|
Degree Information: Bachelor's
The Department of English offers two majors for those students, who are already fluent in English and who wish to specialize in the field. The two majors are: English Literature (INGL) and English: Linguistics and Communication (LOCU).
Communication teaches students to negotiate cultural signals in face-to-face communication, to create a positive group dynamic, and to become comfortable and effective speaking in public. Linguistics is the science of language study, providing students with the vocabulary to understand the rules by which language is formed and the insight to explain the trends by which language changes.
The study of Literature in English teaches students to appreciate and analyze the cultural products of the Anglophone world, to understand the history of the English language, and thus to arrive at a more sophisticated understanding of the work produced by Anglophone speakers, writers and film makers today.
At this moment in history, English has emerged as the premier language of international communication and of science and technology, taking over the roles that in the western world were once served by French and Latin. As communication technology shrinks the world, knowledge of English has never been more vital or rewarding, especially for those seeking international audiences. Consequently, the rise of English as the world's second language has become an international phenomenon.
Knowledge of English allows access to a rich cultural heritage of literature and film produced in Anglo-phone North America, Great Britain, India, Australia, Africa and the Caribbean. From William Shakespeare and John Milton and Mary Shelley to Wole Soyinka and Derek Walcott and Steven Spielberg, great playwrights, poets, novelists, and film makers have composed works of art in English to reflect upon the nature of the human condition in ways that have transcended national boundaries and influenced the development of modern thought.
For job-hunting candidates to successfully overcome entry barriers, knowledge of English is an especially important tool. Fluency in English is a legal requirement for federal employment, and necessary for practicing law or medicine. Rarely do newspapers print a job advertisement in which bilingual fluency is not a requirement for the position. Entrance into the medical school, the law school, the business school, and a number of graduate programs at the University of Puerto Rico itself require standardized tests, all of which are either completely in English or have an English section. Consequently, even if a citizen of Puerto Rico has no desire to visit, study, work, or live in the continental United States, he or she ought seek to become fluent in English, for English proficiency is becoming increasingly necessary for achieving professional goals in Puerto Rico.
Service component
The English Department in the College of Humanities recognizes these several complementary reasons for students at the University of Puerto Rico to take English courses. The Department offers a rich array of courses for the non-specialist in Grammar, Writing, Linguistics, Communication, and Literature which appeal to a wide range of interests. The courses, all given in English, range from Science Fiction and Fantasy to Poetry and Drama to Film and Literature, from Public Speaking to Creative Writing, involving the student in the oral and written expression of their ideas in English. In addition, the Department has a special component of English as a Second Language (ESL) courses designed for students who need to improve their proficiency.
As language learning is cumulative, the Department encourages students to take English courses early in their college career, and that they continue taking classes beyond the minimum number required. Do not worry if you find English challenging! Your professors will work with you to meet your goals. In the long run, proficiency in English is likely to be more important to you and your future than the effect of taking English courses on your GPA, and it is far less expensive if you can improve your proficiency at the University of Puerto Rico while getting your degree than paying a private service to acquire it once you have graduated.
If you have questions, please visit the Department in the basement of the Pedreira Building or contact us by email or phone. We welcome your interest.
The Majors: English Literature (INGL)
The literature major offers a curriculum which will give students both direct contact with British, American and other literatures written in English, such as Caribbean, African and Indian literatures, and the tools to analyze, research and write critically about them.
By the time the English (literature) major completes all the requirements for graduation as a literature English major, the student will:
1. have excellent competency in both the English and Spanish languages;
2. have completed all the courses required to major in literature in the English Department; (The student will have a broad overview of literatures written in English, with particular reference to British and American literatures. The major will have an awareness of the major genres, and the background and context of the literatures, and possess the ability to analyze literature critically.)
3. be an effective communicator in the English language;
4. be able to pursue a career in teaching, business, communications, advertising, public relations, industry or any career where the ability to communicate correctly and effectively in oral and written English is required;
5. be motivated and prepared to pursue graduate studies in the area;
6. bring to his or her professional life a strong humanistic perspective based on a wide-ranging liberal arts education.
The Majors: English: Linguistics and Communication (LOCU)
This major is designed to prepare students for possible careers in teaching, business, communications, public relations and industry, or any career in which the ability to communicate correctly and effectively in oral and written English is essential. It should also interest the students in and prepare them for graduate studies in communication, linguistics, translation, speech, language pathology, or TESOL (the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages).
General objectives
I. Academic goals:
To provide an alternative major in the English Department which examines language itself as structure and as process through the fields of linguistics and communication, offering the opportunity to study the various aspects of linguistic analysis and human communication, verbal and nonverbal.
A. Linguistics
To provide students with knowledge concerning the nature and analysis of language as viewed through contemporary linguistic theory, with particular attention to English.
B. Communication
To provide students with knowledge of the dynamics of communication processes and of the methods for critical listening to and evaluation of public and private persuasion.
II. Developmental goal:
To provide students already proficient in English who wish to continue developing their competence and performance in English with an alternative to the English major in literature.
Specific objectives
1. To provide linguistics and communication courses which will help not only prospective English teachers but also those in other professional fields in which ability to communicate correctly and effectively in oral or written English is essential.
2. To serve our own majors and other departments and schools with a variety of speech communication courses which blend principles and techniques with opportunities for guided oral practice.
3. To serve our own majors and other departments and schools with a variety of linguistics courses which provide theory and practice in the analysis of linguistic systems such as phonology, syntax, semantics, discourse, language change, etc. (with particular attention to English) and which provide comparative studies of English and Spanish.
4. To interest students in preparing themselves for graduate work in linguistics, translation, or communication. 
|
