Spanish (SPAN)
Faculty
Assistant Professor McDermott
Spanish ranks third among world languages, with more than 400 million speakers, and it serves as the official language of some 20 countries. Spanish is one of the official languages of the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of American States, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the African Union, the Union of South American Nations, the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, the Latin Union, the Caricom and the North American Free Trade Agreement. Within the United States, Spanish is the second most prevalent language with more than 50 million speakers, making it the fifth largest Spanish-speaking community in the world. Hispanics form the largest minority group in the United States, highlighting Spanish as an important component for any profession.
The Piedmont University Spanish program follows the Standards for Foreign Language Learning established by the American Council of Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL). Through our program, students develop communication skills that provide access to Spanish cultures and offer connections to additional bodies of knowledge that may be unavailable to the monolingual speaker. Through comparison and contrast in Spanish, students develop insight into the nature of language and the concept of culture and realize there are multiple ways of viewing and comprehending the world. Together, these elements enable the Spanish student to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world in a variety of contexts and in culturally appropriate ways.
Students entering Piedmont University with substantial language ability (at least of two years of high school Spanish with at least a “B” average) and/or established placement from another institution may complete only the 1102-level course to fulfill the foreign language general education requirement. Additionally, if a student chooses to take a 2000-level or higher course in a foreign language and successfully completes the course, the foreign language requirement is considered satisfied.
Course Descriptions