Oklahoma State University System

Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures Area

This is the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures Area Plan. Additionally, a PDF version of the plan is available. A link to the Adobe Acrobat Reader has been provided in case you are not able to open the PDF documents.

Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures Plan (PDF Version)

OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY – STILLWATER
DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES

Mission

The Department offers skills courses for language proficiency, literature and culture courses, and literature in translation courses; offers the minor in five modern and two ancient languages, and the major in four of them; cooperates in various programs with the College of Education and the School of International Studies, and provides resources to the broader community. Our faculty also pursue research interests in the areas of literature and linguistics, which provides personal enrichment and can enhance the quality of teaching.

Vision

The Department will:

Continue offering a rigorous and effective undergraduate program;
Offer a greater range of upper-division courses;
Offer additional languages;
Expand our literature in translation offerings;
Establish an Ancient and Medieval Studies major;
Strengthen area studies certificate programs ; and
Develop study abroad/ work abroad programs, or join forces with programs offered elsewhere.

Core Values

Excellence - We seek to achieve effective high-quality teaching, outstanding research and scholarly activity.

Intellectual Freedom - We believe in ethical and scholarly questioning in an environment that respects the rights of all to freely pursue knowledge.

Integrity - We are committed to the principles of truth and honesty, and to upholding the highest professional standards.

Service - We believe that serving the university and the community at large is a noble and worthy endeavor.

Diversity - We respect others and value diversity of opinion, freedom of expression, and other ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Stewardship of Resources - We accept the responsibility of the public’s trust and are accountable for our actions.

Goals, Critical Success Factors, Objectives, and Strategies

Goal 1: Academic Excellence: Provide a rigorous program in all the languages we offer.

Critical Success Factors:

Students who stop after completing their language requirement have a solid foundation.
Our majors meet a high level of language proficiency.
Students get a serious exposure to the literature and culture of the countries where the language is spoken.
We offer, or arrange for students to take by other means, a greater number of languages.

Objectives:

Objective 1.1: Rethink our curriculum, both in terms of course content and format.
Strategies:

Have each language section meet to review its course offerings and make recommendations as to which courses should be created, modified, or dropped. These recommendations will be presented to the whole department.

Objective 1.2: Try to reduce class sizes, especially in courses that emphasize oral work, from 30 to 20-25, in accord with MLA recommendations.
Strategies:

Formulate a proposal indicating how many additional instructors we would need in each language to achieve class size reduction, starting in upper-division skills courses.

Objective 1.3: Develop a student survey in which graduating majors are asked which courses and assignments they found especially beneficial, thus assessing program quality and student satisfaction.
Strategies:

Have the section advisors and departmental advisor meet to develop the survey.

Objective 1.4: Institute an exit exam for majors in their final semester of course work, to assess how well the department has helped them develop their speaking and listening skills.
Strategies:

Establish a committee in each language section to develop an appropriate exam format, and submit a proposal to the Dean for approval.

Objective 1.5: Find ways to help teacher education students prepare for the new and more stringent certification standards.
Strategies:

See 1.4 above.

Objective 1.6: Work with the Colleges that have language requirements for undergraduate programs to strengthen them, either increasing the number of courses or else requiring a proficiency test.
Strategies:

Consult with other departments and with other colleges to determine what their needs are and what is practical.

Objective 1.7: Work with departments that require language exams as part of their doctoral programs to help prepare their students better, and reestablish graduate reading courses if there is sufficient interest.
Strategies:

Meet with graduate advisors in those department to determine what their needs are and what is practical.

Objective 1.8: Try to ensure that key languages that the department cannot offer are available to students through Extension or through long-distance study.
Strategies:

Meet with the representatives of Extension and Correspondence Study to assess student need and determine what opportunities are available.

Objective 1.9: Reduce reliance on adjunct faculty and convert some of those positions to tenure-track; these could be joint appointments in two languages or two departments.
Strategies:

Formulate proposals that indicate how many new positions would be needed.

Objective 1.10: Reestablish an elementary Italian program if there is sufficient interest.
Strategies:

Meet with faculty members involved in the Ca'Tron project to determine student need.

Objective 1.11: Strengthen Japanese by converting the position to tenure-track, or else consider eliminating the program entirely.
Strategies:

Establish a committee to review the strengths and weaknesses of our program, compare it with the Japanese programs at other schools, and make a recommendation to the department.

Goal 2: Support study abroad and interdisciplinary programs.

Critical Success Factors:

A higher percentage of our students participate in study and work abroad programs.
We offer a wider array of interdisciplinary programs.

Objectives:

Objective 2.1: Increase availability of study abroad and work abroad experiences, which can promote cultural enrichment and economic development, and encourage more of our majors and minors to participate in such programs.
Strategies:

See 2.2 below.

Objective 2.2: Strengthen OSU’s links to such programs elsewhere and develop some of our own.
Strategies:

Work with the Extension and Study Abroad offices to implement our participation in study abroad programs in Mexico and Spain.

Objective 2.3: Strengthen existing area studies minor programs and encourage more of our majors and minors to participate in them.
Strategies:

Have our departmental advisor work with the coordinators of these programs.

Objective 2.4: Establish a new area minor program in German Studies.
Strategies:

Have the German section submit a proposal to the Dean.

Objective 2.5: Establish an interdisciplinary Ancient and Medieval Studies major, which would require at least one new position in Arabic or Biblical Hebrew.
Strategies:

Submit a formal proposal to the Dean.

Objective 2.6: Explore the possibility of adding Foreign Language course work within the American Studies degree program, especially in fields such Latin American, Caribbean and Chicano literature and culture.
Strategies:

Meet with the head of the American Studies program.

Objective 2.7: Work with the School of International Studies to add Foreign Language course work within their graduate degree programs.
Strategies:

Meet with the graduate director of SIS.

Goal 3: Academic Excellence: Provide an enhanced environment for scholarly activity.

Critical Success Factors:

We succeed in hiring talented and diverse teacher-scholars in tenure-track positions.
We retain, promote, and reward outstanding faculty members.
We help faculty develop as teachers and as scholars.

Objectives:

Objective 3.1: Develop an effective program for mentoring junior faculty members, helping to reduce the numbers of people denied tenure or promotion.
Strategies:

Contact heads of other departments that already have such a program; then convene section advisors to determine what methods would work best for us.

Objective 3.2: Enhance opportunities for research for both junior and senior faculty.
Strategies:

Work with Dean's Office to find ways to make sabbaticals more financially feasible.

Objective 3.3: Establish a departmental colloquium at which faculty members will be able to present their current research projects to colleagues and students.
Strategies:

Have faculty vote on how to implement this.

Objective 3.4: Encourage faculty to participate in state, regional, national and international professional organizations, both disciplinary and pedagogical (including the OFLTA).
Strategies:

Establish a committee to explore additional sources of funding for conference participation.

Objective 3.5: Give faculty the opportunity to train in Blackboard and other new emerging multi media technologies.
Strategies:

Establish a committee to assess faculty needs and find out what training is available.

Objective 3.6: Request a review of the policy forbidding the cancellation of classes for faculty who attend conferences.
Strategies:

Establish a committee to draft a proposal for sumbission to the Dean.

Objective 3.7: Convert the tenured Instructor position to a PhD line when the current occupant retires, to improve faculty quality and accommodate the increasing number of Spanish majors.
Strategies:

Ask the Dean to propose an early retirement incentive for the instructor in question.

Goal 4: Foster diversity in our programs and among faculty and students.

Critical Success Factors:

We promote student involvement with other languages and cultures.
We hire and keep a diverse faculty.

Objectives:

Objective 4.1: Support language and cultural clubs that allow students to gain greater familiarity with other cultures and interact with international students.
Strategies:

Continue present policy.

Objective 4.2: Continue to hire faculty from a wide variety of backgrounds and countries, with a minimum of one native speaker for each major language section.
Strategies:

Continue present policy.

Objective 4.3: Continue to offer courses that focus on the literature and culture of other countries and continents (Europe, Asia and Africa), as well as non-English-speaking regions of the American hemisphere.
Strategies:

Continue present policy.

Objective 4.4: Encourage faculty to make themselves available as needed to assist international students and the Stillwater community with translating and interpreting services.
Strategies:

Continue present policy.