Foreign Language Study? Si!

Professors vote for foreign language requirements as part of Pathways proposalby Emily Goldblum.Should students be required to study a foreign language? That question has been the subject of intense debate during discussion of Pathways, the proposed revision of CUNY’s general educational requirements.A new rule, included in the Pathways proposal, would entail “no CUNY-wide requirement for world language study.” Currently, CCNY students are required to take three foreign language courses.Most of our professors oppose the downgrade—though not all agree on the specifics. With emotions high, at Thursday’s faculty council meeting in Shepard Hall, professors voted for an amendment to require BFA and BS (including architecture and education) students to take six credits of foreign language along with a three-credit speech course, while BA students will be required to take nine credits of foreign language without a required speech course.Paul Oppenheimer, chair of the English department, articulated the feelings of the majority of CCNY faculty. “Most Americans learn grammar from studying foreign languages, not from studying their own and not from studying mathematics," says Oppenheimer. "If they are deprived of the opportunity to do that, they are deprived of the opportunity to think. We need to safeguard foreign languages.”Many students agree, realizing the need for knowing a different language today. “Personally, I think it’s important to learn a foreign language, especially on our campus where it’s so diverse,” says Glenda Ullauri, 21, an anthropology major. “Learning another language is an essential tool to be an active participant of a globalized world.”Others would prefer seeing foreign language taken out of core classes. Says history major AJ Mulvey, 20: “I had no interest in learning a foreign language and was upset that I was forced to because it was required, so I would have been glad if the requirement was omitted.”Even professors who agree with a foreign language requirement worry about what's happening with the speech classes. If BA students aren’t required to take a speech course, they say, the quality of the education at CCNY suffers. Without a requirement, most students skip taking speech even though it is for their own good. “I think that students who most need to take the class are the ones who are going to avoid it,” says Rob Barron, an assistant professor in the Theater department.Even though our faculty senate has given foreign language the thumbs up, the Pathways proposal remains up for debate. Join the discussion on March 8^th at a town hall meeting on Pathways.