Language requirement under scrutiny

In an increasingly globalized world, colleges and universities across the country—including Vassar—are re-thinking the place of internationalism in their curriculums. But while some faculties are demanding that students achieve fluency in language skills, others are focusing on a more broadly defined vision of multiculturalism.

Vassar students, faculty and administrators appear to be split on the aims of the College's foreign language requirement—which, along with the freshman writing seminar and the quantitative analysis requirement, constitutes one of the three major degree requirements.
Historically, the study of foreign language had not been a major curricular priority at Vassar. Though students from 1865 through the 1880s were required to take ancient Greek or Latin, these requirements waned by the end of the 19th century.

In 1933, The Miscellany News complained that there was a "distinct lack of interest among the faculty in modern world languages. It seems…strange in a world where migration and immigration are the rules of societies rather than the exception. Should the mastery of European and [Asian] languages not be a priority?" But the progressive Editorial Board was ahead of its time.

Vassar's faculty would not mandate the study of at least one modern language until 1964. Even then, the Course Catalogue offered weak praise for the "admirable nature [of] some moderate familiarity with a foreign culture or language." This reasoning is particularly feeble compared to the Catalogue's hailing of Vassar's mathematics requirement as "wholly necessary to the formation of a complete and educated individual." Clearly, the required language seemed to be an afterthought for the faculty, even as late as coeducation.

The contemporary requirement was instituted in 1981, as part of a general revision of the curriculum. Although the faculty wanted to give students freedom in their studies, there was also a push to include certain boundaries—namely, to ensure that students graduated with basic writing, quantitative and foreign language skills. For most of the 1980s, students were obligated to take a full year of coursework in each of these three broad skills.
"Obviously I think the requirement was initially instituted to make sure that all students have some background in language and culture," said Daniel Giannini, the College Registrar. "But I think if you polled the faculty, most would feel that [a single language credit] is not enough." Language skills, some argue, are fundamentally different from cultural understanding.

Some students and faculty have been pushing for a fourth graduation requirement, a course that would focus on issues of identity and multiculturalism. The Committee on Curricular Policies (CCP) has discussed this idea intermittently over the past decade. "What happens when you talk about a requirement like that is you try to define what that means," explained Giannini. "It's not as easy as it sounds. Multicultural to somebody may not mean multicultural to somebody else." Despite moderate student interest, CCP could not come to a consensus.

Zach Wasserman '09, an International Studies major, believes that language is a good basis for multiculturalism. "I think that the requirement is the right idea. It's very important for people who want to be global citizens to speak another language," he said. "Speaking another language helps you to understand where another culture is coming from and how they are expressing their thoughts."

Wasserman believes that a single course can only impart a certain level of multiculturalism. He himself took courses in Russian, Hebrew and Spanish. "Though the intro level is good at providing me with the basic grammar structure, that's really all they can do the first year. I would love to see a multicultural requirement of sorts. I would love to see the intermediate level language courses geared more toward multicultural things."

Wasserman suggests that the College make better use of its language fellows—individuals from other countries who help to guide the conversation sessions of introductory language courses. "The language fellows could really help students gain a better understanding of culture, rather than just language mechanics," he said.

Students who enter Vassar with solid skills in a foreign language are more skeptical of the universal requirement. Christine Ma '09, an economics major who is fluent in Chinese—she lived in China until she was 15—was forced to take an exam her senior year. "I'm already bilingual. Unfortunately, taking [another foreign language class] didn't work out because of my schedule and since I went abroad my third year it made it impossible to start taking a new language my fourth year."

To be exempt from taking a foreign language course, students must earn a 4 or 5 on an Advanced Placement (AP) Exam or a 600 on an SAT II exam. In terms of its leniency on the language requirement, Vassar is about even with peer colleges. Swarthmore College exempts students with three years of high school-level study of a single foreign language, a 600 or better on an SAT II test, or passing the final exam of an introductory-level college course. Students who learned English as a second language who maintain fluency in a second language are also exempt. Similar policies exist at Hamilton and Pomona Colleges.

Other schools, however, are stricter. At Wellesley, students must a score of 690 or better on an SAT II test, a perfect score on an AP exam, or test out of an intermediate (rather than introductory) level course.

As for the issue of multiculturalism, colleges have taken two divergent paths. One path adds a unique new requirement to the curriculum. Three years ago, Williams College added an additional course requirement beyond the language skills course. This requirement, entitled Exploring Diversity, was designed to explore a "diverse, globalized world and the multi-cultural character of the United States."

The second path emphasizes issues of culture and diversity within the language classroom. Carleton College interprets the goal of language courses as "not only teaching ways for human beings to communicate," but also "as a means of shaping socio-cultural identity." Navigating between these two models of instruction will be difficult—particularly in Vassar's environment, which prizes its relatively open curriculum. Dean of the Faculty Jonathan Chenette believes that "The language proficiency seems more central" of these diverging goals.

"It is crucial for Vassar to maintain a foreign language requirement [as is]," said Bryan Van Norden, Chair of the Department of Chinese and Japanese. "I fully recognize the important of learning about other cultures via translated works. I have taught Chinese philosophy to students for more than 20 years using English translations. However, I would never want students to read only translated works instead of learning a foreign language. Learning a foreign language allows a depth of understanding of another culture that nothing else can match."

—Additional reporting by Alexandra Matthews, Senior Editor. This is the second in a three part series of investigative stories on academic requirements at Vassar.