Language studies info sheet

LANGUAGE STUDIES

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The Dordt Difference Our world is a global village, and good communication increasingly requires the ability to speak more than one language. Knowing a second language expands your career options, makes you more competitive in the job market, and better equips you to respond to the biblical command to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Dordt College language faculty will teach you language skills while also helping you understand other cultures and appreciate diversity. You’ll develop a global perspective that will help you interact more effectively with people of different backgrounds.

Studying languages at Dordt is not simply a way to get a step ahead in a world that is increasingly in need of bilingual and multilingual employees, though. Dordt students learn about languages within a Reformed, biblical perspective and work closely with highly educated, caring professors. Having a major or minor in a foreign language at Dordt College is a gateway to diverse career possibilities and a unique outlook on life.

HANDS-ON LEARNING Several opportunities for Spanish-English interpretation are available in the community.

The Students Without Borders club provides opportunities for students to interact with their peers from other cultures.

On Sundays, some students visit and participate in Amistad Cristiana, a Spanish-speaking church in Sioux Center, where their skills grow as they speak with congregation members.

CAREER POSSIBILITIES Bilingual skills are needed in publishing, healthcare, tourism, business, law enforcement, human resources, customer service, government agencies, social work, criminal justice, and more.

Teach at the elementary or secondary level in the United States or internationally.

THE PROGRAM Spanish, the second-most spoken language in the world, is an asset in almost any profession in the United States today. You’ll be introduced to Hispanic literature and Hispanic cultures and civilizations and come to better understand the challenges that Spanish-speaking nations face.

Dutch majors and minors often want to learn more about their cultural heritage. Our courses place emphasis on oral and written skills.

French is the chosen minor of many Canadian students who have already taken some French, but you can begin French studies at Dordt even if you have never uttered more than bonjour or merci. Graduate schools often require a reading ability in a major foreign language such as French.

Latin courses are recommended for students in pre-seminary, pre-medicine, or pre-law programs, as well as for language and music majors.

Our interdisciplinary Linguistics minor combines language classes with classes in communication, psychology, and philosophy. It is also valuable for careers in Bible translation, speech therapy, psycholinguistics, or other language-related professions.

You can also create an individual studies major in interdisciplinary linguistics.

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses are geared to improve the academic language skills of non-native speakers of English.

OFF-CAMPUS OPPORTUNITIES Dutch Culture and Reformed Worldview is offered alternate years. This three-week summer program focuses on early Dutch culture through World War II and its aftermath, including the development of a Reformed worldview through the work of Abraham Kuyper. It includes field trips to locations in and around the Netherlands.

Puerto Rico: Language, Culture, and Society, offered opposite years from the Dutch program, gives students time to practice using their Spanish language skills with native speakers. For three weeks in early summer, they travel around the country and experience first-hand how Puerto Ricans live and worship.

SPICE (Study Program in Contemporary Europe) gives students the opportunity to study and live in the Netherlands for the spring semester. The program is a cooperative program with the VIAA Reformed Unviersity in Zwolle, Netherlands.

Students live with host families and interact with Dutch students as they study in one of four tracks: General, Nursing, Education, and International Business. The program is open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

SPIN (Studies Program in Nicaragua), offered fall semester, immerses students in Nicaraguan life so that they see similarities and differences among cultures and develop a Christian understanding of cultural diversity and the shaping power of differing worldviews. Living, studying, and serving in a Christian community, SPIN students have opportunities to explore what faith means to them and how it affects their relationships with those at home and with people from other cultures French minors study in France with Chez Vous, a six-week summer program in Normandy that immerses participants in the language and lifestyle of French people. Students will learn about the Reformed heritage and about opportunities for ministry within the French-speaking world.

Spanish majors or minors can spend a semester in Spain through a cooperative arrangement with Trinity Christian College.

THE FACULTY Leendert van Beek, Doctorandus in Dutch, English, and linguistics from Leiden University, the Netherlands. Teaches Dutch, French, Latin, linguistics, and world literature Leendert.vanBeek@dordt.edu Rikki Heldt, M.S.Ed., Minnesota State University. Teaches Spanish

Rikki.Heldt@dordt.edu

Sanneke Kok, M.A., Wheaton College. Teaches EAP and French conversation, coordinator of academic services for minority and international students Sanneke.Kok@dordt.edu For more information, please go to www.dordt.edu/academics/programs/foreign_language August 2015