Less Commonly Taught Languages Initiative

If while you are abroad you are studying a language not offered at Penn State, you should not expect to be able to continue the language once you return to Penn State. In some cases, however, you may be able to find additional language study at a cooperating institution prior to your departure or after your return. For example, students can study Thai at the University of Michigan's Center for Southeast Asian Studies, or Zulu at Boston University's African Language Program, or Hindi at Brown University's Center for Language Studies.

2. Courses at nearby colleges

Whether or not you are planning study abroad, you may choose to enroll in a language course at another institution, if there is one near where you live. For example, if you are a Penn State student at the Berks campus, which is near Philadelphia, or at the Mckeesport campus, which is near Pittsburgh, there may be a nearby college or university that offers the language you're interested in.

If you will want to transfer the language course into your Penn State academic record, check in advance to make sure it can be transferred. Please note that transfer credits, like other credits for language study, would be available only within the provisions of Penn State's Language Placement Policy, which indicates, for instance, that basic language credits are not available in a student's native language.

3. Independent language study

You can also arrange to learn the language independently. Family members, community members, student organizations, language schools, etc., may be willing to offer instruction. Sometimes posting a notice or running a classified ad will put you in touch with a teacher. Unfortunately Penn State cannot take responsibility for finding you a teacher or for ensuring that the results will be what you hope for.

If you learn a language independently and want to have it recorded for credit on your Penn State transcript, consider the Credit by Examination opportunity, which is explained here .

Please note that Credit by Exam for languages, like other credits for language study, would be available only within the provisions of Penn State's Language Placement Policy, which indicates, for instance, that basic language credits are not available in a student's native language.

If you learn a language independently and do not need to have it recorded on your Penn State transcript for credit, but would like to have an evaluation for purposes such as demonstrating that you have met a degree requirement, our opportunity for Non-Credit Proficiency Evaluation may be useful to you.

4. Distance education

You may also want to pursue the option of distance education in the form of online instruction, interactive TV or videoconferencing, correspondence courses, etc. Numerous languages are offered through distance education and can be located through the worldwide web. The following are just a few such courses.

If your goal is to transfer credits from a distance education offering, consult the transfer information on Penn State's admissions page, or your advisor, in advance, as it is possible that not all courses are transferable. Please note that transfer credits, like other credits for language study, would be available only within the provisions of Penn State's Language Placement Policy, which indicates, for instance, that basic language credits are not available in a student's native language.

Similarly, if your goal is to use the distance education course as a basis for being able to demonstrate non-credit language proficiency, it is important to analyze the offering carefully, so you can decide whether or not the course which you are interested in taking is likely to provide sufficient preparation for you to pass Penn State's proficiency examination. For instance, if a distance education offering includes only conversation (but not reading and writing) or vice-versa, it may not give you sufficient preparation. The LCTL Initiative cannot be responsible for evaluating and certifying such distance education courses.

Through Penn State's membership in the consortium called Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC, sometimes called the "Big Ten"), we are planning to collaborate with one or more other universities, in a project called CIC Courseshare, to offer distance education or "hybrid courses" in selected Less Commonly Taught Languages. Hybrid courses include a combination of distance education with some tutoring, conversation sessions, or other language practice in person. If such opportunities are available, they will be listed on our page for LCT languages offered at Penn State, so you may want to check that page for updates.