EIU Department of
World Languages and Cultures

World Language Minor

Did you know a World Language Minor is one of the top 5 minors on our campus?

Give yourself an edge in the job market--Minor in a Language

Job applicants with foreign language skills are in demand. Your future employer knows that you...

• Have the ability to communicate effectively in both written and spoken forms 
• Are able to communicate with a wider group of clients
• Exhibit cultural sensitivity and flexibility
• Understand diverse lifestyles and customs
• Are equipped to adapt in a fast-changing and interdependent world

You can easily get your Minor....

With 2 or 3 years of Spanish, French, or German in high school (or 2 semesters of language study in community college), students usually...

• Take WLS/F/G 2201G and/or WLS/F/G 2202G and fulfill their Gen Ed Humanities requirement.
• Take 4 courses (12 credits total) on the 3000 to 4000 level to complete their Minor.

With 4 years of Spanish, French, or German in high school, students can start at the 3000-level.

Study Abroad programs

Earn credits even faster with our exciting programs that accommodate your budget and goals.

• Faculty-led and customized: Join EIU professors and spend Spring Break in Mexico, June in Costa Rica, or May/June in Germany. 
• Semester abroad: Spend a full semester at our partner institutions in Spain, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Germany, or France. Scholarships are available.

Excellent opportunities for heritage speakers of Spanish

Students with intermediate (or advanced) proficiency through home background learning skip courses and instead take our proficiency exams that provide full course credits. Inquire about our proficiency exams for WLS 3000 (4 credits) and WLS 3050 (4 credits).

Advanced Competency Credit

Students receive up to 6 credits free of charge for language study completed in high school. Applied after completing two courses at EIU and no prior college credit.

Here's what some of our Minors are doing...

Cameron Murray (Spanish Minor) 

 I currently work for State Farm Insurance as an Auto Claims Representative in the Total Loss department. My “zone” handles vehicles that are total losses in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. When I applied for this job, the interview team saw my resume and that I noted that I studied Spanish and had it as a minor in college. They saw too on my resume that I studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain. The job posting didn’t say they were looking for Spanish speakers, nor did it say that they preferred them. To my delight, in my interview, they inquired about it, and said they drastically need Spanish speakers in the department. All I would have to do is pass an oral proficiency exam and I would be full time on the Spanish Claims Team for my department. How cool!

Since then, I have helped out with claims in my department whenever there are Spanish speakers that prefer to handle their claim in Spanish rather than English. I have found much joy in assisting those who need Spanish speakers to handle their business.

I think it’s fascinating that I have been able to incorporate the language I love into my career, which makes it very rewarding for me. To hear the relief that comes from the people I assist while speaking Spanish is a clear indicator that I’m helping them through a difficult time in a way that they feel comfortable. I wouldn’t be able to do that if I hadn’t studied Spanish or studied abroad in Spain.

Since being here in the company, I have learned that because I speak Spanish, there are more opportunities for me than those who speak just English. Not only are there more opportunities, but there are more people reaching out to me simply because I speak Spanish, and that in itself is a good sign that whatever my future holds, I know that I will be able to use my Spanish, and maybe even more than my English.

Jennifer Folami (French Minor) 

Majoring in Communication Studies.

Pre-health professional track. Plans to become a doctor who travels the world with Médecins sans frontières, or Doctors without Borders.

Tanner Skym (German Minor) 

Majoring in History.

Plans to work in a museum, historical organization, or cultural resource center.

Tanner is also working as German tutor in our Foreign Language lab. 

Jessica Bayles (French Minor)  

Majoring in English,  Teacher Education.

Jessica also works as French tutor in our Foreign Language Lab.

"I am a senior. I chose to study French because in high school I enjoyed both the beauty of French and the process of language learning; I knew that French was also a language that opens up the world. Did you know that it has been projected that by 2050, 750 million people around the world will be French-speakers? That's 750 million people I'll be able to talk to, and all the possible jobs, opportunities, and communities which come with that. I'm an English major with Teacher Certification, the ability to speak French means I can teach English to French speakers around the world, which is my hope and plan.
"

Josie Alcantar (Spanish Minor)

Majoring in Family and Consumer Sciences with a concentration in Hospitality and a minor in Business Administration and Spanish.

“I am a senior. Having a minor in Spanish demonstrates fluency, which makes job applicants more desirable. Speaking Spanish has provided me with so many opportunities.

I have recently been accepted into the Disney College Program for the Spring of 2017. On my application I noted that I am fluent in Spanish. During my phone interview, the interviewer expressed that I am eligible to complete an assessment for my nametag to indicate that I speak Spanish. Being that Walt Disney World is one of the top vacation destinations in the world, I will be encountering guests whose native language is something other than English.”