Maintaining ties with other academic areas across campus, the department offers programs in cooperation with the Honors College and the College of Education. It also offers courses related to Peace Studies, Women Studies, Black Studies, Linguistics and International Studies. Mastering a language takes time and practice-lots of practice. It requires self-discipline and regular interaction with fellow students and professors before it becomes not just a second language, but second nature. That's what it must be for students who plan to go on to graduate work or enter careers in international business or diplomacy, for example.
Language then serves as a symbol of trust, mutual respect and shared understanding.
Pierre Trudeau served twice as the prime minister of Canada for a total of 15 years, from the late '60s to the mid-'80s. He was French-Canadian. Even so, French-Canadian journalists, acknowledging that his French was flawless, still accused him of thinking in English. MU's French and Spanish professors expect eventually to be able to praise majors for thinking in French or Spanish. Important options for Romance language majors, or nonmajors who want to work on their language skills, are MU's Spanish and French living-learning communities, where the language is spoken in all public areas.