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1. How do I study a language on my own?
2. Where do I find my materials?
3. Who is my conversation partner?
4. How am I graded?
5. What will my final oral evaluation be like?
6. What if I need to drop or take an incomplete?
7. Where is the FCSILP office?
1) How do I study a language on my own? Not every student is ready to tackle independent language study. When you apply to the program, you will be asked about your previous experience in learning languages. If you have been successful in regular classroom courses and you have a strong motivation to learn the language, you are a good candidate for independent study. However, you also need to consider whether your preferred styles for learning language and your current course/work load are compatible with independent study.
Students who enjoy figuring things out for themselves, like to organize their own learning, and are comfortable with minimal feedback and interaction with an instructor, will do well. Students who learn best through extensive interaction with an instructor, prefer highly structured assignments, and like frequent feedback, will find the independent study format frustrating.
Regardless of your learning style, you must also have time in your schedule to accommodate language study. Independent study takes at least as much, if not more, time than preparation for a classroom course. When you apply to the program, you will be asked about your other course and work commitments. You should have already thought about where in your schedule you can accommodate a minimum of 10 hours devoted exclusively to your language course. Successful students map out for themselves what periods of time each day they plan on devoting to language study and are able to keep the schedule they set for themselves. (back to top)
2) Where do I find my materials? Students purchase their own textbooks. Required texts are listed on the course syllabus. Most text are available online or can be special ordered through a local bookstore. Check your syllabus or with the FCSILP office about any special instructions. Students should be sure to purchase the package with CDs if the syllabus indicates audio should be included. Students should also be sure to purchase the edition of the text indicated on the syllabus. Occasionally, both old and new editions will be available for sale. Check with the FCSILP office if in doubt about which text to purchase.
For online video see the LangMedia Website developed by the Center: LangMedia: Resources for World Languages
Many of the languages also have online materials. Web addresses are given on each syllabus. (back to top)
3) Who is my conversation partner and what do we do in a conversation session? Students participate in a weekly conversation section led by a native speaking conversation partner. Conversation partners are normally international students enrolled at one of the Five Colleges. They apply for the position and are interviewed by the program director and faculty consultants. The conversation partners' job is to prepare topics of conversation using the structures and vocabulary you are studying. In a successful conversation sections, both conversation partners and students work hard to use the target language as much as possible, and to minimize the use of English.
Students need to be aware of the proper role of the conversation partner and the conversation sessions in their overall program. The conversation partner is not a "teacher;" and the conversation sessions are not the same as a classroom course meeting. The conversation partner is not supposed to present a grammar lesson or even be able to explain points of grammar (you speak English, but could you succinctly explain relative pronouns to a non-speaker?) The expertise of the conversation partner lies in speaking the language. Your goal in a conversation session should be to speak the language with the conversation partner and others in the group as much as possibly you can.
Students should arrive with conversation materials already prepared. A student who arrives unprepared slows down the entire group. You also need to understand that the conversation session is a supplement to your independent study and not the determiner of what will be required of you at your final evaluation. You are responsible for all material assigned for the semester, regardless of whether that material was ever covered or used in a conversation session. Your assignment sheet outlines the material you are responsible for at final evaluation time. There will only be time to use a portion of this material in the conversation sessions.
Conversation partner assignments are made at the beginning of each semester. The conversation partner sets a regular meeting time and place based on the schedules of all students in the group (maximum 5 students). This is a Five College program and conversation sections regularly involve students from more than one campus. The FCSILP program office will determine on which campus the group will meet. The meeting time and place should remain the same throughout the semester. Conversation partners are not responsible for making up sessions for students who miss the regular meeting time. (back to top)
4) How am I graded? Grades are determined by the consulting professor based on the final individual oral evaluation. The evaluators are professors who specialize in the language. Most are professors at colleges and universities that offer majors in the language you are studying. Your conversation partner does not have any role in determining your final grade for the course. However, your conversation partner sends the FCSILP office a weekly report about whether you were present and prepared for your conversation session. These reports allow the program director to keep up with your progress and to follow-up if you fall behind. (back to top)
5) When will my final oral evaluation be and what will it be like? Final oral evaluations for this program take place at the end of each semester. In the fall, they take place around the first or second week of December; in the spring, around the first or second week of May. You will know the date and time of your oral by the first part of November or the first part of April. You need to be aware that the "window of opportunity" for scheduling individual evaluations is very small. Most of our examiners either travel to the area for one day to do exams, or we use a videoconferencing set-up reserved only for an hour or two. You will need to be able to arrange your schedule to be present for your oral evaluation.
The final evaluation is all oral. There is not a written component. Each professor has his/her own method of conducting the evaluation, but most use some combination of conversational interaction and oral question and answer. Students also may be asked to read aloud in the language. Remember that you are responsible for all material on your assignment sheet, regardless of what was covered in your conversation sessions. (back to top)
6) What if I need to drop the course or want to take an incomplete? The Five College Supervised Independent Language Program is a special program that invests considerable money in each individual student. Conversation partners are hired at the beginning of the semester based on the number of enrolled students. The program also contracts with its consulting professors to pay per person for final evaluations. Given these expenses, drops and incompletes are costly to the program and have a negative effect on the opportunities available to students in future semesters. Therefore, the Five College Supervised Independent Language program has strict policies and consequences for dropping a course or obtaining an incomplete.
Drop policies and deadlines vary by campus in order to meet local requirements. Students will be informed about how their campus policy applies to FCSILP at the time of registration. Regardless of the home campus policy, no student from any campus will be allowed to drop a FCSILP course after the program's mid-semester deadline. Students will be informed of this deadline, as well as of earlier deadlines on their home campus, at the time of registration. Exceptions will be made only in the case of documented medical or personal emergency.
Incompletes will also only be granted in cases of documented medical or personal emergency and in consultation with a student's dean or faculty advisor. Students must be aware of the policy regarding incompletes on their home campus. Students should also keep in mind the unique evaluation structure of FCSILP. If, for example, you take an incomplete during the term, the next possible opportunity to make up the incomplete is at the end of the following semester when final oral evaluations are again scheduled for the course. Under no circumstances will the program arrange for a final makeup evaluation to be taken at a time different from the usual end of semester date. In addition, in order to assure scheduling of a makeup evaluation, a student must enroll in the next level of the language in the following semester in order to take the makeup evaluation from the previous semester. This enrollment assures that a professor will be hired to give evaluations to currently enrolled students in the language. In no case will the program arrange for an evaluation solely to accomodate a student finishing an incomplete. (back to top)
7. Where is the FCSILP office/Five College Center for the Study of World Languages 102 Bartlett Hall on the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Campus.
On the Five College Bus System:
From Hampshire or Mount Holyoke take the Route 38 Bus to UMass-Haigis Mall.
From Amherst take either the Route 38 or the B43 bus to UMass-Haigis Mall.
From Smith take either the B43 or the M40 express to UMass-Haigis Mall.
Bus schedules and route maps
Campus Maps
The UMass-Haigis Mall bus stop is very close to Bartlett Hall. As you get off the bus, look to the left where you will see Herter Hall. Bartlett Hall is behind Herter Hall. 102 Bartlett is on the end of the building closest to Herter.
We do not recommend driving to campus because of parking problems. Should you decide drive investigate the following first:
Directions to the UMass Campus and Visitor Parking
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Five College Supervised Independent Language Program
Five College Mentored Language Courses
Language and International Opportunities Web
LangMedia: The Five College Foreign Language Media Archive
Five College International and Regional Studies
Five College Language Departments
Language Resources on the Web
© 2002-2009 Five College Center for the Study of World Languages and Five Colleges, Incorporated.
Five Colleges, Incorporated is the consortium of Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.