University of Virginia Library

Teaching Languages

At the present time there does
not exist any program by which a
foreign language major in the
College can, upon graduation from
the University of Virginia, qualify
for certification as a secondary
school teacher.

The School of Education has
not instituted any plans for the
immediate amelioration of the
situation. The Department of
Romance Language in the College
has been negotiating intermittently
over the past year with the
Education School in an attempt to
set up a feasible program for
foreign language majors interested
in a teaching career.

One such program would entail
both the introduction into the
curriculum of a methods of
instruction course concerned with
the teaching of foreign languages
and a program of supervised
student teaching. Also, the student
would take other education courses
such as Education 9 and 10 which
are required for certification. In my
opinion, this seems like a
reasonable proposal, a proposal
which is meeting unnecessary
opposition.

The primary excuse for the lack
of such a program centers around
the question of the methods course.
On various occasions I have been
told that interviews have been
conducted with perspective teachers
for the course but none of those
interviewed have met the
qualifications put forth by the
School of Education. I cannot
believe that there is no one
available to teach the language
methods course. (The person who
successfully taught it for 3 years is
still residing in Albemarle County).

The assertion that there is a
general lack of funds is a statement
with which I am repeatedly
confronted. This too is a plausible
but unacceptable response. If the
Department of Romance Languages
and the School of Education
exerted a cooperative effort, I feel
confident that any such deficiency
could be overcome.

Upon entering the University
this fall I decided that I would
apply to the Education school for
admission as a French major. After
being informed by two Associate
Deans of Education that no such
language program in any foreign
language exists, it was suggested
that I switch my major
concentration to another subject.
This alternative was completely
unacceptable to me, and rightfully
so.

I should think that it would be
to the University's credit to
graduate qualified high school
language teachers, especially since a
knowledge of a foreign language is
considered essential in high schools
and universities today. The
University itself places such an
emphasis on foreign languages that
the necessity and importance of
establishing a long-range
cooperative program between the
College and the Education School
seems evident.