These certificates would recognize nonlanguage majors who received grades of B or better in at least two language courses beyond the requirement and three content courses in either literature or area studies. In three years we have awarded the certificate to approximately twenty students, and we hope that when the practice becomes more widely known the annual rate will increase. There were other proposals, but Carleton was not ready for them and maybe the outside world isn't either. There was little support for this idea, but a few professors do regularly require their students in certain upper-level courses to do readings in foreign language materials. I think we would all agree that to students the greatest reinforcement for advanced language study remains the opportunity to study abroad.
Students point toward that goal and receive momentum from it.
It also promotes further study after a student's return from abroad. Almost all our five to eight students a year who participate in the CIEE Leningrad University program have gone on to take further courses in Russian. At Carleton the number of students who participate each year in foreign programs has been growing steadily. Clearly, our students do not mind leaving us for extended periods. Many extracurricular activities increase the importance of languages on campus.