DLLC Mission and Goals

The Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures builds language competency and cultural knowledge and understanding, preparing students to become global citizens. It offers a broad range of languages and courses of study—​from antiquity to present-day and from around the world—​and prepares students for a range of careers. DLLC hosts numerous study abroad programs, led by its own faculty. Through research and publication, the Department advances scholarship in the discipline, furthering the critical understanding of world culture in its complexity and diversity.​

Specifically, the Department’s mission is to:

• Teach the understanding and appreciation of all cultures, ancient and modern, providing basic knowledge about the literature, culture, and intellectual achievements of the communities involved.
• Expand, through research and publication, current scholarship in the fields of international literatures, cultural studies, second language pedagogy, second language acquisition, and other related fields.
• Teach the methods of understanding and interpreting texts, i.e., the methods of critical thinking that are essential to the education of good citizens.
• Play a leading role in internationalizing the University curriculum, enabling students to develop a global perspective.
• Ensure that graduates of the University have sufficient knowledge of and skills in an ancient or modern foreign language to build fluency in that language.
• Prepare our majors for careers in education, government, international trade, or related fields, or for graduate study leading to advanced degrees.
• Provide opportunities for studying languages and cultures abroad.
• Enhance the education of non majors by providing them with language skills that complement their chosen major.
• Provide opportunities for continuing language and literature study at the graduate level for students as well as for language teachers and other professionals.
• Work with the School of Education to prepare second language teachers for the schools of Delaware and nearby states, and collaborate with the Delaware Department of Education to facilitate articulation between secondary and post secondary second language education in the State.
• Act as a liaison between the University and the various language communities in the State.

Graduates of the programs of the Department of Languages Literatures and Cultures will have demonstrated the following:

1. Linguistic Proficiency / Communication Skills in the target language
   • Students will function in the target language (speaking, writing, listening, and reading).
2. Cultural Understanding / International Experience
   • Students will demonstrate understanding of cultural practices, products, and perspectives in the target culture(s).
   • Students will experience the target culture firsthand and reflect on their experience, thus gaining new perspectives on their own culture as well.
3. Appreciation of World Literatures
   • Students will analyze and interpret literature in the target language.

The Learning Goals of LLC align with the University’s Ten Goals of Undergraduate Education.

1. Students will function in the target language (speaking, writing, listening, and reading).

1. Attain effective skills in oral and written communication; use of information technology.

3. Be able to work and learn both independently and collaboratively.

2. a. Students will demonstrate understanding of cultural practices, products and perspectives in the target culture(s).

2. b. Students will experience the target culture firsthand and reflect on their experience, thus gaining new perspectives on their own culture as well.

10. Develop an international perspective

8. Expand understanding and appreciation of human creativity and diverse forms of aesthetic and intellectual expression

7. Develop the ability to integrate academic knowledge with experiences that extend classroom boundaries

9. Understand U.S. society including the significance of its cultural diversity

3. Students will analyze and interpret literature in the target language.

5. Understand diverse ways of thinking that underlie the search for knowledge in the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences

2. Learn to think critically to solve problems

4. Engage questions of ethics and recognize responsibilities to self, community, and society at large

6. Develop intellectual curiosity, confidence, and engagement that will lead to lifelong learning