Spring 2014 - The Language Center will open on Monday, January 13 at 8:00 a.m.

Start the new year off right and come into the Language Center from week 1 onward to augment your classroom language learning.  You will find a quiet environment in which to focus on your foreign language learning.  Faculty monitors are available during hours of operation to direct you to resources for your specific language.  See you in January!    

The Language Centrer will be Open through Thursday, December 19

If you're preparing for your foreign language final and are on the Ocean Campus, there is no better place to focus on your foreign language work and access review materials than the Language Center (R-405).  Students in Spanish 1, 1A and 1B, if you don't know yet about the publisher's resources for Plazas, ask a faculty monitor at the Service Desk.  These are invaluable for test preparation.  Here's a link.  Take a look!  Though it is for the 3rd edition, the vocabulary and grammar are the same.  The "auto-pruebas" will be especially helpful. 

World Language Day is Tuesday, November 14 - Smith Hall Cafeteria

Students of foreign languages, save the date! 

Tuesday, November 14, 2013 is World Languages Day at CCSF.

From 12 noon- 1 p.m. in the Smith Hall Cafeteria, your favorite Foreign Language Department faculty will be distributing information about Foreign Language Department courses coming up for Spring 2014, but wait!  there's more!  There will be a free raffle for prizes, the Culinary Department will offer international dishes for purchase as part of the regular lunch service, and there will be live music by the 29th Street Swingtet (http://www.29thstswingtet.com). 

Please drop by, say hello in whatever language you prefer and enjoy the music. Bring your dancing shoes and tell your friends!  

Register for Spring 2014 Foreign Language Classes at CCSF! CCSF is Open and Accredited. Absolutely!

Students can register for Spring 2014 beginning and/or continuation courses in November.  Be sure to enroll in that 1B you've been thinking of taking to continue all the hard work you've put into 1A this semester.  Enroll concurrently in a conversation-based class (10 series) along with a grammar-communication-based class (1, 2, 3)   Or pick up where you left off in Spring, it's not too late!  

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship - October 1 Deadline for Spring 2014

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program offers grants for U.S. citizen undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies or credit-bearing, career-oriented internships abroad. Such international exchange is intended to better prepare U.S. students to assume significant roles in an increasingly global economy and interdependent world.

The Gilman Scholarship Program aims to support students who have been traditionally under-represented in education abroad, including but not limited to, students with high financial need, community college students, students in underrepresented fields such as the sciences and engineering, students with diverse ethnic backgrounds, and students with disabilities. The program seeks to assist students from a diverse range of public and private institutions from all 50 states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico.

Award recipients are chosen by a competitive selection process and must use the award to defray eligible study or intern abroad costs. These costs include program tuition, room and board, books, local transportation, insurance and international airfare.

Over 2,300 scholarships of up to $5,000 will be awarded this academic year for U.S. citizen undergraduates to study abroad. Award amounts will vary depending on the length of study and student need with the average award being approximately $4,000.

Students who apply for and receive the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad are then eligible to receive a Critical Need Language Award from the Gilman Scholarship Program of $8,000. Applicants who are studying a critical need language while abroad will automatically be considered for the Critical Need Language Award. 

Critical Need Languages, taught at CCSF in the Foreign Languages Department, include: 

Chinese (all dialects) 
Japanese 
Russian 

Students need to be studying or interning abroad for a minimum of 4 weeks, and can be participating in a CCSF Program OR any program that grants credit that could be transferred to CCSF.

If you are interested in finding out more, please contact Jill Heffron, Coordinator of the Study Abroad Program at CCSF, by email (jheffron@ccsf.edu), by phone: (415) 239-3778, or stop by the Study Abroad office in Cloud 212.  The deadline for Spring 2014 is: October 1, 2013. 

Tutoring Available in the Learning Assistance Center (R-207) for French, German, Japanese, Russian, or Spanish

Tutoring in the LAC - R-207

Students taking French, German, Japanese, Russian or Spanish classes: there are now tutors available to help you with your foreign language learning.  Click here for a link to the schedules and visit a tutor in the Learning Assistance Center in R-207 to supplement your language learning. 

Advisory Placement Test for Chinese (Mandarin) - Friday, August 16: 1:15-2:30

The Chinese Placement Test is used by the Chinese Program to assess students' Chinese language proficiency level so that they may be placed in the appropriate language classes at CVCSF.  The score of the CPT is used for advisory purposes only!

The next CPT will be on: 

Friday, August 16 from 1:15-2:30 

in Arts 211 

For more information on the CPT, click here. 

Tips on Learning a Foreign Language from Someone Who Knows!

FIlmed at a beautiful -- and windy -- location in Heidelberg.

Spanish, French, and German Refresher Courses - From ALTEC/University of Colorado, Boulder

For the more advanced student of Spanish, French, or German come these refresher courses from the University of Colorado, Boulder.  Refresher courses are non-credit online language courses (French, Spanish and German) that run for three weeks year round.

These teacher-led courses review the curriculum of the first two years while preparing students to take the third year university courses. Every week deals with a new cultural topic and provides students with opportunities to engage in a variety of speaking, writing, reading and listening activities.

While fully online, these courses are teacher-led and are NOT self-paced. There are assignments due every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and students should plan on spending about 9 hours working on the course every week. Students will need daily access to a computer with a high-speed internet connection, headphones, microphone and a webcam.

Classes are capped at 12 students and tuition is $95 for non-CU students.  Click here for more information. 

Tips for Keeping your Language Skills Fresh During the Summer Break

Use it or lose it!  Don't let the summer break see your language skills trickle away or disappear!  Here are some tips to keep you on track with your foreign language skills until Fall semester.

• If you're in Spanish 1A, take Spanish 1B over the summer.  Click here for the foreign language summer schedule. 
• Watch television programs, listen to radio programming, or read news online in the language you're learning.  Click here for a link to resource pages for each language.  Look under "Media" for recommended sites for television, radio, or print media.
• Watch movies in your language on NetFlix, Comcast On Demand, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Streaming (to name a few resources). 
• Read magazines, check out books and DVDs from the San Francisco Public Library.  Don't know where to start?  Ask a librarian! 
• Listen to popular music and songs.  Try Spotify or Pandora. 
• Visit an ethnic market, in San Francisco that might be in Chinatown or Irving Street (@20th Street) for Chinese, the Mission District for Spanish (all over), North Beach for Italian (Molinari's, Lucca's or A.G. Ferrari), Japantown for Japanese (J-Pop Summit is coming up on 7/27-28) and the Outer Richmond for Russian.  For French and German markets of any sort, you'll have to book a flight! But French and German restaurants abound in the City. 
• Go to an ethnic restaurant and practice ordering from the menu with your very best accent!  Wienerschnitzel, anyone?   

Students, do you have any suggestions or tips that you have used?  If so, leave a comment to share with others. 

A Taste of Europe Language Fair - Free, Food and Fun at the Goethe Institute in San Francisco on 4/19/13

 If you're considering taking German, French or Italian at CCSF (or Modern Greek through non-credit), but would like to be a bit more informed about these languages, check out the free language fair at the Goethe Institute.  

When:  Friday, April 19, 2013, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Where:   Goethe-Institut
                  ART-Lounge
                  530 Bush Street
                  San Francisco
                  Free admission

Come to the Goethe-Institut San Francisco and visit four European countries in one evening!

• sample classes
• 10 percent discount if you sign up for a language course on this day
• short films
• music
• travel information
• food tastings

Come and enjoy a fun night of learning a new language and get a taste of a different culture.

It doesn't matter if you are a business professional wanting to learn a new language for work, a student interested in going abroad, or a senior wanting to travel during your retirement, we welcome everyone! 

Please register by clicking on this link: www.eventbrite.com

Presented by:

 - Alliance Française de San Francisco
 - Goethe-Institut San Francisco
 - Consulate General of Greece, San Francisco 
-  Center for Modern Greek Studies, San Francisco State University
 - Istituto Italiano di Cultura, San Francisco

The Language Center Will Be Open During Summer Session 2013

The Language Center (R-403) will be open during the Summer Session (June 10 - July 26) as follows:

MONDAY - THURSDAY: 8 A.M. - 6:45 P.M.

FRIDAY: 8 A.M. - 2:45 P.M.

Support staff will be on hand to assist you with finding the correct materials to support your foreign language learning.  Not able to come into the Language Center?  You may access the audio materials and, in some languages, video material, via the Online Language Lab.  Ask your instructor for the user name and password.  

Enroll on April 15th for the Summer Session - 29 Foreign Language Classes Offered!

Tenty-nine foreign (29) language classes will be offered this Summer Session, beginning June 10.  Eighteen (18) are at the Ocean (Main) Campus and eleven (11) will be at the Downtown Campus.  There's something for everyone, and students completing a 1A class can jump into a 1B class in the Fall.  Are you travelling later in the summer?  Conversation classes (10 series) can give you a quick language infusion to add a new dimension to your travels, wherever they may take you.  Click here to view the schedule (in pdf format).  Then, apply and register!  Classes fill up quickly, registration begins April 15.

During Spring Break Don't Take a Break from Language Learning!

The Language Center (and CCSF) will be closed from Saturday, March 23rd and will reopen on Tuesday, April 2.  Don't loose any ground in your language studies over the break!  Log in to the online language lab  or use some of the resources for your language on the Foreign Language Programs pages.  Look under Language Learning and Culture Links, then check out the materials offered under Textbook Sites and Other Language Learning Sites.  Watch some newscasts or videos on Netflix in the language you're studying, listen to music, radio, read newspapers online.  World languages offer you the world right here in San Francisco!  

Advisory Placement Test for Chinese (Mandarin)

The Chinese Placement Test is used by the Chinese Program to assess students' Chinese language proficiency level so that they may be placed in the appropriate language classes at CVCSF.  The score of the CPT is used for advisory purposes only!

The next CPT will be on: 

Friday, May 10 from 1:15-2:30 

in Arts 211 

For more information on the CPT, click here.  

Some Interesting Facts about Foreign Languages to Inspire You!

The Spring 2013 semester is underway.  There are estimated to be over 7,000 languages in the world; City College offers 9 languages in its credit program to get you started.  They are: American Sign Language, French, German, Japanese, Italian, Pilipino, Russian, Spanish.  To inspire you to jump right into your studies, click here for some interesting facts about language and language learning.

And, for your amusement, check out these true-life stories of foreign language usage gone terribly, or not so terribly, wrong. (BBC)