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Taking the word “language”
as the human faculty for expressing and communicating by means of a system
of spoken or written signs, we see our task as providing our students with
the means to do just that, only in a foreign tongue.
We believe that one learns to
speak by actually listening and speaking. The aural-oral components of
our program and our commitment to use the target
language as much as possible in the classroom allow students to develop these skills as early as
possible in the first stages of learning.
At the same time, we believe that a language, to
be an efficient means of self-expression and communication, must follow the
rules that regulate its production. The teaching of grammar is thus
concurrent with the aural-oral activities and promotes reading and writing
as refined tools for self-expression and communication.
We believe also that language is the soul of a nation,
and by teaching French or Spanish, we introduce our students
to the broader cultural environments of these countries.
See
also: “Department Philosophy” on the main
Foreign Language web page.
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