Pitt second language requirement changes for next fall

At the beginning of each French class, Pitt professor Andrea Jonsson poses a question to her… At the beginning of each French class, Pitt professor Andrea Jonsson poses a question to her students to open up discussion.

“Quelle est votre nourriture préférée?” she said. It translates to, “What’s your favorite food?”

Jonsson has taught beginner and advanced French and French literature courses at Pitt for the past three years. She said her classes usually consist of an eclectic mix of ability levels, but most of her students have some sort of experience speaking the language.

“I’ve never come across a complete beginner. I have incoming freshmen who test out of beginning French and register into French literature,” she said.

With a modified second-language requirement to be issued by Pitt’s School of Arts & Sciences for fall 2012, more students might need to enroll in one of Jonsson’s classes.

Starting with incoming freshmen next year, students will be expected to earn a grade of a B or better in three years of high school language classes to be exempt from Pitt’s second-language requirement. Currently, students only need to earn a C or better in three years of high school classes to receive exemption.

John Twyning, the associate dean for undergraduate studies, said the quality of language acquisition is important to Pitt, and the new requirement reflects the University’s commitment to graduating students with knowledge of a second language. He is a member of the Arts and Sciences Council that made the decision to change the requirement.

“Language skills are an important component of a liberal arts education, and they help us understand ourselves and our place in the world,” he said.

Twyning said the growing global economy makes the comprehension of another language a matter of national, economic and educational importance.

As for transfer credits from other universities, Twyning said the exemption rule will remain the same. A student will be exempt from taking classes at Pitt if they come in with two or more terms of university-level instruction with a grade of C or better.

Students who come in with no high school credit or who do not meet the grade requirement for high school languages must take two levels of a language at Pitt. The University provides over 30 language options ranging from Irish Gaelic and Arabic to Chinese and French.

In addition to its content, the requirement’s name has also changed. Instead of “foreign language,” the Arts & Sciences Council has instated the term “second language” to more accurately address the difference between English and other languages.

Jonsson said she isn’t familiar with the difference between a second and a foreign language, but overall she’s happy the grade content of the requirement has changed.

“It’s easy to get a B as long as you put in the effort and show up to class,” she said.

Elena Giel, a junior finance major with an Italian minor, said she is also pleased with the change in the second-language requirement at Pitt.

“I feel that it’s a good thing, because from a student who has studied abroad, I realize how

important a language is. And it’s something we as American students as a whole are lacking,” she said.

Although it’s a step in the right direction, Giel said that she believes the real change must start at a younger age and that studies have repeatedly shown that a person has a greater capacity to learn and retain a language in primary or elementary school.

A study conducted by College Board in 2004, College-Bound Seniors: A Profile of SAT Test Takers, found that students with four or more years of a second language outscored other students on the verbal and math portions of the SAT.

Twyning said the Arts & Sciences Council carefully monitors the supply and demand of language classes. He said he didn’t know yet if the University would increase the number of language classes next year.

If an increase in the demand of language courses occurs because of the upcoming requirement, the University is prepared to respond to specific needs as they arise, he said.