World Languages

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World Languages

Department of World Languages

In order to play a meaningful role in world discourse, in order to protect our national security, and in order to compete with our international counterparts in every field imaginable, the knowledge of world languages is now a fundamental and indispensable part of every student's education. Our students gain language proficiency and cultural competence in the languages listed below. Please visit the course description pages for each language for details regarding the frequency of course offerings by course level.

  • American Sign Language (ASL)
  • Arabic
  • Chinese
  • French
  • German
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Latin
  • Quechua
  • Russian
  • Spanish

Language Placement Testing and Authorization for Credit by Exam:

If you have existing proficiency in any of our languages, you are welcome to participate in a placement test or placement interview. For Spanish, students take the STAMP 4S exam ($19.90 fee -- contact Esther Mas, Spanish Placement Coordinator, at mas@rowan.edu and click here for more details). For all other languages, students may participate in a free placement interview with a faculty member in the Department of World Languages (contact Dr. Marilyn Manley, Chairperson, at manley@rowan.edu for more information). For example, students who have studied a world language previously or have learned a world language with family members may be interested in skipping lower-level courses. Students then have the option to purchase the credits for skipped courses through the Authorization for Credit by Exam process, and these credits are accepted in fulfillment of program requirements at Rowan ($105 fee to purchase 3 credits, $135 for 6 credits, $165 for 9 credits, and $195 for 12 credits).

New Jersey State Seal of Biliteracy

The Department of World Languages awards full-time Rowan students 6 credits for the New Jersey State Seal of Biliteracy, corresponding to the first two semesters of language study. These credits are awarded for all languages, regardless of whether they are currently offered at Rowan. These credits can be used to fulfill Rowan’s Global Literacy requirement. Additionally, these credits can be used in partial fulfillment of the requirements for major, minor, and CUGS programs, or as free electives. Interested students must send a digital copy of their official New Jersey State Seal of Biliteracy certificate to the Department Chairperson, Dr. Marilyn S. Manley (manley@rowan.edu).

Find out more about some of our languages below...

Arabic

Did you know that Arabic is the fourth most widely spoken language today after English, Spanish and Chinese? It is spoken in more than 22 countries by over 432 million people worldwide. It is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Arabic is a Semitic language with an alphabet consisting of 28 letters, including three vowels. It is written from right to left in cursive. It is a very rich language that has influenced a great number of other languages.

French

French is a world language with more than 300 million people speakers on five continents. French is the second most widely learned foreign language after English, and the fifth most widely spoken language in the world. French is also the only language, alongside English, that is taught in every country in the world. France operates an international network of cultural institutes with French-language courses for close to a million learners. Learning French is extremely enriching and there are many compelling reasons to choose it.

German

Did you know that German is the most widely spoken language in Europe? German is the official language of Germany, Austria, and Lichtenstein. It is also the native language of a significant portion of the population in northern Italy, eastern Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, eastern France, parts of Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Romania. German belongs to the West Germanic group of the Indo-European language family and is closely connected to English. Learning German can connect you to over 150 million speakers around the globe!

Italian

Italian

Did you know that Italian is the fourth most studied foreign language in the U.S? Join this community! Whether you are from Italian heritage and you would like to connect with the language of your ancestors, or whether you come from a different background but you love Italian culture, our program is the perfect place for you to explore Italian culture. Turn this passion into a competence for your future career.

Japanese

Is the Japanese language too difficult to learn? If you begin with one of our Japanese courses, you will soon answer “No” to this question. Japanese is ranked as the 6th most studied language in the world, and it is currently being taught in 142 different countries.  In the United States, 1446 different

Spanish

Worldwide, Spanish is spoken by over 400 million Spanish speakers, and that number increases drastically if we include those who speak Spanish as a second language. In the United States, Spanish is the second most spoken language. Learning Spanish will open new doors for you, allowing you to discover a world of infinite opportunities.