International Scholars Program

International Scholars/Foreign Language Pedagogy/Culture Studies

Courses in International Scholars Program focus on English language and culture to help international students develop the sophisticated level of English needed to actively participate in the challenging liberal arts education at Pitzer and The Claremont Colleges. The program provides ongoing support to students as they move into increasingly demanding courses across the college curriculum. Students admitted to the program must complete four International Scholars courses, all of which earn full credit and count toward graduation requirements. For international exchange students, the program may serve as an intensive language and culture program equivalent to that which Pitzer students take during their own study abroad experiences.

Courses in International Scholars Program (for non-native speakers of English):

MLLC 111 PZ -Public Speaking
MLLC 122 PZ -Critical Analysis Through Literature
MLLC 144 PZ -Advanced Speech and Rhetoric: Debate
MLLC 155 PZ -Writing Across the Curriculum.

Foreign language pedagogy courses provide theoretical and practical training in communicative and content-based language teaching that embodies the spirit of critical pedagogy. Students learn about second language acquisition and pedagogical theory while teaching ESL in the multilingual communities that surround the Claremont Colleges or Language Residents may study the theory and practice of teaching a foreign language.

Courses in Foreign Language Pedagogy:

MLLC 100 PZ -Language and Community: Principles and Practice of Teaching ESL
MLLC 150 PZ -Foreign Language Pedagogy

The field group also offers courses in culture studies enabling students who are studying outside their native countries to reflect on their experiences, deepen their cultural knowledge of the countries in which they are studying, and develop the skills to become agents of intercultural understanding.

Courses in Culture Studies:

MLLC 110 PZ -Intercultural Learning Portfolio
MLLC 166 PZ -Directed Research in American Culture

MLLC 188 PZ -Social Justice in the U.S.

For English and other world literature in translation, see English and World Literature.

Pitzer Adviser: Leah Herman

Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Develop the level of academic English and compensatory socio-linguistic strategies needed to be successful learners in their courses and co-curricular activities.

2. Develop sufficient knowledge of American classroom and campus culture norms and behaviors to function successfully as responsible members of the college community.

3. Become aware of personal strengths, limits, goals, fears or prejudices, as well as own cultural identity.

4. Learn to access, question, generate, critique, and apply knowledge from a variety of written, spoken, and visual texts that rely on the medium of English language for expression.

5. Value and use multiple resources of knowledge (faculty, roommates, host family members, internship contacts, discussants), in addition to traditional instructional materials.

6. Use cross-disciplinary analysis to process the overall learning experience.

7. Gain the knowledge and cultural skills to create social ties and engage responsibly with a wide range of people, ideas, and values across campus and in the larger community.

8. Experience and reflect on rights and responsibilities we share, and impacts we have, as members of multiple communities.

International Scholars Program Courses

Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures