I.  Learning Outcomes/Expected Results
    A.  For all programs:
        1. Students will acquire and demonstrate listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills at the
        advanced level of the target language consistent with national standards for foreign language education.
        2. Students will acquire and demonstrate skills necessary to analyze and compare cultures and
        practices of the target area with their own culture.
        3. Students will be able to situate the history of the target culture within a broad historical framework.
        4. Students will demonstrate competence in a second foreign language.
        5. Students will demonstrate familiarity with technologies allowing them to access sources in the
        following areas:  current news from the target country, bibliographical and other sources related
        to coursework, contemporary culture sources, and interactive communication sites.

    B.  For the French major program:
        In addition to A. above
        1. Students will acquire and demonstrate ability to analyze literary texts and other cultural
        artifacts and practices of the French-speaking world.
        2. Students will be familiar with the major writers of France from the Middle Ages through
        the Twentieth Century and with major trends in its literature and culture.
        3. Students will be familiar with selected francophone writers and major trends in
        francophone literature and culture.

    C.  For the French with certification program:
         In addition to A. and B. above
        1.  Pre-service teachers  will demonstrate competence in the identification and use of teaching
        strategies that lead their students to higher levels of linguistic ability and content knowledge.

    D.  For the Spanish major program:
         In addition to A. above
        1. Students will acquire and demonstrate ability to analyze literary texts and other cultural
        artifacts and practices of Latin America and Spain.
        2. Students will be familiar with the major writers of Spain and Latin America and with major
        trends in their literature and culture.

    E.  For the Spanish with certification program:
         In addition to A. and D. above
        1.  Pre-service teachers  will demonstrate competence in the identification and use of teaching
        strategies that lead their students to higher levels of linguistic ability and content knowledge.

II.  Assessment Methods/Procedures
    A. Course work and testing address all aspects of the learning outcomes and mission statements:
        1.  The Department has completed a standardization of the syllabi for levels 1001 through 2002
        to indicate the National Standards For Foreign Language Learning attained at each level.
        Instruction and testing includes all areas of the appropriate standard.  Each course requires
        oral/aural testing as well as written.
        2.  Completion of the required 1001-2002, 3101, 3102 and 4170 courses in French and
        Spanish guarantee that students have achieved advanced level fluency in the French or Spanish
        language.
        3.  Required courses FREN 4310 or 4320 and Span 4012 or 4013 guarantee that students have achieved
        skills necessary to compare cultural practices of the target area with their own.
        4.  Required courses HIST 1111 and 1112 guarantee that students are able to situate the history
        of the target culture within a broad historical framework.
        5.  Required acquisition of skills at the 2001 level in a second foreign language guarantees the
        second language competence.
        6.  The senior capstone course 4484 requires students to show familiarity with technology and
        current events from the target area.
        7.  Literature and culture electives train students to analyze literary texts and cultural
        artifacts/practices of the target area.
        8.  FREN 3210/3220 and Spanish 3210 and 3220 test major writers and trends within the target area.
        9.  FREN 4310 or 4320 and SPAN 4012 and 4013 require familiarity with target culture and civilizations.
        10.  ENG 2300 introduces the main approaches to literary criticism and provides an assessment
        tool for analytical tools.

    B. External review: students in the French and Spanish with certification program are required
    to take the Praxis II. Examination in the target language/culture.  We have had a 100% pass rate
    in 1999/2000, 2000/2001 and 2001/2002.

    C. The Department conducts an annual assessment of paper submissions to the annual Modern
    Languages Association Conference (MLA) meeting and the MLA Job Listings (JIL) to determine
    current trends within the discipline and current job offerings in the field.

    D. A senior capstone course in French and Spanish major requirements is at least 51% on-line and
    requires the submission of an electronic portfolio and a web page demonstrating linguistic and
    cultural knowledge.  In addition students are required to pass an oral proficiency interview.

    E. The teaching certification program in French and Spanish, due to its collaborative nature with
    the College of Education, submits an annual report to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.
    This report addresses weaknesses identified by the PSC in such areas as curriculum and assessment.

    F. The Department’s teaching certification programs in French and Spanish are also subject to review
    by NCATE.  This review process is closely tied to the PSC process and addresses the same areas.
 

III.  Assessment Results and Their Use

    A. During the spring faculty meeting the faculty in a committee of the whole discuss curricular
    changes necessary to realize the learning outcomes.  These discussions lead to changes such as
    those listed below and are reflected in the department minutes.

    B. Students taking the Praxis II. Exam asked for a comprehensive literature survey course.
    The course was added in 2002.  Faculty enrolled in the Praxis workshop confirmed the need
    to provide additional coverage  of French culture through a two-semester survey course.
    The course was added to the curriculum and to major requirements effective 2002.

    C. As part of increasing student language competencies [I.A.1] and cultural competency through
    experiential learning consistent with the University’s Visionary Statement [I.A.2], the Department
    assesses the participation in its study abroad activities.
        1.  The Department has successfully changed the percentage of students from the Department
        (and the University in general) in its study abroad programs.  Over half the participants in the
        French and Mexican programs are now local.
        2.  In addition the Department assesses the numbers of participants in the XIDS study abroad
        courses.  The latter were recently instituted to increase international exposure for the Department
        and the University.  Every year between fifteen and thirty students participated in the Cuban
        travel/ study program.  A similar course in the francophonic Caribbean was added in the spring
        of 2002 with ten students involved in the actual travel part of the course.  A
        third course is planned to include North Africa.  These efforts are a direct result of discussions with
        the International Advisory Committee and the Department about broadening participation of majors
        and potential majors in foreign study by offering shorter, less expensive stays.  The discussions within
        the French section called for an increase in francophonic experiential learning [I.B.3]

    D. In 1995 and 2000 the curriculum was modified in response to perceived weaknesses in the areas
    of history/culture [I.A.3, I.B.2], critical analyses [I.B.1/I.D.1] and second foreign language competence:
        a. The French and Spanish major programs require both semesters of World History/Civilization
        HIST 1111/HIST 1112.  This change is reflected in the current catalog.
        b. The French and Spanish major programs require a course in practical criticism research and
        methodology ENG 2300.  This change is reflected in the current catalog.
        c. The French program was modified as follows: the one-semester literature survey was eliminated
        and replaced by a two-semester designed to cover French literature from the Middle Ages to the
        present.  These changes are reflected in the 2002 catalog.
        d. The French and Spanish major requirements were amended in 1995 to include 3 semesters of
        a second foreign language.

    E.  In 1999 a senior capstone course was added to the French and Spanish major requirements.
    The course is at least 51% on-line and requires the submission of an electronic portfolio and a web
    page demonstrating linguistic and cultural knowledge.  In addition students will be required to pass
    an oral proficiency interview.

    F. Based on faculty attendance at the national Modern Languages   Association Conference (MLA)
    and a scrutiny of the MLA Job Listings (JIL), the Department recognized an increasing focus within
    the discipline on Latin American and non-continental Francophonic cultures.  In consequence of this
    the Department developed an interdisciplinary Latin American Certificate Program (participation in
    a University System of Georgia Latin American Certificate Program) and added a tenure-track faculty
    line in non-continental Francophonic studies.  The new French line was filled in fall of 2001.

    G. As a result of PSC and NCATE reviews, the teaching internship’s field experience evaluation form
    has been revised to better reflect current research in applied linguistics and pedagogy.

    H. All syllabi for courses that certification students take have been revised to reflect the National
    Standards for Foreign Language Learning which form the basis for the Georgia Quality Core
    Curriculum (QCC).  The QCC is an outline of the fundamental competencies in foreign language
    that public school teachers must be able to teach their students.  By identifying these standards
    on our syllabi, we ensure that our students acquire the core knowledge they will need to teach
    their own students.

    I. The syllabi for the methods courses in the department have been revised to reflect the
    requirements of the QCC, the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning, the Board
    of Regents, PSC, and NCATE.