Avi Joshi ‘26 is a prospective English and Education major. He is a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and Wind Ensemble. Contact him at asjoshi@wm.edu.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.
Recently, I received another one of many winter break emails. Normally, I would do what most people would do: maybe glance at the Outlook notification and then swipe it away, allowing the email to set up camp in my inbox until I finally decide to start paying attention to any school-related emails in the days leading up to the first day of classes. However, this particular email caught my eye because when I went to go read it, it was a reminder about the College of William and Mary’s Foreign Language Proficiency Requirement.
I instantly couldn’t help but feel a little pissed off. I mean, on the one hand, it’s just rude to send an email in the middle of my rather peaceful and meditative break reminding me of my imminent academic doom as I try to work through the requirement, but more importantly, it led me to think about how poorly the FLP is set up. I believe that the FLP forces too much of an academic burden on students, adding to the stress and exhaustion most of us already go through.
Now, for context, I have not completed my FLP but am taking French courses to do so. This article is also by no means trying to say I hate any of our modern languages and literatures departments. Nor am I attempting to target any individual professors or classes; the people who work and teach for these departments are incredible (shoutout professor Deborah Lee-Ferrand; c’est une excellente professeur). However, some problems with the FLP need to be addressed, and I imagine I’m not the only student who feels the same.
The most obvious complaint when it comes to the FLP is how most language classes are scheduled all five days of the week. I don’t necessarily mind the time the classes start — I should probably be waking up early anyways. I also understand that the five-day schedule was likely imposed to fit in the large amount of content that comes with learning a brand-new language. However, most students are used to taking classes that only occur two to three times a week since a majority of the classes at the College are structured this way. So, for students who are used to having classes that have a day or two buffer in between each period, language classes can become overwhelming very quickly. The content comes fast and does not let up.
In addition to frequent classes, introductory language courses are also demandingly difficult. The College’s website states that students can earn their FLP by completing courses in a language “at a level equivalent to or above the 202/203 level.” However, I do not believe that this requirement needs to go up to the 202 level. I don’t think it needs to go to the 201 level. 102 is where the requirement should end. The amount of time needed to keep up with even just 101 had me swamped most of the semester. On top of regularly studying new content taught daily, the class workload was intense. There were lots of chapter homework and quizzes that I never connected with, making it even harder to retain the information.
On top of this coursework, students working towards earning their FLP must also attend certain events hosted by language houses outside of class time, which are intended to help students better engage with the language. However, in my experience, these events rarely met their intended purpose. I would go to an event, and more often than not it was a long, awkward and quiet hour. None of the students, including myself, at these language house events ever connected with the language itself, leading my peers and I to just stare at each other and mumble a few French words. After the long hour was up, I honestly couldn’t help but feel a little relieved to get out of the event.
Now, I recognize that most classes at the College require quite a lot of time and effort from its student body; it’s part of our culture. The problem for me comes in when other classes that do not relate to my major end up becoming a huge part of my academic life. Halfway through a recent semester, I realized how much I wasn’t enjoying French; every time I went to the class, did work for the class or realized there was an impending chapter quiz at the end of the week, I couldn’t help but feel exhausted from trying to force myself to retain French. And when I brought it up with a few of my classmates, they said the same. The sheer volume of content that language courses impose on students can end up creating a negative relationship with the language itself.
Some may point out that there are many other general education requirements that students must complete beyond the FLP. While, yes, we do often have to take classes that are not just language classes even if we may not necessarily want to, most of the other classes that I’ve been required to take have been far less stressful than any language course I have taken. For example, a large lecture class like Psychology as a Natural Science, which doubles as fulfillment of both a gen-ed and psychology major requirement, was well-paced and never became too overwhelming. I’m not trying to speak for everyone — I’m sure there are students tearing through the FLP like it’s nothing or other students struggling through other general education requirements. In the meantime, my grade point average will continue to struggle in its fight with the FLP.
Requirements like the FLP spark larger conversations on the balance between fulfilling academic requirements and allowing students to explore subjects of interest without unnecessary burden. Students at the College have consistently been academically drowning, and requirements like the FLP only make us drown more, in my experience. Though I again want to mention that I sincerely do not want this article to bring any hate towards the modern language and literatures department, I truly believe there can be more and better ways to achieve academic freedom in relation to our current student culture. Maybe we could even build a future at the College that is not somewhat poisoned by its rigorous academic atmosphere but rather fortified by it.
Now, if you excuse me, I need to go stare at French vocab until my brain turns to yogurt.