Frequently Asked
Questions (For Students)
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 receptive skills in languages other than
English in courses outside of the 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?
To create opportunities for language use in courses outside
the language departments, 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 source 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 Chinese, German,
Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Russian. We will endeavor
to support any language that is requested by at least 7 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 it 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 calculation. Although you will attend about ten scheduled
LxC study-group meetings, these meetings focus on helping you understand
the LxC assignments and relate their content to the course subject matter.
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.
Click here to to the top of
the document | and here to go the bottom of the document
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. Let's cut to the chase: 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. But isn't LxC largely a program for language
students?
No. In fact, since its inception in 1991 the LxC program has proven that
students who take little or no language instruction beyond the intermediate
level want opportunities to use their existing skills in a wide variety
of disciplines. They want to obtain content-specific knowledge that may
not be offered in a language class. Of course, language majors also want
to obtain such knowledge, but they have constituted only a small minority
of LxC participants, under 10 percent in two semesters in which we collected
data on the majors of LxC participants. Honest! On the other hand, LxC
participants have often expressed a heightened interest in taking additional
language-instruction classes after their LxC experience. So watch out:
Meaningful language use can be enticing!
10. If I have completed only one or two units
of a language, can I pursue the LxC component of a course?
Yes, 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. A small number
of LxC participants have had less background than this, but they have consistently
expressed frustration over their inability to benefit much from the language-based
nature of LxC assignments. This has not, however, kept motivated participants
from performing well in study-group discussion of the content of these
assignments.
11. Do I have to demonstrate proficiency in a
language in order to participate in LxC?
No. We have found that prospective participants' subjective judgments are
valid indicators of readiness to participate in LxC. Moreover, because
of the assistance you will receive in LxC study-group meetings, your ability
to exhibit what you have learned from LxC assignments will not depend on
showing that your reading proficiency is improving. LxC is not a language-instruction
program, so gains in language proficiency come as strictly incidental benefits.
Click here to go the top of
the page | and here to go the bottom of the document
12. 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.
13. Will LxC teach me how to translate from the
LxC-supported language into English?
No. The purpose of LxC assignments is to foster understanding and insight,
not translating ability. Translation requires skill, knowledge, and experience
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.
14. Will LxC enable me to achieve the expected
level of understanding of LxC materials on my own?
Perhaps, but this is not its purpose and you do not need to acquire this
ability in order to succeed in the LxC component of your course. LxC is
not a language-instruction program. LxC focuses on content rather than
structure, on meaning rather than form. Whatever your level of language
skill, your LRS, and the other members of your LxC study group, will help
you achieve the expected level of understanding of all LxC materials.
15. If, as the semester progresses, I continue
to need the assistance of the LRS and other study-group members in order
to understand LxC assignments, won't my course grade suffer?
No--as long as you end up understanding the course-specific
content of the assignments. Of course you will to some extent, whether
you realize it or not, (a) refresh your existing receptive skills, (b)
acquire new vocabulary, and (c) develop your ability to employ grammar,
context, and prior knowledge to interpret presented materials. But your
degree of success in attaining such linguistic gains will play no role
whatsoever in the evaluation of your performance. LxC is not a content-based
language-instruction program but rather a language-based content-instruction
program.
16. 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.
Click here to go the top of
the document | and here to go the bottom of the document
17. 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 at your
first study-group meeting.
18. 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 percent 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.
19. What if my primary language is an LxC-supported
language? May 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.
20. The LxC course I'm most interested in is not
offered in my school. Can any Binghamton student sign up for the LxC option?
Yes. As long as you are eligible to enroll in a given course,
you are eligible to participate in any one of its available LxC components.
21. Do I receive registration priority for a course
if I sign up for it with the LxC option?
No.
22. Can I get a minor in LxC if I take enough
LxC courses?
No. LxC offers no major or minor.
| Click here to go the top
of the document | and here to go the bottom of the
document |
23. 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. Furthermore, the University's International Studies
Certificate program counts LxC participation toward its requirements, as
do some honors programs.
24. Can I take an LxC course to fulfill language
requirements?
No. A course that does not satisfy the language requirement continues
not to do so even with your participation in the LxC component. Remember,
the LxC component replaces only 10 to 20 percent of the assignments in
a course, and LxC participation results in only incidental language-acquisition
gains: You are not graded on your language skills. To date, no course that
fulfills language requirements has included an LxC component, but otherwise
LxC has supported courses fulfilling various other academic requirements
including distribution, diversity, major, minor, and writing.
25. Will notice of my LxC participation appear
on my transcript?
Yes! Beginning with the Fall 1995 semester,
Binghamton 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 percent 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 meaningful use of non-English
source materials in essay exams or term papers. Such additional requirements,
if any, appear in the handout you receive at the first study-group meeting.
26. 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's 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.
27. 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.
For additional information about the
Languages Across the Curriculum program, please contact the LxC Office
in the N.A. Rockefeller Center/Hinman G-1. Tel: 607-777-2499. FAX: 607-777-2889.
E-mail: lxc@binghamton.edu
[Previous
Page | What Do We Do at
LxC | Who Can Participate
in LxC | Job Opportunities
with LxC |