Languages and Cultures

Mission Statement

The Department of Languages and Cultures of West Chester University of Pennsylvania is dedicated to the teaching of languages and the preparation of language-teaching professionals to be knowledgeable in the facts and issues that inform second language education. As part of this dedication, we promote student and community understanding of the languages that we teach and the cultures that these languages represent. The public liberal arts model of education is at the basis of our teaching, on both the graduate and undergraduate levels. We are a community of teacher-scholars dedicated to excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service to local and global communities.

The department prepares students to develop linguistic and cultural proficiency:

• We are committed to communicative pedagogies that foster the use of languages in real-world communities.
• We believe that the preparation of highly competent language teachers involves the simultaneous development of second language proficiency, linguistic, literary, and cultural content, and pedagogical skills and background.
• We emphasize the development and enhancement of critical thinking and cross-cultural skills that sharpen students’ understanding of the interaction between the individual and the collective.
• Linguistic and cultural proficiency are pursued in a variety of venues, including, but not limited to, classroom work, distance-based courses, faculty-student research, local, regional, and international service learning activities, language clubs and honor societies, and study abroad programs.

We are committed to excellence in research and other areas of scholarly expertise as critical pillars of a well-rounded humanistic approach to education. In their scholarly activity, department faculty use diverse interdisciplinary approaches, while working to create an intellectually active environment inside the classroom and elsewhere.

We prepare students to function as effective language and literacy educators and community leaders among diverse populations both within the U.S. and abroad.

We collaborate in a variety of campus and community initiatives and projects to nurture student and community involvement in language communities and their cultures, both home and abroad.

Vision Statement

The Department of Languages and Cultures strives to be a hub for intellectual curiosity, interdisciplinary collaboration, civic and community engagement, and a key player in promoting diversity, global citizenship, and readiness for innovation through the acquisition of 21st-century skills through language study.