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"Seal" students: If you have the "Illinois Seal of Biliteracy" from high school and are wondering which class to take, contact: Dr. Christiane Eydt-Beebe (Chair) ckeydt@eiu.edu for placement advice.
French is spoken by over 275 million people, spread across five continents! If you would like to learn more about French-speaking populations and how to communicate with them, this highly interactive, introductory class is perfect for you. We will study the basics of French vocabulary and grammar in culturally appropriate contexts and also lay the foundations of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in French. After Beginning French I, you will be prepared for Beginning French II, which will fulfill your language requirement for graduation.
Have you taken 2-3 years of French in high school or 2 semesters of French in college? Would you like to fulfill your Gen Ed Humanities Requirement while improving your proficiency in French? If so, this highly interactive course is perfect for you! While we will continue to develop vocabulary and to review grammar, the focus of Intermediate French I is to explore diverse francophone cultures in North America, Africa and Europe while you develop your speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. An Honors section (WLF2291) is also available!
Do you enjoy watching movies? Cinema is widely accepted as a window to history and culture. But how do the filmmaker’s choices shape our perceptions of the history and culture that they show us? In this course, students will study cinematic masterpieces and the cultural movements that produced them. Then, students will examine contemporary cinema and identify the phenomena represented in the films and their relevance to francophone culture today.
Did you know German is the most widely spoken language in the EU (percentage of the total number of speakers)? You will acquire basic language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) and learn much about the culture of modern-day Germany and German-speaking countries. Of course, you will learn how to pronounce those long German words too (Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung; Oktoberfestvergnügen)... Fulfill your language requirement by taking WLG 1102 in Spring 2026.
Have you had 2 or 3 years of German in high school or 2 semesters in college? This Intermediate German course is for you. It can also be used towards your Gen Ed Humanities requirement. We will review as well as add on to the German grammar and vocabulary you have already acquired. You will get much practice in the classroom, so your speaking, listening, reading and writing skills will grow. Übung macht den Meister… You will also increase your confidence in working with authentic texts and contexts that reflect the globalized society in modern Germany. Short readings (stories), music and films will be part of this course.
Gain confidence in expressing yourself in speaking and writing! The course is designed to increase your proficiency
in all three communication modes—interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational. You will practice and strengthen
all four skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. As your command of vocabulary and grammar grows, you
will become more proficient in expressing your own thoughts and views on a variety of topics: Was meinst du? Our
emphasis will be on communicative learning—that is, on using the language in interacting with each other in
partner and group activities. This course will also greatly strengthen your knowledge of contemporary German culture and society. You will explore and work with authentic materials, films, and, of course, German music.
Interested in Spanish? Do you want to learn how to speak the second most spoken language in the United States? You will enjoy acquiring basic language skills and learning about the amazing and eclectic culture of the Spanish-speaking world. After Spanish 1101, continue taking Spanish and complete the foreign language graduation requirement by taking WLS 1102.
Do you require a flexible schedule? WLS 1101 online may be for you! We will learn the same speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills as in the face-to-face course, but you can study and complete assignments at times that work best for you. Restriction: First-year students cannot enroll in online language courses.
Have you taken some Spanish in high school? Do you need to fulfill the foreign language requirement for graduation? Take WLS 1102! You will expand your vocabulary and practice speaking, listening, reading and writing in Spanish. You will also continue to learn about the Spanish-speaking cultures and develop your intercultural knowledge and understanding. After WLS 1102, practice and enhance your Spanish by taking Intermediate Spanish I (WLS 2201G) in the spring.
Do you need to fulfill your foreign language graduation requirement but require a flexible schedule? WLS 1102 online may be for you! We will learn the same speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills as in the 1102 face-to- face course, but you can study and complete assignments at times that work best for you. Restriction: First-year students cannot enroll in online language courses.
Open to students from all programs. Equivalent to our regular WLS 1102. It meets the FLG Graduation Requirement.
Have you taken a year of high school Spanish or one semester in college? This course is a second-semester language course designed for students interested in or preparing to enter the health professions or related fields. The course covers basic grammar, and its vocabulary is focused on the human body, its functions and problems. You’ll practice with dialogues, interviews and stories, while also gaining cross-cultural understanding. Note: If you have taken a regular WLS 1102 course and received credit, no additional credit can be given for WLS 1112. Restriction: First-year students cannot enroll in online language courses.
Have you taken 2-3 years of Spanish in high school, or 2 semesters in college? Are you looking for a great class to use towards your Gen Ed Humanities requirement? Also, this class may be perfect for students who received the "Illinois Seal of Biliteracy" and want to continue their language study (ask us for placement advice). You will review grammar points, practice your Spanish in conversation and composition, and broaden your understanding of the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. Honors section available: WLS 2291G Intermediate Spanish I Honors (4 credits)
Have you taken 3-4 years of Spanish in high school, or 3 semesters in college? Are you looking for a great class to use towards your Gen Ed Humanities requirement? Also, this class may be perfect for students who received the "Illinois Seal of Biliteracy" and want to continue their language study (ask us for placement advice). You will review grammar points, practice your Spanish in conversation and composition, and broaden your understanding of the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. Note: Taking this class plus 4 more upper-division WLS courses (12 credits) completes a Spanish minor. Honors section available: WLS 2292G Intermediate Spanish II Honors (4 credits)
Explore Latin American and Spanish culture while fine-tuning your grammar skills. Pedagogy experts agree that task-based activities that teach actual content result in the greatest improvements in proficiency. You will see progress in your speaking and writing skills as well as in your cultural competency. This course serves as solid preparation for advanced literature and culture courses. It is the pre-requisite to all other upper-division classes except for WLS 3050 Pronunciation and Conversation. Pre-requisite: WLS 2202G or 2292G, or equivalent.
Enroll in this course and broaden your understanding of the intricate ways in which identity, race, and gender were constructed in Latin America from the early colonial period to the end of the nineteenth century. You will explore a variety of intriguing texts, including legal documents, poetry, artwork, newspapers, and magazines. Learn how the political and social order was challenged by those who lived in the margins of dominant society. Class will be conducted in Spanish. Prerequisite: WLS 3000. Will also be available as Honors.
Learn about the events that have shaped the social and cultural landscape of Spanish-speaking Latin America. You will be introduced to the history and geography of the area, and explore its ethnic, racial, and linguistic diversity. Prerequisite: WLS 3000 or WLS 3012.
Share your language with elementary school students in our after-school enrichment program—and earn credits. You don’t have to be a teacher licensure student to take this course. Have you studied a language for at least 4 semesters (equivalent of 2202G)? Are you maybe a language minor? This class may be perfect for you. Apply your language skills (choose Spanish or French or German) and teach fourth-grade students in a 7-week after-school enrichment program. The program is directed and supervised by department faculty. Limited to 8 spots in the fall semester. Our host school in fall is Jefferson Elementary School in Charleston. Thursdays 2:30-4:30 pm (7 weeks, from late September to mid-November). Plus weekly preparatory meetings. Days and times of our prep meetings will be determined during our orientation meeting in late August. E-mail Dr. Eydt-Beebe for more information ckeydt@eiu.edu and to get registered.
Gain the knowledge, pedagogical understanding, and skills to be an effective language teacher.
Required for teacher education students (secondary education) seeking licensure in Spanish, French, or German, and teacher education students (with language minors) seeking an endorsement in Spanish, French, or German.
We line up at the taco trucks in Chicago. We flock to the Día de los muertos parades in Texas. We bop to Bad Bunny in New York. At the same time, dominant discourses in the United States associate people and communities in the U.S. with roots in Latin America—Latinx people—with foreign-ness and illegality. Why? For you to answer this question, this ethnic studies course will push you beyond a “food and festivals” understanding of Latinx communities. We will achieve a more nuanced appreciation of Latinx cultures by critiquing common notions of “race” and “multiculturalism,” and by examining cultural products of Latinx resistance in their historical contexts.
We will identify the demands and outcomes of the college students in 1960’s California whose strike against their schools created the field of Latinx Studies. We will explore how a playwright from the Chicanx Civil Rights Movement uncovers pachuco pride to demand justice. We will see how adult children of Central American refugees use poetry to heal themselves and their parents, who came to this country fleeing the traumatic violence aggravated by U.S. intervention in the region’s civil wars. We might even do some cooking before the semester is over.
Coleman Hall, First Floor
217-581-3021
Fax: 217-581-3113
ckeydt@eiu.edu