Greetings from the Chair

"So how did your first year go, as chair?" is the question I have been asked so many times this fall 2003. "GREAT!"

To all members of the department, I say THANK YOU for maintaining the positive spirit that reigns in our department.

Clemson’s rallying call since this past year has been for us to "do things better and smarter." We in the Department of Languages continue to do just that, and with a smile. Dear alumni, friends and interested visitors, this Newsletter and our website offer you information that could interest you.

We want you to know about curricular changes that have been introduced with a view to enhancing the overall quality of our programs. The foreign language experience at Clemson has undergone significant change in French, German and Spanish. The 101-102 introductory language course sequence for these three languages taught in high school will be offered to students only during the summer terms. Entering students with high school knowledge of these languages test either into the 200-level sequence or into a "remedial course" at the 100-level. And the 200-level course sequence now includes a one-hour lab component effective spring 2004. Also, study abroad (minimum one semester duration) has become mandatory for all students who want to major in a foreign language at Clemson. A new B.S. degree program in Language and International Health has been approved by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education and will begin in fall 2004. Chinese has been included as a language option for students majoring in Language and International Trade effective fall 2003, and plans are underway to offer a Master's degree program in collaboration with the department of education to prepare Spanish teachers for K-12. Other changes underway include developing a minor in ASL and in Cultural Inquiry, and putting the foreign language placement exam online for the convenience of incoming students. Look out for more changes to come…

We are introducing, starting this summer 2004 the Clemson Language Adventure Week (CLAW) addressed to students who will be entering grades 4 and 5 in fall 2004, and our Study Abroad with Clemson (SAC) program for high school students. Please check these programs out and tell friends about these opportunities. An online application form will be available for each program registration begins in the New Year.

Dear alumni, we need your advice, suggestions, and input regarding your real world experiences as we perform a total review of our curriculum in order to make them better. Please take this opportunity to email Suzanne Atkinson with an update of your contact information. To offer your ideas on what you would like us to reflect in our curriculum please email me or that favorite professor of yours.

Enjoy your reading.

Constancio Nakuma, Ph.D.
Professor of French and Chair