Studying Languages at Clark
Although there is no language requirement at Clark, every student is expected to take at least one course that deals with the interrelation between language and culture. This is called the Language and Culture Perspective, or “LP” for short.
Learn More about Language Requirements and Placement
Languages Offered
Our department offers instruction in these languages for students across the University, whether or not they are majoring or minoring in language, literature, and culture:
- American Sign Language (ASL)
- Arabic
- Chinese
- French
- German
- Greek
- Hebrew
- Japanese
- Latin
- Spanish
Students also have the option of studying other languages at colleges in the Worcester area through the Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts.
Courses Offered
In addition to course in French and Spanish, we offer courses in a number of other languages:
American Sign Language (ASL)
- ASL 1010: American Sign Language I
- ASL 1020: Beginning American Sign Language II
- ASL 1030: Beginning American Sign Language III
- ASL 1040: American Sign Language IV
Arabic
- ARAB 101: Elementary Arabic I
- ARAB 102: Elementary Arabic II
- ARAB 105: Introduction to Arabic Culture
Chinese
- CHIN 101: Elementary Chinese I
- CHIN 102: Elementary Chinese II
- CHIN 103: Intermediate Chinese I
- CHIN 104: Intermediate Chinese II
German
We offer courses in beginning and intermediate German (101-104), plus English language courses on German literature and culture. In addition, there are courses in German studies offered through Clark’s departments of Philosophy, History, Music, Economics, Political Science, and Psychology, as well as the programs in Comparative Literature and Holocaust and Genocide Studies. In many of these courses, faculty will work with students who want to develop their abilities to read materials in the original German.
Students may also take additional German courses at other colleges in the Worcester Consortium for Higher Education.
Students may study abroad at the University of Trier as well as the Free University of Berlin. Besides the German studies concentration, students may elect German as their primary language within the context of the comparative literature major.
Greek
We offer directed study in Greek.
Hebrew
Every semester, three Hebrew courses are taught at three different levels. Modern conversational Hebrew is taught in all levels along with reading and writing skills. In each course, Israeli literature is examined through short stories, newspaper articles, poems and songs. Jewish and Israeli culture is the main focus for teaching.
Our classes hold video conferences with students in Haifa University in Israel. Video conferencing enables students in both countries to share lectures and their opinions on the same different topics.
Students studying Hebrew might also be interested in the Jewish Studies concentration.
Japanese
Every year, we offer Beginning Japanese (101 in the fall, 102 in the spring) and Intermediate Japanese (103 in the fall and 104 in the spring). Students who wish to continue Japanese language study are urged to participate in Clark’s Study Abroad Program in Japan at Kansai Gaidai. In addition, Japanese 296, Advanced Topics, is available to students as a directed reading course.
Four courses in Japanese literature and culture give students a chance to explore literature in a cultural context:
- Japanese 110: Japanese Popular Culture: Narratives of National Identity
- Japanese 190: Japanese Women Writers
- Japanese 275: The Japanese Warrior Tradition
- Japanese 280: Memory and National Identity in Post-war Japanese Fiction and Film
For these courses, all the readings are in English (though students may elect to do some/all of the readings in Japanese), and no knowledge of Japanese language or history is expected or assumed.
Check the academic catalog to see which Japanese courses count toward majors or minors in Asian Studies, comparative literature, and the women’s and gender studies.
Latin
We offer these courses in Latin:
- LAT 101: Introductory Latin I
- LAT 102: Introductory Latin II
- LAT 103: Intermediate Latin