The primary goal of the Foreign Languages Convening Group at the School of Humanities and Global Studies is to provide you with the skills needed to communicate efficiently and confidently in a second language. Because this overall objective requires more than the mastery of a grammar code, the Convening Group is committed to developing proficiency not only in speaking, reading, writing, and listening, but also in the cultural and socio-linguistic aspects of the language you choose to learn. Through the teaching of these features tied to language learning, we aim to foster the cross-cultural understanding indispensable in today’s global world.

Another of our aims is to give you an edge in today’s competitive job market by instilling a broad-based knowledge of other cultures through language. In our upper-level courses, we promote an in-depth knowledge of the concentration disciplines in consultation and collaboration with faculty in other Schools. Both broad-based and in-depth knowledge are necessary for success in a wide range of careers in business, education, community organizations, law, and government.

All of our students, including heritage speakers, benefit from exposure to the literary, linguistic, and cultural diversity of the countries in which the target language is spoken. This diversity is at the center of our pedagogy. Aware of migration and transnational and postcolonial realities, we also strive to validate both national and heritage cultures in our courses. The study of Latino/a cultures and francophone literature, for example, are integrated into our curriculum in courses that focus separately on these areas, and others that span metropolitan and diasporic experiences.

The Convening Group upholds the international, intercultural, interdisciplinary, and experiential learning missions of Ramapo College.