Placement / Credit by Exam
Media Center / Tutoring Center
Language Resources
100 Years of Languages
Advisory Council
WKU Arabic Debate team representing WKU and the US in Qatar
Game of Thrones language creator David J. Peterson delivers the 2017-2018 Paul G. and Ernestine G. Hatcher Lecture on language learning and creation
Area high school students participate in a SWAG (Start with a Goal) event led by Arabic instructor, Lhousseine Guerwane (front row, right).
WKU’s Model Arab League team competed last week in the Ohio Valley Regional conference, where several members were recognized with awards.
Cast members of a Beijing drama performed by students in the Chinese Majors & Minor Program.
Russian instructor, Ekaterina Myakshina, teaching a Russian dance to students participating in Russian Day festivities.
Russian instructor, Ekaterina Myakshina, teaching a Russian dance to students participating in Russian Day festivities.
Ms. Vandermolen took her WKU Glasgow Spanish 102 students on a field trip to La Nacional Latino food market to learn about Hispanic culture. Students tried authentic Mexican and Peruvian snacks.
Russian Doll at the Bowling Green International Festival
A Message from the Department Head
As the academic year 2016-2017 draws to a close and many of us travel, conduct research, lead summer programs, take part in PD, or simply go on vacation, I reflect on the past year. I am struck by the many reasons to feel gratitude. Our students, our colleagues and world languages teachers in K-12 give us many reasons to be thankful. We can be confident that the work we do changes lives.
A student who began learning Russian in our department and chose to continue wrote that “Learning a second language is a mind-opening experience that can benefit everyone.”
A student in a first semester French course said that his instructor “challenges us to think outside our ‘American’ mindset.”
A teacher who took part in the June 2017 professional develop we offered was so glad to have “new and interesting resources that can be used in the upcoming school year.”
Our work as language teachers clearly makes a difference in the world. Won’t you join us as a student in one of our language programs, as a colleague who is committed to helping students develop their proficiency, or as a teacher who regularly updates his or her skills through professional development?
Let us know how the Department of Modern Languages can be a part of your open mind and your new ideas.
Questions about the language requirement?
Download the info sheet.
Click through your options by language.
Read about the Colonnade Program World Language Requirement.
Information Session on the World Language Requirement (March 30, 2016)
Mission statement
Through coursework, experience abroad, and other cultural encounters, the Department of Modern Languages cultivates communicative skills and cultural awareness that prepare students at Western Kentucky University to be more knowledgeable and sensitive citizens of the local, regional, and global communities. The Department's purpose is to deliver high-quality language instruction based on nationally-recognized standards, and to contribute actively to cross-disciplinary international initiatives on campus. Our programs are designed to graduate majors and minors whose language skills provide them with enhanced opportunities for careers at the regional, national, and international levels and/or preparation for advanced study in language, literature, and culture.
Dr. Laura G. McGee
Department Head
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