Fortify the Foreign Languages Department by ensuring the consistent offering of intermediate level courses; by avioding the cancellation of said courses. 

• Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Academic Achievement

The department is particularly concerned with providing transfer students the foreign language classes required. Since some UC’s and other universities require four semesters and many students seek proficiency beyond the first year of study the department has focused on strengthening and expanding the intermediate level courses by maintaining a sufficient enrollment in Third Semester Spanish.  All the languages traditionally have healthy enrollments in Second Semester courses and German and Japanese  also offer Third and Fourth Semester; Latin offers Second and Third Semester. These three languages generally have had to combine their Second, Third and Fourth semester classes. 

Develop an AA-T in Spanish and an AA or Certificate in Foreign Languages.

• Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Academic Achievement

There is a movement on the Butte College campus and throughout the CCC system to develop AA-T's, following the Transfer Model Curricula provided by the state. Several disciplines have accomplished this significant goal and the Foreign Languages Department is  presently waiting for approval on the AA-T in Spanish.  This department would love to follow then with an AA in Foreign Languages, although a timeline for such a projectt is hard to determine due to the slow process of the curriculum approval process coupled with the utter dearth of Full-time faculty to develop such a program. The current 2 full-time faculty count on the support of the dean, secretaries and associate faculty which often is not sufficient to accomplish various tasks quickly.

Offering these degrees would enhance the purpose of the department: to provide excellent foreign language education that results in a degree AND guaranteed CSU transfer students a place at a university. It logical to assume that the institution of these degree programs would also improve enrollment and therefore FTE, since students would then be attracted to the study of foreign languages by having a clear path to follow with an end goal in mind.

With the current emphasis at the community colleges on “globalization” and a multicultural content in the classroom, foreign language departments are prepared to play a unique role and should be encouraged to expand offerings rather than cut back. It is our hope to have the administrative support necessary to achieve these important goals.

Spanish immersion at Butte integrated with study abroad program.

• Enhancing a Culture of Inclusiveness

The benefits of studying abroad are extensively documented. Total immersion in a new language and culture is absolutely the best way for students to gain fluency and confidence communicating in the target language. Contingent on receiving additional full-time positions and stipends, we intend to develop a  Spanish immersion program on the home campus and abroad.  Students who develop a linguistic base in Spanish prior to traveling abroad will be equipped with greater communicative skills in the target language, thereby facilitating more meaningful interactions with the culture where that language is spoken. By the development of a Spanish immersion program at Butte’s campus, degree seeking students will have the opportunity to earn 3 semesters worth of Spanish courses in a single semester which will fast track them to a completion oriented educational pathway.  Also students participating in both programs (i.e., the home campus immersion and the study abroad) will increase numbers of enrollment and this will provide a unique learning experience through diversified instruction in dynamic learning enviroments. In addition, the experience provides opportunities to develop a "global" perspective; to "connect the dots" between the lifestyle we choose in the United States and the consequences and/or impact on other peoples across the globe. Students who participate in study abroad are positively affected in many ways; they often refer to the experience as "life-changing." Their minds and hearts are opened; they gain compassion and understanding; their future often appears as a clearer path, with well-defined goals and they often express that they have discovered their purpose and found their voice.

This  department would benefit from hiring a full-time instructor of two languages. A qualified instructor would enrich the current program and assist in its development. In addition, the department desperately needs another full-time Spanish instructor.

• Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Academic Achievement
• Supporting Student, Faculty and Staff Success

At this time of change and challenge in the California Community College system the Foreign Language Department at Butte College represents an area of study essential to the College’s Mission and the Student Equity Plan.  Clearly, the need for additional full-time faculty is more urgent than ever in this department.  The only two full-time instructors are overburdened with responsiblities such as: managing and guiding 12-15 associate faculty members who teach a wide variety of languages, completing and staying current with ever-increasing work tasks aimed to fulfill various contractual obligations (relating to SLO reporting, Unit Plans, Program and Curriculum Review), as well as creating new programs and classes to successfully the AA or Certificate in Foreign Languages.  Foreign Language faculty are also having difficulty maintaining the only study abroad program offered at Butte College since 2006 due to a severe lack of monetary support.

A third full-time faculty member would fill a crucial role, providing additional assistance and  leadership to maintain our programs, complete administrative work in a timely manner, and to continue to grow and develop our department through the realization of our future goals.

These classes would be designed to more adequately serve our growing Latino population who are heritage speakers of Spanish. Given the fact that Butte College has a large Spanish-speaking population, the Foreign Languages Department would strategically develop specific course material for the unique linguistic competence of this growing population. These courses would not need to start with the teaching of the alphabet and basic greetings (necessary for non-native speakers though completely not necessary for spanish-speaking students), but rather would emphasize particular grammar and vocabulary items that are particularly problematic for hertiage speakers who already command the language communicatively but not academically.

• Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Academic Achievement
• Maximizing Resources to Support Student Learning
• Enhancing a Culture of Inclusiveness

Foreign language classes have traditionally been just that: i.e., classes that teach with the purpose of providing the means for the acquisition of a foreign language. However, for our bilingual Latino population, Spanish is not a foreign language and therefore if Butte College is interested in serving this population (which is one of the college’s goals: to be a Latino serving campus), then it is necessary to provide Spanish classes to this population that are designed for them.  Of course, there is a very different approach that is necessary to teach an already Spanish speaker about grammar, vocabulary, culture, etc., compared to what is necessary to foment second language acquisition in non-speakers of Spanish.  There is a parallel comparison that could be made between the English classes we, as a college, offer to our native English speakers and our ESL classes which are meant for non-native speakers. Of course it would seem ridiculous to reduce the course offerings in English for our native English speakers to only ESL classes - since these classes are not designed to improve their particular linguistic competence levels. The same could be said of our Spanish-speaking Latinos taking our current Spanish classes. Frankly, this is a well-known fact among Foreign Languages Departments in colleges and universities throughout the state. In this way, Butte College is rather behind in updating its course offerings in Spanish to meet this obvious need to support the Latinos, who also happen to be a targeted group on the equity panel needing further resources.  Unfortunately, the scope of this department’s aspirations far exceed its administrative support. With only 2 full time faculty who are already working over full time to maintain their current obligations, it is unreasonable to assume they could expand the department’s offerings without another Full-time instructor of Spanish. In this particular case, expansion, in the way of developing and maintaining heritage speaker classes, is really a matter staying current with the needs of our students, especially those who are underrepresented and under supported.