Modern Languages
Language Placement Policy and Procedure
Please click here to find out more about how you can receive college credit for the language training you’ve already had.
Spanish at Shepherd University
¡Hola!
¡Vamonos! Travel with Shepherd University’s Spanish program to experience the culture in a Spanish-speaking country firsthand and to earn college credit for immersive language study. In most years, trips that include Spanish classes, family stays, and exciting excursions are hosted by Dr. Denis Berenschot. Recent destinations include Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica, Spain, and Peru. Students can earn three or six credit hours for taking part in these study-abroad travel opportunities. The cost for these trips normally includes airfare, language instruction, accommodations, and cultural outings. If you want more information about the Spanish program’s study abroad opportunities, contact Dr. Berenschot at dberensc@shepherd.edu. In the meantime, take a look at this brochure to see what a prior travel experience included.
In 2019, Dr. Denis Berenschot and Dr. Eva-María Suárez Büdenbender inducted four Spanish majors into Shepherd University’s chapter of Sigma Delta Pi (ΣΔΠ), the national collegiate Hispanic honor society. The spring 2019 inductees included Henry Navarrete Mendez, Devin Spinks, Nicole Merkle, and Rosa Raez-García. (Rosa was not available to be in the picture.) In most years, the ceremony is celebrated annually, and eligible students are selected for membership by the faculty. Sadly, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we were unable to host an induction in the Spring of 2020. However, we hope to be able to organize one in the academic year 2020/2021. For more information about the Spanish honor society, contact Dr. Berenschot (dberensc@shepherd.edu) or Dr. Suárez (esuarezb@shepherd.edu).
French at Shepherd University
Bonjour!
Voulez-vous voyager avec nous? Would you like to travel and spend part of your summer living with native French speakers, attending language classes, and earning college credit? Dr. Rachel Krantz often hosts trips to Quebec, the French-speaking region of Canada, where students experience local culture firsthand. Dr. Krantz is always mulling over travel ideas to francophone destinations; she’s been to Canada a number of times with students, and she even escorted a group to French-speaking Cajun country one year. Here’s a brochure that provides more information about the kind of travel opportunities she has hosted in the past. Additional questions should be directed to Dr. Krantz at rritterb@shepherd.edu.
German at Shepherd University
Guten Tag!
Whether it’s students having lunch at The Schmankerl Stube in Hagerstown, Maryland; attending an evening of music by Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms performed in the Frank Center; noshing on a slice of freshly baked Stollen at the Sweet Shop on German Street in Shepherdstown; visiting the Schifferstadt Architechtural Museum in Frederick, Maryland; or touring the Heurich House Museum, which is sometimes referred to as “the Brewmaster’s Castle,” in Washington, DC, here at Shepherd learning about the history and culture of the German-speaking world isn’t confined to the classroom. Our students are out and about, active and engaged.
Several times each semester, the Department of English and Modern Languages hosts Stammtisch (a German conversation group). The meetings take place at locales in and around Shepherdstown, and the group likes to meet outside, whenever the weather permits. German speakers of all levels—beginners to native—are welcome to attend. For further information, contact Dr. Krantz at rritterb@shepherd.edu.
