Iowa State University Alumni Association| online edition | fall 2004

FALL 2004
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Surviving Stroke

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SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE:
NEW LANGUAGE AND CULTURE PROGRAM TARGETS PROFESSIONS

In the age of budget cuts and belt tightening at colleges and universities across the country, many departments are taking a new look at their courses and majors. Although student interest at Iowa State remains strong in Spanish and stable in French and German, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures has launched a popular new program that will strengthen these languages and support majors and minors in Russian, Chinese, and Portuguese.
The department has literally begun to reinvent itself by offering a series of second-major options to Iowa State students in professional majors.

“This is the future of the department of modern languages at a university of science and technology such as Iowa State,” said Dawn Bratsch-Prince, department chair.

With over half of the department’s students declaring a second major in another academic discipline, it seemed natural to collaborate with other departments and colleges on campus. That collaboration has led to the new Languages and Cultures for Professions (LCP) program.

The program integrates extensive training in languages and cultures with professional curricula, with the goal of fostering global literacy among Iowa State students.

Students enrolled in the College of Engineering and the College of Business can participate in the new LCP program. Future plans call for similar programs in the College of Agriculture and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“The LCP program is unique in the state of Iowa and will expand internship and study-abroad opportunities, as well as establish collaborations with the corporate sector,” said Mark Rectanus, the program’s coordinator and professor of German.

Courses in the major are designed specifically for each profession. Students will achieve a high level of linguistic proficiency, global literacy, and communication skills, and they also learn about the country’s media, politics, culture, education, and economy. In the Business and Professions course that is a precursor to a study-abroad internship, students complete a final project that includes researching a corporation, preparing a resume, writing a letter of application, and applying for the internship.

“The major will expand the boundaries of primary majors by requiring students to develop a framework for their professional practice as it relates to socio-cultural contexts,” Rectanus said. “If our students want to compete globally, they need a second language and international experience. We believe that students also need to use a language within the context of the culture, which is embedded in the language. And you can never truly understand the culture unless you speak the language.”

Amy Swanson, a 2004 Iowa State chemical engineering graduate, agrees.

“I knew that being fluent in Spanish would help my chances of finding a job when I graduated,” she said.
“I eventually hope to either find an engineering job where I can use my Spanish skills in the United States or I would like to move to Spain and find an engineering job.”

About the Writer | Dave Gieseke is public relations manager for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

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