<p>Hello all! I'm interested in majoring in a language-related field. I don't have it narrowed down quite as much as I would like (see list below), but my ultimate goal is to be a professor of English. (Graduate school = a whole other discussion.. ) So anyway, I'm looking for any school that has a top-notch language program and is not a gigantic university where I would instantly be "lost in the crowd." I'm also interested in studying abroad, so that's important, too! Anyway, if you all could just list any schools that you can think of, it would be a great help. Thanks!</p>
<p>Specific interests:
English Language
Spanish Language
English Literature (emphasis on Victorian Lit.)
French Literature
History, because it affects and becomes part of literature (i.e. American & French Revolutions)
Classical Studies
Linguistics (theoretical- emphasis on syntax, morphology, and semantics; & diachronic)
Etymology and spelling</p>
<p>A professor of English does not teach language. So if you are interested in becoming a prof of English, look into English departments; they may also be called English and American Literatures departments.</p>
<p>I must second Middlebury as probably the best foreign language college. My son sat in on classes at numerous top schools and was awed by the language classes there. However, they also have very focused summer immersion programs as well that anyone can apply to, which is one of the reasons he chose to attend a different school.</p>
<p>Another good school for languages and study abroad is Dickinson. I believe they may have one of the largest study abroad programs for their size and they give substatnial (up to half-tuition) merit aid, which Midd does not do.</p>
<p>Try to go online and look at couse catalogs/bulletins for schools you might consider. We drove 5 hours one way to a school only to discover that they taught less language classes than his high school. </p>
<p>I understand. But learning Spanish, French, linguistics, etc... will not help you achieve this goal, although learning languages is always useful. A prof of English teaches literature.</p>
<p>I realize that a professor of English teaches literature. That is what I am interested in teaching at the current time. However, I am not 100% set on that. I could just as easily become a professor of a foreign language or of linguistics. I want to wait and explore my options in college before I decide for sure. I want to make sure I attend a college that has a wonderful program in all of the areas I listed to keep my options open. Any clearer?</p>
<p>Linguistics is a rather mathematically-oriented field. Unless you become a professor of the practice, most people who teach foreign languages are preceptors; in other words, they are not on the tenure ladder. They are on contract.
I just want you to be clear about these different issues.</p>
<p>This is a term used by some universities for faculty with professorial rank who teach languages. They are in charge of the instruction in specific languages and oversee instruction in these languages. For example, they decide on what texts to use, what pedagogy, whether to emphasize spoken language or language as a tool of research. </p>
<p>Normally, in order to receive tenure, a member of the faculty needs to provide evidence of research, such as a monograph or articles. However, language instructors ordinarily do not do research; this is why the majority do not have tenured appointments (additionally, many are selected because they are native speakers of the language rather than because of their academic qualifications). The exception is the professor of the practice. This is someone who is likely to hold a Ph.D. and to have published.</p>
<p>Edit: If you go to the MIT site and look under foreign languages and literatures, you will see that the professors are the ones teaching literature. language teachers are either senior lecturers and lecturers (i.e., non-tenured faculty). Their appointments may be quite long-term, but it is not the same as a tenured appointment in terms of job security or salary.</p>
<p>Actually, most colleges have decent English departments as well as Spanish and French language programs. These are probably the most commonly offered languages at colleges. So it is more important to identify colleges that fit academically, financially and socially than to identify the most "prestigious" language programs. Now if you'd said you wanted to study Urdu or Bahasa Indonesia, it would be a different issue altogether.</p>
<p>marite: I'm really looking for the very best education I can receive, so the fact that "most colleges have decent English departments" doesn't really matter. There are plenty of colleges that are within an hour or two of my home that have "decent English departments." I suppose the use of the word prestigious was somewhat incorrect on part, as I really meant the best I can find.</p>
<p>Prestigious English departments today = Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, Cornell, Stanford, Chicago, Princeton, Penn, UCLA, Johns Hopkins (not in any particular order, except Harvard is almost certainly first). Duke and Columbia would have been on the list a few years ago but have had a lot of turmoil/turnover. NYU. I'm sure there are lots of others that are very good -- there are a lot more good English PhDs than there are jobs, so you can find really good people almost everywhere.</p>
<p>LACs tend not to acquire so much "prestige" because their faculties are much smaller and they don't attract/produce grad students, so it's harder to judge their place in the market. Wesleyan, Oberlin, Kenyon, Reed are places that traditionally have appealed to literature students. I know litty people who love Swarthmore.</p>
<p>In terms of learning foreign languages, that has traditionally been a strength of Middlebury (and Chicago), but that is not the same as studying foreign literature (which is what I think you are interested in). The list of great French departments has tended to mirror great English departments (except that Harvard is traditionally much stronger in Spanish than in French). Spanish, I think Harvard and UCLA. Harvard and Stanford have traditionally been very strong in everything East Asian, including literature. But, again, lots of good people lots of places.</p>
<p>If what you're interested in is LACs or smaller universities that admit more than 10% of applicants, I recommend looking at who's on the faculties and what they're interested in, what they've published. Places like Swarthmore, Chicago, and Reed seem to attract a high percentage of kids who want to be academics and therefore go on to PhD programs.</p>
<p>As a general rule, when it comes to foreign languages/literature, you can discover the general strength of a program among the LACs by finding out what percentage of graduates take degrees in languages/area studies. The reason the percentage is important is that having enough majors provides a critical mass for study abroad programs, film series, language tables and/or houses, and large enough faculty to provide breadth of coverage. I have posted a list previously - the differences among the LACs is really quite striking. On the whole, schools with a language requirement will also have more faculty and more breadth, and also more students prepared to go on to major in the subject.</p>
<p>Some sample numbers: (from 2005-2006 Common Data Sets) (languages/area studies/total)</p>
<p>Middlebury - 11%/6%/17%
Smith - 9.05/8.44/17.49%
Grinell 14/0/14%
Hamiilton - 10.0/1.8/11.8%
Mount Holyoke - 7.3/4.4/11.7%
Williams - 4/5/9%
Swarthmore - 6.6/1.8/8.4%
Reed - 7.0/0/7.0%</p>
<p>Also not factored in here is the size of the student body. 7% at Reed or Swarthmore is much less that 7% at, say Mt. Holyoke, and when you divide that among the languages offered, it is likely that each department is very, very small, and one professor going on sabbatical could make for a huge difference in quaility.</p>
<p>Literatus,
For a combination of language and literature, you may want to consider majoring in comparative literature. There the focus is as much on foreign language as its literature. The major is considered good undergraduate preparation for graduate work in either literature, linguistics or language teaching.</p>
<p>Yikes! Be careful with katliamom's advice. In some cases "comparative literature" means what she says. In others (and I think they are now the majority) it means "literary theory". Anyway, you should be aware that different schools have different names for similar literature programs. My daughter's school has 6 or 7 different concentrations that are variations on being an English or French literature major. You need to pay attention, but it's easier after you've picked a school than before, since most schools will tend to have some version of everything. </p>
<p>Fault lines include "great books" vs. previously silenced voices vs. popular culture; written word vs. other media; explicit theory vs. implicit theory; Anglo-American theory (linguistics, history, anthropology) vs. Continental theory (philosophy, hermeneutics); left vs. right. If you want some (slightly outdated) funny, easy-to-read taste of the issues, read David Lodge's Nice Work and A.S. Byatt's Possession.</p>
<p>Which reminds me, you might want to check out a "great books" program like St. John's. That approach is anathema to most university literature departments, but you could do a lot worse for undergraduate study.</p>