SAS incentives miss the point

Incentives for advanced study of a language are fine but Penn also needs to address the more basic problem. Now, the Committee on Undergraduate Education has announced its solution -- students will be encouraged to continue studying their language even after they complete the mandated four-semester language sequence and demonstrate proficiency. CUE proposes to encourage students to spend a semester abroad, to offer a certificate for advanced language achievement and to integrate language courses with other fields of study, such as a German literature courses taught in German or a Communications courses taught in French. As an incentive package, CUE's suggested measures are more than adequate. And encouraging students to pursue advanced study in the language of their choice is an undoubtedly good thing. But as a solution to Penn's language problems, CUE's proposal entirely misses the point. Fundamentally, Penn needs to address the shortcomings of its proficiency-level curriculum in addition to incentivizing advanced study. The recommendations of a task force headed by Associate Dean Rebecca Bushnell also miss the point, recommending a fifth semester of language instruction as a solution to the shortcomings of the previous four. What needs to be addressed are precisely those shortcomings. We've previously written about the problems facing the Spanish Department, currently short on both funding and professors. Other language departments, too, are short-staffed and underfunded. Penn's language problems begin here, not with the lack of advanced study on students' parts. Two years of proper instruction and structured learning should be more than adequate for the purpose of making students functionally proficient in the language of their choice. The task before CUE is finding ways of reforming the existing system. It is a more difficult task than simply incentivizing further study. But in the long run, it is the more important task, as well.