The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures plays a key role in educating students by developing the intellectual, creative, and personal skills necessary to participate in and contribute to the world as productive and enlightened individuals. It strives to achieve these goals by offering educational experiences that address the following areas:
Intellectual Growth
Creative Growth
- Stimulating the intellectual curiosity of students
- Studying the literary works of the Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish languages
- Providing a supportive and nurturing environment to learn and perfect linguistic skills in various languages
- Encouraging the application of language skills to such fields as teaching, international business, local and state governments employment, diplomatic service, translation, advanced graduate studies, and related professions
Personal Growth
- Providing opportunities to develop constructive attitudes in interpersonal relations and to demonstrate personal growth
- Creating opportunities to strengthen connections with surrounding communities
- Providing the guidance needed to strengthen both spoken and written communication skills
- Offering the possibility of living and studying in other countries
Mission statement
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures supports and expands in specific ways the mission of the College of Arts and Letters, which—in accordance with the mission statement of the University -- is to develop in all students “an appreciation of the variety of artistic and humanistic traditions that make up the world community, prepare students in our programs for professional success, and provide an intellectual, philosophical, and cultural foundation for personal development and effective participation in a democratic society.”
Communication is perhaps the most basic of human activities. As social beings, language is at the core of our need to process, understand, and transmit information and emotions, to function harmoniously in society, and to bond with others. In recent decades, technological advances and demographic shifts have brought about profound changes throughout the world, and especially in the United States. Peoples of diverse cultural, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds now interact more frequently and on increasing levels of intimacy. In this context, we believe that the study of languages other than English, besides its traditional role of enriching a person’s life and contributing to a greater understanding of the individual’s place in the human family, can and should contribute to the fostering of harmony among peoples. The faculty of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures therefore believes that the study of languages other than English occupies a paramount place in the educational process.
We consider that the mission of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Cal State L.A. is to offer excellent and innovative educational opportunities to an urban student population that reflects the diversity of the Los Angeles basin. Our goal is to offer every student the opportunity to learn a language in addition to their primary language, and we offer courses in a variety of languages from the beginning to advanced levels. Our first- and second-year courses are all part of the University’s General Education program, which demonstrates the University’s support for the cultural benefits of studying another language. As part of one of the most diverse universities in the United States, our department benefits from the rich cultural and linguistic backgrounds of our students, and provides an ideal milieu for the discussion of cultural values. Our students' knowledge of modern languages and cultures makes this University more inclusive, diverse, and internationally oriented.
Our goal is also to cultivate and develop global and critical thinking through our upper-division courses, and prepare our majors for advanced studies or workforce in bilingual settings. Our B.A. programs in Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish provide balanced course offerings in language, literature, linguistics, and culture. By so doing, these programs allow all our majors the opportunity to gain a solid understanding of the nature of language and its intimate relationship with culture, as well as to achieve a high level of linguistic proficiency necessary for advanced studies or job opportunities using the target language.