1.         What is LxC?

LxC stands for Languages Across the Curriculum, a curricular enrichment program unique to Binghamton University.  LxC provides opportunities for you to employ your existing skills in languages other than English in courses outside of language departments.  You will thereby obtain intercultural information and international perspectives on course subject matter.  Please bear in mind, though, that LxC is not a language instruction program but rather a language-use program.

2.         How does LxC work?

LxC enlists international graduate students as Language Resource Specialists.  These LRSs, who possess both (a) knowledge in the discipline of the LxC-supported course and (b) proficiency in a language other than English, prepare and implement substitute LxC assignments containing authentic course-relevant materials in that language.

3.         What languages does LxC support?

LxC attempts to support any language for which there is significant demand in a given course. Demand has been strongest so far for Spanish and French, but other languages we have supported include Cantonese, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese and Russian.  We will endeavor to support any language that is requested by at least 5 students in a given course, provided that we can identify a qualified Language Resource Specialist for that language.

4.         Doesn’t the range of languages supported in an LxC course depend upon the range of language skills of the course instructor?

No.  Because (a) qualified and trusted Language Resource Specialists prepare and implement the LxC assignments and (b) instructors gauge what students have learned in LxC from work they do in English, LxC can in principle support any number of languages.  In fact, it has in the past supported as many as eight different languages in a single course!  In some cases, however, course instructors limit LxC to a specific language or languages of greatest relevance to the course subject matter.

5.         Will LxC mean extra work for me?

LxC assignments replace assignments that you would otherwise perform using only materials in English.  LxC is thus not an add-on but rather a substitute for some portion of your class workload.  However, beginning in the fifth week of the semester, you will meet for one hour each week in a study group led by your Language Resource Specialist.  This meeting will be scheduled in accordance with your needs, but will not replace any of the other class meetings you may have for the course, including discussion sections or laboratories.

6.         So I have to do more work than non-LxC participants in a course?

Not by our calculations.  We endeavor to ensure that the total time you will devote to LxC assignments will not exceed the time you would have devoted to the non-LxC assignments they replace.

7.         If I’d wanted to study a language, I’d have taken a language course.  Why is language study being offered outside the language departments?

LxC is not a language-instruction program but rather a course-content enrichment program.  LxC assignments do not include pronunciation practice, vocabulary tests, pattern drills, grammar quizzes, or anything else extraneous to understanding the specific assigned materials and relating them to the subject matter of the course.  Look at it this way: LxC offers you specially tailored course content and expertly led small-group discussion for no extra tuition.

8.         How will LxC affect my grade?

Course instructors have exclusive authority regarding how LxC participation contributes to your course grade. In some cases, grades on LxC assignments are simply factored into the course grade along with grades on all other assignments.  In other cases, LxC assignments serve as the partial basis for term paper or other course requirements, as background information, as sources of examples, or simply as content enrichment.  Your instructor will make the role of LxC participation clear to you at the beginning of the course.

9.         Do I have to demonstrate proficiency in a language in order to participate in LxC?

No, but LxC assignments generally assume intermediate reading proficiency, which most students attain by the end of 3 or 4 years of high-school or 3 or 4 semesters of college-level language instruction.

10.       Will LxC require that I listen and speak in the LxC-supported language during study-group meetings?

No, but some LxC study groups may offer you opportunities to practice your speaking and

listening skills. These opportunities will emerge on the basis of your interest and the listening-skill levels of the other study-group members. LRSs will however ensure that discussion takes place in English to the extent necessary for everyone in the study group to understand everything that is said.

11.       Will LxC teach me how to translate from the LxC-language into English?

No. The purpose of LxC assignments is to foster understanding and insight, not translating ability.  Translation is a special skill demanding knowledge and experience above and beyond even full bilingual proficiency. Do not gauge your success in LxC by your ability to translate LxC assignment materials into English.  Gauge your success in LxC instead by your ability, after the study-group discussion, to explain how an LxC assignment contributes to the content of your course.

12.       How about writing?  I want to practice my second-language writing skills.

In some cases course instructors have allowed LxC participants to perform LxC-based written assignments in the LxC-supported language, but in no case have they required this.  If you would like to write in the LxC language, speak to the course instructor.

13.       What if I’m not sure my receptive skills are strong enough? Can I opt out of an LxC option after the study-group meetings are underway?

Yes, but in order to guarantee that you will have a fall-back option the instructor may set limits on when and how you can opt out of LxC. Any such limits appear in the LxC handout you will receive prior to your first study-group meeting.

14.       If I know more than one of the LxC-supported languages, can I participate in more than one LxC component in a single course?

Yes, but probably only as a voluntary “extra”.  All of the LxC components replace the same 10 to 20 percent of the non-LxC assignments in a course. So if you participate in more than one LxC component you will have to do more than 100% of the required course assignments, unless the course instructor determines that a second LxC component can replace some additional portion of the non-LxC workload.  Ask, but don’t count on it.

15.       What if my primary language is an LxC-supported language?  My I select this LxC option?

Yes.  You will find that you can learn much about the subject matter of the course from materials available only in your primary language.  You will probably (though not certainly) understand the LxC materials more readily than other participants, and you will probably also help the other LxC participants, and perhaps even the Language Resource Specialist, in achieving a full understanding of those materials.  But you can nonetheless expect to benefit greatly from the discussion of LxC assignments relative to the subject matter of the course.  You can also expect your content-specific vocabulary to increase in the process.

16.       Can I take an LxC course to fulfill general academic requirements?

Yes, but an LxC designation does not change the way a course counts toward academic requirements, whether General Education, distribution, major, minor, writing, or any other.  If the course normally fulfills a requirement you need, then that course with the LxC designation fulfills that same requirement. 

17.       Can I take an LxC course to fulfill language requirements?

No.  Remember, the LxC component replaces only 10 to 20 percent of the assignments in a course.  You are not graded on your language skills.  On the other hand, participation in an LxC study group can be counted toward fulfilling one part of the requirements for the International Studies Certificate/Minor.  See the ISCP Coordinator for details.

18.       How will my participation in LxC be formally recognized?

Binghamton University transcripts include a permanent (zero-credit) notation for each successfully completed LxC study-group component.  The notation will indicate the course (for example, ENVI 101) and the language in which you did LxC. To receive this transcript notation you must, at a minimum, attend and participate in at least 70% of your scheduled LxC study-group meetings. The course instructor may specify additional requirements for receipt of an LxC transcript notation, such as citation and of non-English source materials in essay exams or term papers.

19.       The LxC course I want to take this semester does not fit into my schedule.  Will it be offered as an LxC course in a later semester?

Maybe, but there is no guarantee.  The LxC program director invites instructors to include an LxC component in their courses on the basis of (a) the anticipated demand for such a component in a given course and (b) the expected availability of necessary LxC resources, including qualified Language Resource Specialists.  The list of LxC-supported courses therefore changes each semester.

20.       What am I getting myself into?  How have previous LxC participants rated the value of the program?

We have gathered quite a lot of data on that question and documented a number of benefits of LxC participation. The bottom line: At the end of the Spring 1994 semester we asked all of the students who had chosen to participate in an optional LxC component, “would you participate in LxC again, or recommend LxC participation to others?” We gave them five answers to choose from.  No respondent said “No” or “Probably not.” Five percent said “Maybe;” another 30 percent said, “Yes, probably;” and the remaining 65 percent said, “Yes, certainly!” LxC has received similarly strong endorsements from faculty and language resource specialists in every semester of its existence