A World of Possibilities
Knowing a world language just may provide you a secure passage to a market full of career possibilities.
Learning a world language is not simply a pasttime or hobby; it is a serious necessity in all sectors of the U.S. economy. Are you prepared for a future in which multilingual abilities are a must for international trading, government, technology, education, health and so on? Our department continuously improves upon a world-class education by providing the technology, the literature, the outreach, the quality teaching and the enthusiasm to students of all types of cultural, educational and vocational backgrounds. With these readily available tools and encouragement, students increase their job opportunities and improve their communications skills which are required no matter what course they take in their careers.
Our Mission Statement
Our department's goal is to develop the world language proficiency and cultural competency of students through quality teaching.
By delivering instruction in world languages, our department helps students gain insight into their own culture/language and enhance their vision of the world.
Students in our program will gain communication and critical-thinking skills in world languages to become life-long learners, continually viewing and interacting with the world both at home and abroad.
Our Goals
- For our students to achieve language proficiency at the level of Intermediate High as outlined in the proficiency guidelines developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Modern Languages (ACTFL) for each of the four communicative skills—speaking, writing, reading, and listening.
- For our students to achieve cultural competence by identifying cultural information or patterns, such as major geographical features, historical events, institutional characteristics, social-linguistic behaviors, and major literary/art forms of the target culture.
Our Objectives
- To speak/converse at the Intermediate High Level or higher in a target language with ease and confidence when dealing with routine tasks and social situations with moderate control in the present, past, and future tenses as measured by the OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) of ACTFL.
- To write in the target language in a variety of styles such as taking notes on familiar topics, writing uncomplicated letters, simple summaries, and compositions related to work, school experiences, and topics of current and general interest at the Intermediate High level as measured by the departmental writing Rubric.
- To read and comprehend simple, connected texts in various time frames that deal with basic personal, historical, and/or social needs about which the reader has personal interest at the Intermediate High Level or higher by answering 24 out of 35 questions on the MLPA Reading Assessment.
- To listen/understand main ideas and most details of connected discourse on a variety of topics and time frames at the Intermediate Level or Higher on the MLPA Listening by answering comprehension questions correctly at the rate out of 20 correct out of 35.
- To identify cultural information or patterns, such as major geographical features, historical events, institutional characteristics, social-linguistic behaviors, and major literary/art forms of the target culture by obtaining a score of 15 out of 25 questions on the departmental Cultural Competency Assessment. These departmental assessments are based on the Missouri Content Assessment (MOCA) Examination for teacher candidates of modern languages.
Contact The Department
Emily Boydston
Administrative Assistant
417-625-9377
boydston-e@mssu.edu
