Information for First-Year Students

  1. Office & Department Directory
  2. World Languages, Cultures, and Media Department
  3. Information for First-Year Students

Dear SLU first-year student,

The faculty of the Department of World Languages is looking forward to welcoming you to the department and to working with you during your four years at St. Lawrence.  You probably already know how important it is to prepare yourself for the intercultural environment in which you will be working after you have finished your undergraduate education.   Becoming as fluent as you possibly can in a second language while you are at St. Lawrence plays a crucial role in this preparation, no matter which major or majors you may ultimately choose.   This is why we suggest that you begin your language study during your first year and also that you start thinking about where you would like to spend a semester abroad sometime during your four years at St. Lawrence to further improve your second language skills and to learn how to adapt to and live in another culture.  Every semester many students participate in these programs and later always remember this as one of their most rewarding undergraduate experiences.

Every language we teach offers study-abroad opportunities of which students normally take advantage during their sophomore or junior year. But, first year students are eligible to apply to our spring semester program in Bordeaux, France, and in Madrid, Spain.  The programs are designed to serve students with beginning backgrounds in French and Spanish. It is crucial to take Spanish or French during the fall in order to get the most from the experience. In the Bordeaux program, all students will enroll in French language at the appropriate level at the University of Bordeaux Montaigne’s Centre de Langue as well as the Director’s Course taught by the accompanying St. Lawrence Faculty Director of the program.  In the Spain program, all students will enroll in a required Spanish and Culture language course. The Director’s course will serve as the FYS for first year students in both programs.

To help you decide which language class would be appropriate for your preparation, please look at the information below:

If you have taken
..... Then we recommend the following*:

0-1 year of foreign language:
..... Enroll in 101, Elementary level
2-3 years of foreign language:
..... Enroll in 103, Intermediate level
4 or more years of foreign language:
..... Enroll in 201, Advanced level

*If you have not taken a foreign language during the last two years of high school, we suggest you consider a level below the one indicated above.

Please note that introductory elementary courses are only offered during the fall semester (with the exception of Swahili 101 which is also offered in the spring). These are followed by the 102 series of courses in the spring semester, which are intended for students who have completed 101 at St Lawrence or who have taken at least one year of the selected language in high school.

The following fall courses are appropriate for first-year students, depending on students' level of language proficiency and subject to the availability of seats:

Arabic

  • ARAB 101/AFS 106: Elementary Arabic I with Lab (LANG and DIV)
  • ARAB 103/AFS 108: Intermediate Arabic I with Lab (LANG)
  • ARAB 201/AFS 203: Advanced Arabic (LANG)

Chinese

  • CHIN/ASIA 101: Elementary Chinese I with Lab (LANG)
  • CHIN/ASIA 103: Intermediate Chinese I with Lab (LANG)
  • CHIN/ASIA 201: Advanced Chinese (LANG)

French

  • FR 101: Elementary French I with Lab (LANG)
  • FR 103: Intermediate French I with Lab (LANG)
  • FR 201: Advanced French (LANG)
  • FR/AFS 3001: SPTP: Francophone Africa

German

  • GER 101: Elementary German I with Lab (LANG)
  • GER 103: Intermediate German I with Lab (LANG)
  • GER 201: Advanced German II (LANG)

Italian

  • ITAL 101: Elementary Italian I with Lab (LANG)
  • ITAL 103: Intermediate Italian I with Lab (LANG)

Spanish

  • SPAN 101: Elementary Spanish I with Lab (LANG)
  • SPAN 103: Intermediate Spanish I with Lab (LANG)
  • SPAN/CLAS 201: Advanced Spanish (LANG)

Swahili

  • SWAH 101/AFS 100: Elementary Kiswahili I with Lab (LANG)

Coordinator/Dept. Chair:

Prof. Eloise Brezault

  • Phone: 315.229.5155
  • Campus Address: 311 Carnegie Hall
  • E-mail: ebrezault@stlawu.edu

Prof. Alessandro Giardino

We wish you a very good summer and when you get to campus in the fall, please feel free to stop by Carnegie Hall.  You will find the Department of World Languages on the third floor and the Center for International and Intercultural Studies on the first floor.