If you could have formulated that Spanish sentence on your own, then you are, by the University’s standards, “proficient.”
The University’s foreign language requirement for A.B. students is by no means useless. Life in an increasingly globalized world, more specifically in a nation that prides itself on being a “melting pot,” demands that we shed our sentiments of language supremacy. The University not only facilitates this by consistently admitting a diverse pool of students but also by mandating that A.B. candidates who are not already fluent in a second language take courses until they achieve a level of proficiency.
Despite the obvious benefits of increasing cultural awareness through language classes, the Princeton language system has, in many ways, failed.
This is not to say that professors are not doing a good job or are less dedicated than in other departments. My favorite, most engaging professors at Princeton have been my Spanish teachers. The underlying structure of the language department itself is where the problems lie.
The University requires that A.B. students achieve proficiency in a language. However, the number of courses required to fulfill this requirement is variable, and is ultimately determined by the level in which a student is initially placed. Students placed in the lowest introductory level, 101, will have to take three (or four in some cases) semesters to satisfy their requirement.
After three semesters of passing grades, according to the University, you should be proficient in your second language. If you got an A in all three semesters,this should definitely be true. After satisfying your language requirement, you are eligible to enroll in 200-level language courses.
Native speakers of any language are, of course, able to take classes within the department of their native language. They are not permitted to take entry-level classes (the 100 levels), but before they can take a 300 level they must take at least one 200 level class. The lowest of the 200 level classes in the Spanish department are 205, 207 and 209 — these are open to native speakers.
In theory, both native speakers and students who are deemed “proficient” by the University’s standards should be on an equal playing field when entering these 200-level language classes. This is most certainly not the case. One need only audit one of these courses for a single day to see evidence of this discrepancy between native speakers and those who have taken three semesters of introductory Spanish (or maybe even got a 5 on the AP exam).
This is not all bad — it is true that it’s helpful for people learning the language to be exposed to native speakers, to hear and learn from their speech. However, it creates an unsettling classroom dynamic in which students who are not raised bilingual are at a serious disadvantage. It is undeniably more difficult to get a good grade in a class when you are being compared to someone who has known the language their entire life. It is also less advantageous for a native speaker to be in a class with people whose language usage is far below their own. Further, heritage speakers and those who are relatively new to the language face different challenges to improving their language abilities.
Other universities are recognizing and meeting this challenge. Schools in the University of California circuit have implemented courses designed specifically for heritage speakers in Spanish, Chinese, and Korean who are too proficient to be placed into an introductory course, but not proficient enough to be placed immediately into an intermediate course. This policy enables a greater variation in accommodations for speakers with different degrees of proficiency. The University certainly has the resources to devote to such programs, which would benefit speakers and learners of all foreign languages.
Jacquelyn Thorbjornson is a sophomore from South Thomaston, Maine. She can be reached at jot@princeton.edu.
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