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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 the 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. To ensure student learning, the program continuously assesses communication skills, critical thinking, research methods, and community engagement throughout the majors.

General Information

NOTE: As of May 2023, new student enrollments for the French programs have been suspended. Students currently declared in the French minor, BA World Languages: French, and, BA World Languages: French Education Track will be able to complete their degree requirements through individual teach-out agreements.

For students who have selected French to fulfill a program-level second language requirement:

• If you have already completed part of the introductory French course sequence (e.g., FREN 1311  and/or FREN 1312 ) but have not yet fulfilled your program’s requirement, you should complete your required French courses by no later than May 2024 (FREN 1311 , FREN 1312 , and FREN 2311  will be offered at UA Little Rock through Spring 2024.
• If you have already completed part of the introductory French course sequence (e.g., FREN 1311  and/or FREN 1312 ) but do not complete your program’s foreign language requirement (which may vary by program) in French by May 2024, you will need to substitute courses from Spanish or American Sign Language to fulfill the remaining credit hours of your program’s foreign language requirement. Alternatively, you may complete your French language study at another institution and transfer it back to UA Little Rock.

Contact your advisor for more 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 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.