As a major in the Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures, you will be part of an active, close-knit community of teachers and Languages, Literatures & Cultures students with diverse goals. Because Illinois State is the primary school in Illinois for teacher education, many of your classmates will be preparing to become teachers. Others will be improving their language skills in order to pursue a career overseas or in the US.
Some students will be studying languages simply because they enjoy learning about other languages and cultures. Others will be studying Languages, Literatures & Cultures as part of their preparation for graduate study. The presence of an associated master's program offers undergraduates access to a much broader array of advanced courses in culture, linguistics, literature and pedagogy, even if students do not plan to pursue the MA.
In the Illinois State Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures, you will never run out of interesting and challenging coursework in the language you have chosen, whether you are on campus or participating in one of our study abroad programs in France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and Spain.
You can expect small classes at every level--generally fewer than 20 students. Every day you will be able to interact with an exceptional international faculty and staff, drawn from Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Africa. Our faculty includes specialists in Classics, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. Of our 25 professors, 7 have been recognized with college or university research awards, and 5 are distinguished college teachers--a higher proportion than in any other department at ISU.
The Languages, Literatures & Cultures community on campus extends outside the classroom to a language center in the residence halls. In a language center students can choose to live and speak a Languages, Literatures & Cultures with other language students. There are also language clubs that sponsor free tutoring and conversation tables at lunch and dinner, student societies that screen and discuss foreign films, and sometimes even salsa dance classes.
In addition, many students form their own study groups in order to better prepare their language, culture, and literature classes. All of our co-curricular activities contribute to a strong sense of community among faculty and language students. Even years later, our alumni report that they still keep in touch with the friends that they made in the language programs at Illinois State. In choosing to study the Illinois State Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures, you can enjoy the small classes, close faculty-student interaction, and strong sense of community traditionally associated with small liberal arts colleges without giving up the range of choices that come with a larger university.
