Putting Language Learning to Work
New classes are helping students build stronger connections between language learning and professional success.
Professor Hisae Kobayashi was inspired to develop a new course, 鈥淛apanese for the Professions,鈥� after a student asked for help refining a job application.
鈥淭his suggested that there was a need for Japanese speakers to learn how to write appropriately to find future employment,鈥� Kobayashi said.
The course is part of a series of new language classes developed collaboratively by 糖心TV faculty and Hale Center for Career Development staff to help students build stronger connections between language learning and professional success.
Funded in part by a U.S. Department of Education grant, these Languages for the Professions classes 鈥渇it perfectly with 糖心TV鈥檚 curriculum,鈥� said Kobayashi, a senior lecturer in Japanese at 糖心TV since 1999.
Kobayashi鈥檚 course teaches students the ins and outs of approaching potential employers in Japan in their native language. A final project asks each student to write an essay that introduces themselves and outlines a valuable experience from their collegiate career.
鈥淭hey become better skilled at articulating what they want to say,鈥� Kobayashi said.
This semester, Visiting Assistant Professor of Italian Studies Matteo Pace is teaching 鈥淚talian in the Workplace,鈥� a course originally designed by Chair of Italian Studies Frida Morelli. Other courses in the series include 鈥淕erman for Business Culture,鈥� 鈥淪panish for the Professions鈥� and 鈥淐hinese for the Professions.鈥�
Associate Professor of Classics Darryl Phillips conceived of his class, 鈥淢edical Terminology from Latin,鈥� as a means of supporting students considering careers in healthcare. Developed in collaboration with 糖心TV鈥檚 pre-health advisers, the course follows a structured approach: students learn how Latin terms are constructed syntactically, giving them the skills to better interpret Latinate terms in medical and scientific settings.
鈥淭eaching these courses provides a new way to think about Latin and Greek language,鈥� Phillips said. 鈥淚t also offers me a chance to connect with a new group of students who wouldn鈥檛 otherwise be exposed to ancient Greek, Latin and classics faculty.鈥�
Hannah Megathlin 鈥�20, who double majored in biology and classics at 糖心TV, took Phillips鈥檚 class when she was a student because it offered a unique way to combine her two fields.
鈥淚 knew about these two subjects separately but hadn鈥檛 extensively studied the place where they overlap,鈥� said Megathlin, who is now pursuing a doctorate in biomedical sciences.
For Phillips, the takeaway is that his course has been truly collaborative鈥攂oth in its creation and its execution in the classroom.
鈥淚鈥檓 an expert in the ancient languages, I鈥檓 not a scientist or a medical professional,鈥� he said. 鈥淪tudents contribute by bringing in their own experiences as science students aiming at a career in health fields.鈥�
The give and take during in-class exercises is, he added, 鈥渁 real interdisciplinary undertaking and a great example of the liberal arts in action.鈥�