Welcome to our Department for a new academic
year full of promises.
In today's global economy, mastery of a foreign language means to be able to communicate professionally at the highest level with peers from other countries and also to access information which is not available in English in order to obtain a cutting edge in your profession.
Learning a foreign language is a cross-cultural experience. It broadens the scope of your imagination and offers you a lot of opportunities and prepares you for today's multicultural workplace. Because our department is culturally diverse, we feel that we are well equipped to guide you in that experience.
For those of you who choose to specialize in foreign languages, we invite you to take advantage of all opportunities in order to develop your competence in the language(s) of your choice. If you only had one foreign language, we offer you a great opportunity to become multilingual.
To you, non-specialist students, who are interested in learning a foreign language while completing your degree on campus, I urge you to achieve the highest competence in the language of your choice during the three years at the University. It will be extremely beneficial to your personal development and will also increase your career options.
You will find in this brochure a table borrowed from the European Common Framework of Reference for Foreign Languages. It tells you which level of competence you should attain at the end of each level of our programme. I hope it will help you to set your personal learning objectives as well as telling you what we expect from you.
Our Department believe in student-centeredness: do not hesitate to ask for assistance from our academic and administrative staff. We will do all within our power to smooth out your registration process as well as offer advice for your choice of courses. We also believe in learner's autonomy and responsibility: we are expecting regular attendance at all classes, thoughtful and enthusiastic participation which will create a stimulating environment for collective as well as independent learning.
Once again, I wish you a fulfilling and exciting experience at The UWI.
Marie-José
N'Zengou-Tayo (Dr.), Head of Department
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