Department Of Modern Languages And Translation Studies

The Department of Modern Languages and Translation Studies “Your Window to the World”! The challenges of globalization are many, varied and complex. To compete favourably in a globalized world, individuals, organizations and institutions need to stay unique and stand out in the crowd. Universities, as custodians and dispensers of universal knowledge and higher educational service providers cannot be left out in the desire to reposition their graduates with the requisite skills that will enable them meet the challenges of the world outside the classroom. The Department of Modern Languages and Translation Studies (MLTS) of the University of Calabar stands out today as the ‘bride’ of the University that provides her graduates with the much needed all-round education, launching them into the world as “global citizens”. Established in 1975, as one of the pioneer Departments in the Faculty of Arts, the Department has grown in leaps and bounds in terms of student population, dedicated staff, curriculum development and linkages. It is unarguably the best equipped Department in the faculty in terms of modern teaching facilities, quality and number of academic staff, office space, as well as dedication and commitment to the needs of students by its academic team. In response to the demands of globalization and the need for greater visibility for the department as well as her graduates, our curriculum recently underwent massive expansion, in order to give our graduates the edge ahead of their colleagues in the global job market. The Department runs a four year program leading to the award of the B.A. (Hons) degree in French Studies. In the course of the four (4) year, (eight (8) Semester) program, four (4) semester work is dedicated to the study of either Spanish or German as a subsidiary foreign language of choice. This means that while our students major in French, they compulsorily undergo training to acquire a working knowledge of a second foreign language, which is either Spanish or German. And that’s not all, our curriculum has also been expanded to cover basic courses in International Relations, so as to fully prepare our graduates for the challenges of the world as a global village. Generally, modules covered in the department fall into the following four major knowledge components: • French language and linguistics • Translation Studies and Interpretation • French and Francophone Literatures • International Relations As a preparatory nursery for the four (4) year degree program, the department offers a one (1) year Pre-Degree Programme in French. This programme is for candidates who wish to study French, but who do not have a pre-knowledge of French. These candidates go through an intensive intra-departmental programme of basic French for two (2) semesters, write the semesters examinations, at the end of which, in addition to the general entry requirements, they may earn a favourable departmental recommendation to the University Admission Board for placement into the four year degree program. To successfully drive the degree program, our department has linkages/partnerships with very reputable institutions around the African neighbourhood. Some of these are:  Université de Yaounde 1, Cameroun  Université de Yaounde – Sud, Joseph Ndi-Samba, Cameroun  Université Nationale, Togo  Village du Benin, Centre International de Recherche et d’Etude de Langues (CIREL), Togo  Omar Bongo Université de Libreville – Gabon  Organisation Internationale pour la Promotion de Langue et la Culture. (OIPLC) Cotonou, République de Bénin.  Village Français de Badagry, Ajara, Nigeria. (Nigeria French Language Village). These are partner institutions where our third year students spend their one year Language Immersion Program, to enable them acquire oral proficiency in French in a francophone milieu. The linkages have, over time, proven to be very reliable partners in progress in maintaining our standards. Finally, our Department also offers post-graduate programs leading to the award of the Masters and Ph.Ds in the four major areas of specialization listed earlier. Our two (2) year program of coursework and thesis leads to the award of the Masters, while a three (3) years program with dissertation leads to the award of a Ph.D in the chosen field.