of Foreign Languages coordinates with the Study Abroad office to provide interested students with all possible options of travelling and learning through one of many study abroad programs that may span over a semester, a summer, or just a few weeks. These programs offer student the unique chance to travel to the native country of their target language, live with native speakers, experience the culture firsthand, and apply their skills in a realistic setting similar to what they may experience later in their careers or lives. The programs cover a set amount of credits for a student pursuing a major/minor in Spanish or French.

Department Learning Outcomes:​

  • Comprehend spoken language, participate in conversations, and deliver presentations on topics relevant to routine tasks and to the student's social, academic, and professional life.
  • Read, comprehend, and critically interpret literary and informational texts from a variety of genres.
  • Write compositions, essays, and research papers on both creative and academic topics.
  • Identify the products and practices of the culture(s) studied, draw inferences about the values and beliefs of that culture, use cultural knowledge to perform linguistically and behaviorally in a variety of common social situations, and apply what is understood about one culture to other cultural landscapes.

Additional Resources:

Offers tips and ideas to making language learning easy!
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20190219-how-to-learn-a-language-in-an-hour-a-day

Discusses the importance of language in business!
https://www.industryweek.com/talent/article/21119730/are-manufacturers-losing-out-on-business-due-to-lack-of-language-skills

17 inspirational quotes that will keep you motived!
https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/language/17-language-quotes-to-turbocharge-your-learning/

The American Association of Teachers of German
http://www.aatg.org