French Program

Through the French Program at Franciscan University of Steubenville, you’ll explore the beauty and importance of the language, history, and culture of France, a country known as the “eldest daughter” of the Catholic Church. Whether your French language skills are elementary or advanced, you can take courses that will help you grow in your French reading, writing, and conversation.

The upper-level French Program is flexible and offers survey courses in French literature, with special emphasis on the Catholic contribution throughout different periods and genres. You can also study a breadth of specialized topics—advanced grammar, phonetics, commercial French, French cinema, French history, and the Francophone world. You’ll be ready to use French actively across many professional and cultural settings, while also having the Catholic formation to serve God within a global community.

The study of foreign languages is an important element of an education in the liberal arts, vital today for any student who seeks fruitful interaction in a rapidly evolving and interconnected global culture, but especially for the student educated in the Catholic and Franciscan tradition. Foreign language study is an important discipline for refining one’s communication skills, improving clarity of thought and expression, and enhancing the knowledge and use of one’s native language. It fosters the mental flexibility required in an ever-changing workplace environment. Learning a second language expands one’s cultural awareness and lessens dependence on stereotypical expressions and formulaic reasoning. Knowing a foreign language deepens an education in the humanities, rendering more vivid the student’s knowledge of history, geography, philosophy, literature, and the fine arts. Above all, the acquisition of a second language engages the individual on the path of responsible citizenship in the world community, encouraging foreign travel and exploration of foreign cultures, essential elements of a truly liberating education.

MISSION

The Mission of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures therefore is to provide a comprehensive program of instruction in French and Spanish for students wishing to major/minor in these fields and to provide courses for students wishing to acquire skills in these languages on the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels.

Teaching in the modern languages emphasizes the four linguistic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in order to foster effective interpersonal communication, essential comprehension and appreciation of written and spoken texts, as well as reflection upon them, and critical reaction to them. For this purpose, the language programs also seek to impart an awareness of the cultures which use the languages, both in their historical and contemporary contexts. Languages therefore are studied in a manner that reflects their links to many fields of human experience, including literature, art, music, film, philosophy, theology, and science. The Department’s goals thus include enabling students to be informed about world events, at least in as far as they affect the cultures they study, and responsive to the experiences and perspectives of societies at different times and places. In acting on its mission, the Department furthermore helps students experience the classics of Western civilization and develop historical consciousness. While the subjects in the Department’s domain are taught according to their “proper autonomy,” they are brought as far as their nature allows into relation with Christian revelation, Catholic tradition, and specifically Franciscan values.

AIMS

In light of the above mission, the programs in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures are designed with three general aims: 1) to provide courses in French and Spanish for students wishing to acquire skills in these languages on the elementary, intermediate, and advanced level; 2) to provide students with an opportunity to complement their major studies in another field with a minor in French and Spanish, and 3) to provide a solid comprehensive program in French and Spanish for students wishing to major in the field.

• All qualified students are encouraged to gain cultural and linguistic knowledge by spending a few weeks, a summer, a semester, or an entire year abroad in France, Québec, Switzerland, Latin America, or Spain. Interested students should consult with their foreign language advisor about selecting one of the many approved foreign language study programs sponsored by other institutions or institutes according to their individual needs and personal desires. Furthermore, help with arrangements and limited logistical support, especially as concerns a semester or a year abroad, is available through the University’s Study Abroad Office.
• All students have the opportunity to participate in the University’s semester-long Study Abroad Program in Gaming, Austria.

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures offers language courses in French and Spanish on the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels, as well as literature and civilization courses, to accommodate students majoring in other fields, and in particular: (1) those who, as part of their liberal arts education, wish to acquaint themselves with the literature and worlds of thought outside their own cultural environment; (2) those who wish to combine the knowledge of a foreign language with other professional interests, thus enhancing job opportunities and advancement, and (3) those who will need the knowledge of one or more foreign languages for research.

For students pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree, the foreign language requirement is 6 credits at the intermediate level in a modern or classical language. For students not prepared to enter the intermediate level, a six-credit elementary course is also required. The foreign language requirement may also be satisfied by examination or other verification of proficiency.

View the Modern Languages Program on the Undergraduate Catalog