Arts Undergraduate Handbook, 1998: Monash University, Australia

Languages

The Bachelor of Arts (Languages) degree
Objectives
Structure
- Course models

The Bachelor of Arts (Languages) degree

In a multicultural Australia which is carefully reviewing its relation to Asia and the rest of the world, languages have come to play an increasingly important role in everyday communication and in defining Australia. Through the Bachelor of Arts (Languages) the university recognises the importance for people who are to function in a global, multicultural setting in the twenty-first century of having a deep knowledge of languages, both as systems and in their socio-cultural contexts.

The Bachelor of Arts (Languages), which was offered for the first time in 1996, is designed for students who wish to develop skills and experience in second language acquisition and communication that can also be utilised in subsequently learning/studying other languages and in careers requiring highly developed language skills in Australia and overseas.

Objectives

Students completing the degree should be:

able to function effectively in their target languages;
able to understand the role of language in society;
familiar with critical aspects of language policy;
able to assess a variety of strategies for teaching and acquiring second languages; and
able to work with `contrastive' and differing approaches to the study of languages.

Structure

The Bachelor of Arts (Languages) has the same basic structure as the general Bachelor of Arts. In both degrees, students must complete subjects to a total of at least 144 points, but not more than 162 points. In the Bachelor of Arts (Languages) students must include a major in a language (fifty-two points) and a minor in linguistics (twenty-eight points).

Students may then build on these basic requirements in several different ways as outlined in the course models shown below. The three models give the degree flexibility, allowing students to work with their individual strengths within the parameters of the Bachelor of Arts (Languages) degree.

Course models

There are three ways in which students can structure their studies in the BA (Languages), as outlined below.

Model 1 includes a minor in linguistics and a `deep major sequence' in one language. A deep major consists of the major sequence in the language discipline (fifty-two points) and further subjects providing a socio-cultural context for users of the language (sixteen points). Students must also complete a second minor sequence in a second language, or in European or Asian studies.
Model 2 includes majors in two languages, in addition to the minor in linguistics.
Model 3 includes a double major in a language and in linguistics and a minor in a second language or in European or Asian studies.

All three models include two four-point seminars at third-year level which `cap' the degree program. These seminars are designed to foster an interdisciplinary perspective, to impart a reflexive stance relevant to working with languages and to give students a comparative linguistic perspective on many of the issues relevant to the development and transformation of languages in the contemporary world, to language acquisition and to language policy.

Model 1: Deep major

1st yr
12 points
First-year sequence in a language
Discipline A
12 points
First-year sequence in a second language, or in European or Asian studies sequence
Discipline B
12 points
First-year sequence in linguistics
Discipline C
12 points
Any two first-year subjects
2nd yr
16 points
Second year in a language
Discipline A
16 points
Second year in a second language, or in European or Asian studies
Discipline B
16 points
Second year in linguistics*
Discipline C

3rd yr
40 points in a language
Discipline A
8 points
Two 4-point capping seminars

* These points may be taken either in the Linguistics department or by choosing linguistics subjects in a language department/section, or in a mixture of the two.

Model 2: Majors in two languages

1st yr
12 points
First-year sequence in a language
Discipline A
12 points
First-year sequence in a second language
Discipline B
12 points
First-year sequence in linguistics
Discipline C
12 points
Any two first-year subjects
2nd yr
16 points
Second year in a language
Discipline A
16 points
Second year in a second language
Discipline B
16 points
Second year in linguistics*
Discipline C

3rd yr
16- 24 points in a language
Discipline A
16- 24 points in a language
Discipline B
8 points
Two 4-point capping seminars

* These points may be taken either in the Linguistics department or by choosing linguistics subjects in a language department/section, or in a mixture of the two.

Model 3: Majors in a language and linguistics

1st yr
12 points
First-year sequence in a language
Discipline A
12 points
First-year sequence in linguistics
Discipline B
12 points
First-year sequence in a second language or in European or Asian studies
Discipline C
12 points
Any two first-year subjects

2nd yr
16 points
Second year in a language
Discipline A
16 points
Second year in linguistics
Discipline B
16 points
Second year in a second language, or in European or Asian studies
Discipline C

3rd yr
16- 24 points in a language
Discipline A
16- 24 points in linguistics
Discipline B
8 points
Two 4-point capping seminars

1st yr	12 points First-year sequence in a language Discipline A	12 points First-year sequence in a second language, or in European or Asian studies sequence Discipline B	12 points First-year sequence in linguistics Discipline C	12 points Any two first-year subjects
2nd yr	16 points Second year in a language Discipline A	16 points Second year in a second language, or in European or Asian studies Discipline B	16 points Second year in linguistics* Discipline C
3rd yr	40 points in a language Discipline A	8 points Two 4-point capping seminars
* These points may be taken either in the Linguistics department or by choosing linguistics subjects in a language department/section, or in a mixture of the two.