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Mount Union College Department of Foreign Languages to Add Chinese and Russian Classes in Fall of 2005
Published: 05/31/2005 04:25 pm
Chinese and Russian language courses will be taught at Mount Union College during the Fall 2005 and Spring 2006 semesters. Two sections of Chinese and Russian will be offered a semester by Fullbright Scholars. The programs are organized through the Fullbright Commission, which is funded through the U.S. government, so there is no cost to Mount Union.
Dr. Triplett, chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and professor of French, thought the classes would be beneficial to the College and therefore, he has directed the process of implementing this program at Mount Union.
“This will potentially draw new students to Mount Union,” said Triplett. “More Americans need to know foreign languages, especially Chinese. It is almost our duty to make it available.”
About 20 languages were available for the college to choose from, but most of the languages related to international security and were relatively obscure.
“Arabic was one of the languages offered,” said Triplett, “but students could not be sent to an Arabic speaking area for study abroad.”
Dr. Triplett described that he chose Russian because Mount Union has connections and exchange programs with institutions in Russia. The choice for Chinese language courses was because Asian history courses and a non-western studies major are available.
The program is for one year only, but it can be renewed based on the success and popularity of the classes. Students are encouraged to take the courses, and are reminded that they do count for the foreign language requirement.
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