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Program Overview
The Languages Department welcomes students of many interests into our major and minor programs. Students find that their language major adds a new dimension to their academic studies in Art History, Business, Chemistry, English, History, International Relations, Music, Oxbridge Institutions and Policy and Oxbridge Literature and Theory, Psychology and Theater, for example. Others choose to couple their language with programs that have specific career applications, such as Education, International Business and Non-profit Leadership. Through study abroad, service learning, and class-related experiences, Jewell language majors have opportunity to develop communication skills, increase their cultural awareness, and achieve academic excellence that will help foster success in their various career paths, graduate school programs and fields of service.
To see more of the Jewell Languages Department, visit our blog or see our course listings.
Mission
The mission of the Language Department of William Jewell College is to:
- Offer languages representing the peoples, cultures and literatures of the Western World: French, Greek, Latin, and Spanish.
- Offer languages key to an understanding of the present world beyond the West: Arabic and Japanese.
- Develop in our students the expertise of our discipline: cultural literacy, language competencies and cross-cultural experiential skills.
- Establish levels of achievement represented by majors and minors for each langauge.
- Recognize student achievement by nomination to and induction into Phi Sigma Iota.
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Choosing a Language
All languages offer valuable reasons for study. They enhance communication skills and they open doors to the cultures of the world.
For some students, choosing a language is easy. You may choose a language because you are already familiar with it, because its culture has always fascinated you, or because of your family’s origins or connections with friends you have made in travel or study abroad.
However, if you are unsure of which language to study at William Jewell College, you might consider a language that enhances your interests or facilitates your career goals.
 The document “Choosing a Language at WJC” contains some important connections between languages and areas of study at Jewell. |
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Department Recital
All students enrolled in 300 and 400 level language courses perform at the Languages Department Recital.
Held at the end of every semester, students prepare and perform presentations that reflect their learning and language skills. Ranges of performance include original poetry recitals and story telling, research into authors and literary works, cultural and historical topics, puppet shows, music, skits, dramatic monologs and plays.
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Language Assistants
The Languages Department welcomes every year a French assistant from the Université de Paris or the Université de Nantes and a Spanish assistant from the Universidad de Córdoba.
These native speakers lead conversation hours and conduct lab sessions for language students to help them practice language skills and review class material. They also work in the language lab to offer homework help and other support to our students. Since they live in the residence halls, they offer our students opportunities to learn about French and Spanish culture and to interact informally in their language.
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Phi Sigma Iota
The Language Department hosts a chapter of Phi Sigma Iota, the international foreign language honor society. Our induction ceremony takes place during Family Weekend after Colloquium and Honors Convocation.
To be eligible, students must be juniors or seniors, enrolled in a language major or minor, have completed at least one course at the 300 level and have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and rank in the top 35% of their class. At the ceremony, inductees receive a certificate, membership card, gold pin and cords for graduation. Our inductees speak about their experiences in language learning and the place their language has in the career and academic goals.
The chapter sponsors language-related events on campus that all interested language students may attend. For more information about the Phi Sigma Iota, visit its website at www.phisigmaiota.org.
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Alumni Stars
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| Andrew hiking in the Alpujarras of South Spain during the fall. |
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Andrew Wingfield ’07
Majors: International Relations, French, Spanish
My studies of Spanish and French at William Jewell College--combined with a major in international relations--have quite literally opened the world to me and have set me on the path of a rewarding, international career. When I was a junior at Jewell, I spent both semesters studying abroad, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Nantes, France, in order to improve my foreign language proficiency and expand my world view. Through these immersion experiences and travel opportunities within South America and Europe, I returned to the States forever changed and eager to see more of the world. As such, I pledged to seek out overseas opportunities that would allow me to continue speaking Spanish and French in an immersion setting, in addition to providing me the chance to live abroad again.
The summer after I graduated from Jewell, I began working as a summer staff member for VISIONS Service Adventures, an overseas community service organization for teenagers. Through VISIONS I have spent the past three summers living and working in the British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, and Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. I would not have been able to work in Guadeloupe or Ecuador without a high level of proficiency in French and Spanish and therefore would have missed out on those incredible experiences. Additionally, I spent the academic year after I left Jewell teaching English in Seville, Spain, and returned to the States wondering how I could apply my international experience and foreign language study toward creating a life-long career in a related field.
As a result of my search, I am now a Master's student, studying international education policy and management at Vanderbilt University. After completing my graduate work, I hope to begin a career working within the field of international education, fostering cross-cultural education opportunities on a global scale and emphasizing foreign language learning.
My foreign language background set me on this unique path, and I am excited to see what the future holds. I am extremely grateful for the experiences I had at Jewell, including the quality of foreign language instruction, the opportunity to study on two continents, and the level of interest and investment the foreign language faculty made in helping me hone my language skills and pursue international opportunities. |
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| Laura’s first taste of escargots. |
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Laura Fountain '10
Majors: Chemistry and French
I am fairly certain that had I decided to go to some other, larger school rather than Jewell, I would not be where I am today.
In May 2010, I graduated with double majors in Chemistry and French and I know that what I learned in both disciplines will be applicable later in my life. I always knew I would major in a science. I’ve loved it since before I can remember. But I wasn’t always so set in stone about my love for French and other foreign languages. In fact, had I not come to a school where it is required for the core curriculum, I may not have continued my studies past high school. And even then, I wasn’t sure about French, and switched to a different language, Latin, to fulfill my requirement for graduation. During this time I came to realize how much I missed and appreciated French.
I also came to discover, that while I wanted to be a doctor, knowing a foreign language would be very helpful when it came to doing the relief work I plan on pursuing after medical school. I am positive that in a bigger school I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to explore my fascination with language and made the realization that it was something I wanted to follow through on. Jewell gave me marvelous opportunities, such as studying abroad for a semester, which is something that not most science majors get the opportunity to do. At this point in my life I’m not exactly sure where my studies will take me, but I’m thrilled that I’ve had the opportunity to figure out what I love and study it.
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| Justina enjoying a summer in Québec. |
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Justina Edgar ’10
Majors: Elementary Education and French
As a Jewell student, I spent five weeks studying in the Intensive French Language Course at the Université Laval in Québec, Canada, after being generously awarded the funds by the Hall Family Foundation Summer Academic Enrichment Program. My studies would not have been possible without their financial support and I am thankful that I attended an institution that gives its students such wonderful resources to take what they have learned on the Jewell campus and apply it in real-world contexts.
I left the United States without realizing all of the cultural opportunities that the Quebecois would have to offer. Since Québec is usually snow-covered and cold, the Quebecois take advantage of the warm summer weather by taking to the streets and offering many outdoors events such as free Cirque du Soleil performances and summer music festivals. Other activities included visiting the tallest waterfall in North America, hiking trails and mountains, floating down the St. Lawrence River and feasting at a maple syrup cabin. During the week, I enjoyed watching films, cooking traditional Quebecois and exploring the cobble-stoned streets of Vieux-Quebec. These activities immersed me in a Francophone environment, giving me opportunities to use French 100 percent of the time and as my primary means of communication.
After such an amazing experience, I applied to several programs that would allow me to teach English in French-speaking countries. French is no longer just a hobby or a series of classes required to graduate—French is a valuable skill and passion that I will continue to develop and use throughout my entire career.
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Senior Stars
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| Rebecca on an IES field trip to a shrine in Nagano. |
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Rebecca Killam ’10
Major: International Business and Japanese
I started studying Japanese because I wanted a language I could get help with and as it just so happens, my mom was one of the first to people to go to Japan from Jewell the very first year that became an option for Jewell students. Once the mandatory three years of a language were under my belt, I studied Japanese not only to share something with my mom, but because it was useful for business. When I looked for colleges with Japanese programs I found many schools to be lacking and only Jewell allowed me to combine my passions into a self-designed International Business and Japanese major. I got to study abroad in Tokyo and learn that when my mom and I fought over whose grammar was correct, we technically both were, we were just speaking different dialects. It made for some interesting Skype conversations while I was over there. My immediate plan now is to go through the JET Program and teach English, eventually working my way up the ranks to be the International Marketing director of an American company in Asia, or maybe even find a job and move over there. Either way, I have met people in different countries that share my love of the language and culture, something you can't always find staying in the US.
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Nate Chastain '11
Majors: Business Administration, Spanish, ACT-In
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| Nate with his young friends in Honduras. |
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My passion for Spanish and its culture has given me the chance to improve my conversational skills through William Jewell and has literally catapulted me into incredible experiences and future opportunities.
With graduation right around the corner, I can't say that I can be more prepared. Throughout my college career I have taken advantage of the great offers of cultural experience with William Jewell. The Spanish Department has given me a solid foundation to work with, and I've connected classroom learning with real-world experiences. Whether it was working on micro-loans in Croc, Mexico, crying at a soccer game while abroad in Madrid, Spain, for a semester, or venturing down to Honduras for a service-learning project, Jewell has equipped me with experiences of multiple lifetimes.
Recently, I traveled down to La Ceiba, Honduras, to help a village that is partnered with Jewell. The college had already been developing the community of Embarcadero by constructing latrines for cleaner water, building stoves for better health and more convenience, and now to develop a variety store for the village and its surrounding communities. It was truly a prime example of being out of my comfort zone, as I was the only fluent Spanish-speaker. I was fortunate enough to talk with village elders, children, parents, college faculty and students, and more. The entire trip is worth far more than I can record in a blog, but extremely valuable to me and crucial for my own growth in the language. Because of experiences like this, I have committed myself to the hispanic culture here in Kansas City and will use the skills developed at Jewell for others.
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Faculty
Susan Myers, Ph.D.
Professor of French, Chair
Dr. Myers earned her Ph.D. from Indiana University.
John Westlie, Ph.D.
Professor of French
Dr. Westlie holds a Ph.D. from Yale University.
Jane Woodruff, Ph.D.
Professor of Greek, Latin and Ancient history
Dr. Woodruff received her Ph.D. in Ancient History and Classics from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
Jennifer Colón, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Spanish
Dr. Colón earned her Ph.D. from Florida State University.
Ai Namima, Instructor of Japanese
Rima Jawhari, Instructor of Arabic
Miguel Peãranda Olmeda, Spanish Assistant
Clémentine Bastin, French Assistant
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