"One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way."
Frank Smith

Our students are enthusiastic participants in the study of world languages, cultures and literatures. The ability to communicate with people of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds is your passport to the world and can enable you to pursue travel and study abroad, to take advantage of global professional and service opportunities, and to gain a competitive edge in your chosen career.

Calendar Discover the events, films and guest speakers we're sponsoring this semester. Visit our Celebration of Cultures calendar.

Recent News Saturday, Apr. 20, 2013 MDFL students are presenting their research at this year's Augie Symposium. Read more.

Meet our Grads Meet some of our recent graduates and discover how and where they're using their foreign language skills. Read more.

About

The Department of Modern Foreign Languages is located in the Humanities Center on the campus of Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We offer majors and minors in French, German and Spanish, as well as a major and minor in Modern Foreign Languages (MDFL), which combines the study of two different world languages. A member of the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages (ADFL), the Department promotes a comprehensive assessment plan, based in part on proficiency guidelines established by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), and follows an annual process in which the applicability of those guidelines are reviewed by the department.

Mission

It is the mission of the Department of Modern Foreign Languages to support and to strengthen a liberal arts education within a Christian context by providing a curriculum that enables majors in the department to continue their language study in graduate programs, to acquire a solid knowledge base and appreciation of a culture different from their own, to develop a reasonably critical view of their own culture, and to gain an astute international perspective and awareness.

Top-notch Preparation

Our majors have received many local, regional and national awards and scholarships, including several prestigious Fullbright Scholarships and Fellowships. Our majors have also been accepted, moreover, to do graduate work at Boston University, Bowling Green State University, Harvard University, the Sorbonne (Paris, France), the University of Indiana, the University of Minnesota, the University of Wisconsin, and Vanderbilt University. Most of those accepted were also awarded fellowships and/or teaching assistantships.

Community

Alumni, current and future French, German, Spanish and MFL majors and minors, as well as friends of the Department, are invited to join our MDL Facebook Page; a free Facebook account is required.