[ Foreign Languages & Literatures ]

Special Features

An Elmhurst education is much more than teachers and classrooms. We know that well-rounded scholars need varied environments to stimulate their minds and put what they learn into practice. That's why the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures provides its students with a comprehensive program of study that extends well outside lecture halls.

International Study
Multicultural Surroundings
International Club
Alpha Mu Gamma

International Study
Nothing will teach you to speak a second language like an educational immersion experience in a foreign country. That's why we encourage all our foreign language majors to take part in at least one of our study-abroad programs. A study abroad is required for the German major.

Elmhurst sends students to affiliated programs in Paris, Bonn, and Madrid each term. Plus, we sponsor our own and affiliated January Term courses to French-,
German-, and Spanish-speaking countries. While abroad, our students immerse themselves in another language, studying for a month, a term, or a year, or by participating in an international internship.

You'll refine your foreign language skills, challenge cultural assumptions, and grow as a person. Much more than a vacation, international study will thrill, teach, and change you.

Another plus: spending time in another country doesn't have to cost you much more than staying at Elmhurst, because financial aid, including Illinois state scholarships, can apply toward your study abroad. More about studying abroad ...

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Multicultural Surroundings
Elmhurst students don't have to travel far to experience the riches of one world-class city. The College is located in the center of the Chicago metropolitan region, one of the most diverse places on the continent. Elmhurst College itself hosts students from more than 20 nations, and you'll hear scores of languages just by walking down a street in nearby Chicago. Our foreign language students profit from the rich cultural life and language diversity offered by the multicultural landscape all around them.

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International Club
Elmhurst students and faculty of all backgrounds who are interested in cultural diversity and travel abroad get together regularly for meetings of the International Club. Sponsored by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, the club provides opportunities for discussion and runs field trips to Chicago's ethnic neighborhoods, such as Pilsen and Little Village.

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Alpha Mu Gamma
Alpha Mu Gamma, the national collegiate foreign language honorary society, recognizes outstanding academic achievement in the study of second languages. Two of our faculty members, Earl Thompson and Lester Caltvedt, have served the society as national president. Both are currently members of its National Executive Council. Theta Upsilon Chapter at Elmhurst College is especially active with 18 initiates in our chapter this year, proving that Elmhurst produces serious, successful scholars.

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