Loyola’s Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Cultures faces difficulties when offering students diversity of languages.

According to Blanca Anderson, chairwoman of the department, the main problem is a lack of administrative support to foreign language learning. Anderson said the difficulty the department face also has to do with the priority Loyola places on the area.

The language department also faced changes when the administration issued the “Pathways” plan post-Katrina. According to Spanish professor Josefa Salmon, administrators cancelled the teaching of Japanese and German, as well as the major in Russian. The department now only offers majors in Spanish and French and courses in German and Italian.

According to Anderson, Loyola students can take courses Loyola does not offer at Tulane. However, Anderson said it is difficult for Loyola students to take courses at Tulane because these students are not Tulane’s priority.

“You have to wait until you have a seat card signed (and) sometimes you have to beg the professor,” Anderson said.

However, it seems that Loyola’s language department has always faced problems. According to Anderson, Loyola did not require students to take foreign languages courses in the 1980s, and students had to go to Xavier University if they wanted to take French or Spanish.

It wasn’t until the 1990s that the former College of Arts and Sciences voted for a two-year language requirement, Anderson said. However, the second year of the foreign language requirement has never been implemented. Anderson said the department has brought up the issue but other faculty and administrators are facing it with resistance. Anderson said Loyola is falling behind compared to other universities since it requires one year of foreign language while other universities require a minimum of two years.

Despite the problems the department faces, change may be on the way. The department is trying to reincorporate the languages most requested by students, such as Japanese and Portuguese, as well as Arabic and Chinese.

According to Anderson, teaching these languages will also depend on the demand and enrollment, and it will entail a one-year requirement for students. According to Salmon, the department is proposing a two-track program in which students will not only major in the language and the literature but also its historical context.

“Learning a different language helps you understand the culture because culture and language are very closely connected,” Debbie Danna, Director of International Education, said.

Although the department wants to implement changes, it still faces a lack of staff available to teach the courses.

Andrea Castillo can be reached at [email protected].