Sweeping changes are in order here at the University of Massachusetts, changes that must differ in range and scope than the continued downsizing of an already shrinking faculty.
As addressed in these pages recently, the foreign language requirement at UMass must be re-examined and altered in order to fit within the framework the remainder of the University is squeezing into.
As it is now, for someone in the College of Arts and Sciences – let’s say, English and Journalism majors – a student is required to prove him/herself proficient in a given language up to a second intermediate level, which most commonly means that a succession of four classes must be taken to satisfy the needs of UMass.
This system has continually drawn uninterested students into a commitment that often enough interferes with their primary studies. Instead of using the valuable class slot – especially valuable now that professors are hightailing it out and available classes are dwindling – to fulfill their primary course of study, they instead are pushed off into classes that do little to augment their education.
What’s more important – creative writing for an English major, or Italian III? Courses in network security for a computer science major, or the ability to tell a class what you did for your spring break in broken Spanish? Or French? Or German?
Styles of teaching between courses and professors are often wildly different, making the transition from course to course especially jarring. Where one teacher thought it was appropriate to end a class, another might see it as too far behind and rush the class to catch up. Not all languages have an exemption exam. There are simply too many holes for it to continue as we have seen in the past.
There’s no doubt that the foreign language department is an asset to the University and those who decide to shape their education by studying in it. For the rest of us, however, it’s a long form of distraction in which little knowledge is actually culled as the majority of students coast just to get by. Where’s the benefit in that?
The University needs to give strong consideration to this problem. Perhaps two semesters instead of four, or one semester of a language and one in a related class. (Italian I and Studies in Italian/Foreign film, for instance). Something that will give the students exposure to something new while keeping it interesting and diverse enough to appreciate.
For a diversity-minded requirement, the system as it is right now is woefully narrow-minded.
Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Collegian editorial board.