RGRLL Information | RGRLL Courses
Romance, German, Russian Languages and Literatures
College of Liberal Arts
Department Chair
Jutta Birmele
Program Directors
Stephen Fleck (French)
Carlo Chiarenza (Italian)
Jutta Birmele (German)
Harold K. Schefski (Russian)
Claire E. Martin (Spanish)
RGRLL Language Coordinator
Markus Muller
Single Subject Coordinator for L.O.T.E.
Jean-Jacques Jura
Department Office
McIntosh Humanities Building (MHB), Room 820
Telephone
(562) 985-4318
FRENCH
Professors
Clorinda Donato, Stephen Fleck
Associate Professor
Najib Redouane
GERMAN
Professor
Jutta Birmele
Associate Professor
Jeffrey High
ITALIAN
Professors
Carlo Chiarenza, Clorinda Donato
Assistant Professor
Teresa Fiore
RUSSIAN
Professor
Harold K. Schefski
SPANISH
Professors
Harold L. Cannon, Claire E. Martin
Associate Professors
Maria Carreira, Alicia del Campo, Alexander Rainof, Lisa Vollendorf
Assistant Professors
Bonnie Gasior
Administrative Support Coordinator
Cindy McCarty
Students desiring information should contact the department office for referral to one of the faculty advisors. Credential
advisors, Undergraduate Advisor, Graduate Advisor.
The Department of Romance, German, Russian Languages and Literatures teaches the languages, literatures and cultures of the Spanish, French, German, Italian and Russian-speaking peoples to undergraduate and graduate students at California State University, Long Beach. The department recently began to offer courses in Arabic, Hebrew and Portuguese and plans to expand these language programs.
It is the mission of the Department to deliver the highest quality information in the various disciplines it represents to its students and to the extended University community through the application of the most current and innovative teaching methodologies and technologies. The Curriculum supports B.A. and M.A. programs in French, French Studies, German, Italian Studies, and Spanish and Minor programs in Italian, Spanish, Russian, German, French, and Liberal Studies; the Department also participates in the granting of the Singles Subject Credential in French, German, Italian and Spanish. Our Department also supports programs that require our courses, such as International Studies and International Business. High standards are maintained through scholarly contributions and active service to the University, profession, and community.
Our commitment to scholarly and instructional excellence is manifest in the training the Department provides for prospective foreign language teachers and instructors K-16; Ph.D. students in French, Spanish, German, Romance Languages, Linguistics, Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies; language professionals in the fields of translation and interpreting, travel and technical disciplines. Considering the rapidly evolving fields of language-acquisition, pedagogy, cultural and literary studies and their interrelatedness, the Department promotes research activities of both a theoretical and applied nature.
The Department considers teaching and scholarship to be of primary and equal importance and places high value on activities that integrate the two. University service is also an essential component of a candidate’s program.
Our world presents itself in many languages, and humanity indeed is blessed with enormous diversity. Whether you search for your own family roots or follow a concrete plan on a particular career path, we would be pleased to be of assistance. Students who miss the opportunities to study a foreign language close doors for themselves in more than one way. Without foreign language skills “international” in your career will amount to employment at the “International House of Pancakes.”
Functional foreign language skills, an understanding of other cultures and critical reflection of what it means to be an American are attributes which are increasingly necessary for successful careers even in your neighborhood. Right here in Long Beach, a city of over 400,000, almost half of the residents speak a language other then English at home, according to the 2000 national census. The numbers of speakers of a foreign language in Los Angeles County are even higher, in Orange County lower only by a bit. Although without doubt, Spanish is the most often declared language, you will be amazed at the presence of sizable communities of Italian, French, German, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian speakers in our backyards! The newly created “Language Map” of the Modern Language Association (www.mla.org) will inform you, right down to the zip code, about the wealth of languages spoken anywhere in the United States. Please take a look and draw your own conclusion what this might suggest for your career plans. The Modern Language Association advises:
Professionals who know other languages are called on to travel and exchange information with people in other countries throughout their careers. Knowing more than one language enhances opportunities in government, business, medicine and health care, law enforcement, teaching, technology, the military, communications, industry, social service, and marketing. An employer will see you as a bridge to new clients or customers if you know a second language.
When other universities and colleges throughout the United States shut down or reduced many of their FL programs, we expanded and added (Arabic, Hebrew, Portuguese, new BA in French Studies, and in the process of establishing a Russian Studies BA). RGRLL offers the first BA in Translation and Interpretation (Spanish) in the nation, and plans for further expansion are in progress. We will keep you posted.
Teaching Assistantships in French, German, and Spanish
A limited number of Teaching Assistantships well as Research Assistantships are available for qualified students in the French, German and Spanish M.A. Program. New applicants for Teaching Assistantships must have been accepted into the M.A. Program and must present a letter of application, a resume, a complete set of transcripts, and arrange for three confidential letters of recommendation to be sent to the Graduate Coordinator. Teaching Assistants are required to enroll in RGR 524 (Second Language Acquisition). New Teaching Assistants are normally assigned only one class to teach during their first semester and will receive training and supervision. Students are also encouraged to apply for financial assistance under the Federal Work-Study Program.
Scholarships Available in the Romance, German, Russian Languages and Literatures Department
For Spanish Students:
Ducelia Cobb Contreras Scholarship — 1 for $1,000
RGRLL Scholarship for Spanish — 1 for $500
For German Students:
Amy S. Kimball Memorial Scholarship — 1 for $1,000
Prof. Dr. Wilm Pelters Memorial Scholarship — 1 for $1,000
For Russian Students:
Russian Scholarships — 4 for $500 each
For any overseas language study:
Frank Fata Scholarships for Language Studies Abroad —
2 for $500 each
Study in France for Hispanopones — $500. See Dr. Donato (562) 985-4316 or Dr. Martin (562) 985-4638
For Italian Students:
Italian Scholarships — see the Italian Program Director, Dr. Carlo Chiarenza (562) 985-4621, for information about these scholarships.
For any language student — Five for $1,000 each. See Dr. Fleck (562) 985-8525.
For more information regarding the available scholarships, please contact Cindy McCarty, (562) 985-4318.