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The Department of World Languages (DWL) offers majors in World Languages: French and World Languages: Spanish. Minors include French and Spanish. DWL also offers a Certificate in Workplace Spanish.

Courses in foreign languages are offered to give the student proficiency in basic language skills, such as speaking, writing, reading, and understanding; to guide advanced students to fluency of the written and spoken idioms; to acquaint students with major literary works in foreign languages and increase awareness and appreciation of other cultures; to provide courses necessary and useful for those preparing to work, teach, or communicate in a linguistically diverse community; to promote intercultural communication; and to offer background preparation necessary for graduate work in a foreign language. In order to ensure student learning, the program continuously assesses communication skills, critical thinking, research methods and community engagement throughout the majors.

General Information

Second Language Requirement

Second language proficiency requirements vary by major and program. See individual degree descriptions for details.

See “Second Language Requirement ” for information about demonstrating proficiency or prior knowledge for placement and credit.

Second Language Placement

Students who wish to enroll in language courses at UA Little Rock are encouraged to take a placement test. Computerized, multiple-choice tests for French and Spanish (the F-CAPE and the S-CAPE) are administered at the Office of Testing Services. The following students do not need to take the proficiency test before enrolling:

• Students who have never studied French or Spanish and are enrolling in first semester courses in these languages.
• Students who have already completed UA Little Rock second language courses.
• Students who have completed university-level courses for transfer credit in French or Spanish.

Students can contact the Chair of the Department of World Languages with questions about placement.

Credit Validation – Language

Students who have acquired language skills before enrolling at UA Little Rock may receive credit for their proficiency by taking the sequel language skill course and earning a grade of B or greater. A student must request retroactive credit; it is not awarded automatically. Students should request a placement test to find the level at which they should enroll. Up to 12 hours, up to 3 hours of which may be upper level, may be obtained in this manner. For more information, see a faculty member in the department.

Receiving Credit for Advanced Proficiency for Majors in World Languages

Students who have already acquired advanced proficiency (usually native or heritage learners) in French or Spanish can take advantage of their knowledge to progress more rapidly toward degree completion than regular program requirements allow. For more information, see a faculty member in the department.

Receiving Credit for Advanced Proficiency in French

A student desiring accelerated status toward completion of a major in World Languages: French may demonstrate proficiency as prescribed below and obtain 24 hours of credit (CR), 18 of which will count toward the 30-hour major requirement.

To demonstrate eligibility for accelerated status in French, a student must prove oral and writing proficiency by (1) scoring at least “Advanced-Mid” on an official Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) from ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) and (2) scoring at least “Advanced-Mid” on an official Writing Proficiency Test (WPT) from ACTFL. A student who achieves “Advanced-Mid” or higher ratings on both assessments will be granted 24 hours of credit (CR) for the following courses: FREN 1311 , FREN 1312 , FREN 2311 , FREN 3310 , FREN 3311 , FREN 3312 , FREN 2315 , FREN 3115 , FREN 3116 , and FREN 3117 . In addition to the above credits, completion of the major will require 12 credit hours of upper-level work in the major language, including one culture course (FREN 3334 , FREN 3335 , or FREN 3336 ) and six credit hours at the 4000 level.

For more information on receiving credit for advanced proficiency, see a faculty member in the department.

Receiving Credit for Advanced Proficiency in Spanish

Languages: Spanish may demonstrate proficiency as prescribed below and obtain 18 or 21 hours of credit (CR), 12 or 15 of which will respectively count toward the 30-hour major requirement. To demonstrate eligibility for accelerated status in Spanish, a student must prove oral and writing proficiency by taking an official Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and an official Writing Proficiency Test (WPT) from ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages). Students passing the WPT and OPI with a score of advanced-low will be granted 18 hours of credit (CR) for the following courses: SPAN 1311 , SPAN 1312 , SPAN 2311 , SPAN 3301 , SPAN 3313 , and SPAN 3314 .

Students passing both the WPT and OPI with a score of advanced-mid will be granted 21 hours of credit (CR) for the following courses: SPAN 1311 , SPAN 1312 , SPAN 2311 , SPAN 3301 , SPAN 3313 , and SPAN 3314 , SPAN 3115 , SPAN 3116 , and SPAN 3117 .

For more information on receiving credit for advanced proficiency, see a faculty member in the department.

ESL Endorsement for Teachers

DWL offers the four-course endorsement in English as a Second Language (ESL) per the requirements of the State of Arkansas. The endorsement is added to current teacher licensure, K-12. Students seeking the endorsement must take LANG 4322 - Teaching Second Languages , LANG 4323 - Second Language Acquisition , LANG 4324 - Teaching People of Other Cultures , and LANG 4325 - Second Language Assessment . To be fully licensed in ESL, students must also pass the Praxis exam in English to Speakers of Other Languages.

Honors Program in French

The department offers an honors program available to exceptional students leading to the Bachelor of Arts in World Languages: French with honors. To be admitted to the program, a student must apply for acceptance to the program, be a declared major in World Languages: French, have at least 60 hours of undergraduate college credit, including at least 15 hours of French, and have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 on all University work taken at UA Little Rock and elsewhere.

To qualify for the degree with honors, a student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 and a 3.25 in all French courses, complete all requirements for the World Languages: French major, and include a three-hour specialized French seminar and a three-hour Senior project in the 30 hours required for the French major. Study abroad is strongly encouraged. More information can be obtained from the department advisor.

Instruction in Other Languages

Courses in other modern languages (Arabic, Mandarin, Russian, etc.) and classical languages (Greek, Hebrew, Latin, etc.) are offered periodically in response to student interest.

Programs

• World Languages: French Education Track, B.A.
• World Languages: French, B.A.
• World Languages: Spanish Education Track, B.A.
• World Languages: Spanish, B.A.

• French Minor
• Spanish Minor

• ESL Endorsement for Teachers

• Workplace Spanish Certificate of Proficiency