Hello all,
My institution, Wayne State University (WSU), is very seriously and imminently considering a move to reduce the foreign language requirement from 3 semesters to 1 semester. This has the language department at WSU and those that believe in language education here extremely concerned. Language educators in the LLTI community know all too well how disastrous such a move can be for students, faculty, language programs, the language lab/center, the language departments, and the institution.
I don’t know how many other institutions have made similar moves but if my institution makes this move it could well set a precedent for other institutions. And precedents such as this should be worrisome to those at other institutions. I am turning to members of the LLTI community to request your support against the move to reduce the foreign language requirement to one semester at my institution.
There are two important things you can do to help before the WSU Board meets on December 1 (Friday):
1. Sign and help circulate our petition on social media, email, and more. We have over 800 signatures and want to get over 1000: https://goo.gl/forms/JLyBDa6G5cqKG3fy2
2. Write a letter to the Board of Governors! Attached, you'll find a template the department has created that can help you make an argument about why languages are important. Your letter can either be emailed to Elena Past, Associate Professor of Italian, Associate Chair, Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures ([log in to unmask]) or mailed to the Board here: WSU Board Of Governors, 656 West Kirby, Room 4231 FAB, Detroit, MI 48202
Please help us keep the language programs vibrant at Wayne State.
Thank you for your support!
Sangeetha
********************************************
Sangeetha Gopalakrishnan, Ph.D.
Director
Foreign Language Technology Center (FLTC)
Wayne State University
385 Alex Manoogian Hall, 906 W. Warren Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48202, USA
Email: [log in to unmask]
Tel: 313-577-6391; Fax: 313-577-3041
Immediate Past President
International Association for Language Learning Technology (IALLT)
Where technology speaks your language
Co-Principal Investigator
Unraveling the ethnic histories of Detroit through digital storytelling
********************************************