General Information - FAQs for Admitted Students
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- General Information - FAQs for Admitted Students
- Why does Gettysburg College place such a high emphasis on the study of second languages, literatures, and cultures?
- What languages are offered at Gettysburg?
- When do you recommend that students take a language at Gettysburg?
- How many language courses are required?
- How do I decide to continue a language that I have already studied or start a new one?
- Are there any exemptions to language study?
- Does the College accept AP credit for a language?
- I know I want to start a new language at Gettysburg. What should I do?
- I haven’t been doing well in second language study. What should I do?
Language is the fundamental tool we use to structure our experiences, our ideas, and our culture. We learn from childhood onward both to shape and to share our feelings and ideas through language. In learning a language, however, we also learn (whether we realize it or not) particular cultural emphases and biases. This problem only grows as the concepts we attempt to express in language become more abstract, as with, say, ‘liberty,’ ‘democracy,’ and ‘freedom.’ At Gettysburg College, we are particularly interested in such words in light of the historical heritage of the region, a place where much blood was shed over the meaning of those very words. Thus if we are going to take seriously our regional history, the mission of a liberal arts education, and our place in the world, we need to expand our awareness of other ways of thinking, speaking, reading, and writing. By far the most meaningful way to do this is through exposure to other languages and cultures.
During your time at Gettysburg College, you will have the opportunity to engage with foreign languages, ideas, and cultures in new ways; you might read Flaubert in French, or watch a Werner Herzog film in German, or learn to write in Japanese, Chinese, or ancient Greek (different scripts!), or come to appreciate a sung Latin Mass. You may even engage in an unexpected and lively conversation with somebody in Spanish or Italian. Moreover, we want you to study abroad and experience another culture in its own language, sooner rather than later if possible.
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During your time at Gettysburg College, you will have the opportunity to engage with foreign languages, ideas, and cultures in new ways; you might read Flaubert in French, or watch a Werner Herzog film in German, or learn to write in Japanese, Chinese, or ancient Greek (different scripts!), or come to appreciate a sung Latin Mass. You may even engage in an unexpected and lively conversation with somebody in Spanish or Italian. Moreover, we want you to study abroad and experience another culture in its own language, sooner rather than later if possible.
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Gettysburg College currently offers its students the following foreign languages on campus: ancient Greek, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, and Spanish. Many other languages are available to students through our study abroad programs and there are also a variety of non-credit bearing ways to study and/or engage in language learning at Gettysburg.
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The faculty highly recommends that students begin foreign language study during their first semester. Most of our incoming first year students will have studied languages in high school and this continuation gives students a greater opportunity to develop a global perspective as they concurrently increase their linguistic competence and cultural understanding of a particular language. Whether you continue a language you have already studied, or begin a new language, the sooner you start your language study, the more access you will have to interesting related opportunities including study abroad and special housing options.
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Gettysburg College requires that all students take two sequential courses of a foreign language in the same language. This requirement holds regardless of whether you begin a new language at Gettysburg or if you place into a higher level of language through our language placement exam. For example, if a student takes the placement exam and places into French 201, that student will take French 201 and in sequence French 202. If a student starts a new language, that student will take two semesters of that language, such as Italian 101 and Italian 102.
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Personal aptitude, interest, and study-abroad desires usually serve as good guides for students to decide whether or not to continue a language that they have studied in the past. Some students attain a high degree of facility in a language, usually indicated by good grades in high school language classes, and they wish to perfect their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in that language at Gettysburg College. Many of these students will finally have the opportunity to study abroad in a country where the language that they have studied is spoken.
Other students desire to study abroad in a certain country and have not had the opportunity to study the particular language or languages of that country. In some cases students have studied a particular language for years and have simply lost interest in continuing to study it. Many of these students are excited to start anew.
Students should weigh their language learning options based on a combination of the above considerations, knowing that they are welcome to fulfill their language requirement by studying any language Gettysburg College offers, or another language through study abroad.
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Other students desire to study abroad in a certain country and have not had the opportunity to study the particular language or languages of that country. In some cases students have studied a particular language for years and have simply lost interest in continuing to study it. Many of these students are excited to start anew.
Students should weigh their language learning options based on a combination of the above considerations, knowing that they are welcome to fulfill their language requirement by studying any language Gettysburg College offers, or another language through study abroad.
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The following students are exempt from taking a language at Gettysburg:
a. Students whose second language is English and who have studied in a language other than English at the high school level or higher. These students may petition the Registrar’s Office for exemption from the second language requirement once they arrive at Gettysburg.
b. Students who grew up bilingual and completed high school studies taught in English need to complete the language requirement. Gettysburg College requests that these “heritage speakers” self-disclose their language experience so that both administrative and faculty members may best be able to place them into an appropriate level of the foreign language that they speak, provided that they propose to study their heritage language. Whether or not these students formally studied their heritage language in high school, and that language is offered by Gettysburg College, they should take the placement exam for that language.
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a. Students whose second language is English and who have studied in a language other than English at the high school level or higher. These students may petition the Registrar’s Office for exemption from the second language requirement once they arrive at Gettysburg.
b. Students who grew up bilingual and completed high school studies taught in English need to complete the language requirement. Gettysburg College requests that these “heritage speakers” self-disclose their language experience so that both administrative and faculty members may best be able to place them into an appropriate level of the foreign language that they speak, provided that they propose to study their heritage language. Whether or not these students formally studied their heritage language in high school, and that language is offered by Gettysburg College, they should take the placement exam for that language.
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If you earned a 4 or 5 on an AP language test, the College will give credit toward one (1) language course. Such students will then take one further course in that language to fulfill the language requirement. For example, if a student takes the AP exam in Spanish and scores a 4 or 5, and then he or she wishes to enroll in a Spanish course, he or she will only have to complete successfully one more Spanish course to meet the College requirement. If that student opts to enroll in any other language besides Spanish, he or she will have to take two courses in the same language. Students with AP credit will also need to take the language placement exam to determine where they should best be placed for their remaining language course. Some language departments will also conduct an assessment interview on campus in addition to the placement exam. Please contact the individual language departments for further information.
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You should take the placement exam for any of the languages that you studied for more than one year in high school that the College offers, and then enroll in a first-level course for the new language that you desire to study. If you only studied Latin in high school, and you do not wish to continue to study it here, enroll in another first-year language course.
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Several factors may contribute to language learning difficulties:
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- Some students struggle because they have never learned how to study a foreign language. Foreign-language study requires a distinct set of skills, some of which students may not have previously cultivated. There are several resources on campus to help you cultivate these skills, such as your instructor, language tutors, Peer Learning Associates (PLAs), and the Language Resource Center (a technologically based gathering place that all language students on campus may utilize).
- Some students simply are not interested in foreign language study. These students should invest time in discovering for themselves how learning a language can be beneficial. Until students find some positive meaning linked to the study of language, most of them simply flounder. Once they commit to learning, for whatever payoff, these students usually do better in language courses.
- Finally, some students struggle with foreign language study because they simply do not have an aptitude for language, even though these same students may be brilliant in other disciplines, such as Math, History, or Chemistry. If you feel that this might be you, and because language difficulties are so particular to each person, the College invites students who have worries about their potential performance to contact the individual language department for the language that interests them in order to discuss their situation. We also urge you to contact Academic Advising. Issues to discuss will be whether to start a new language or continue in a previously studied one. Additionally, once enrolled in a language class, and if students have utilized all the various resources available to them and perform poorly, they may seek testing for learning disability related to language. These test results coupled with their language professor's assessment may result in these students being exempted from one or two semesters of the same-language requirement.
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Contact Information
- Ancient Greek and Latin: Mrs. Rebecca Barth [rbarth@gettysburg.edu; 717.337.6565]
- Arabic: Mrs. Cindy Helfrich [chelfric@gettysburg.edu; 717.337.6748]
- Chinese and Japanese: Mrs. Paula Baer [pbaer@gettysburg.edu; 717.337.6343]
- French, German, and Italian: Mrs. Suzanne Welsh [swelsh@gettysburg.edu; 717.337.6850]
- Spanish: Mrs. Becky Best [bbest@gettysburg.edu; 717.337.6868]
300 North Washington Street · Gettysburg, PA 17325