Contents | Presentation | I Introduction | II Current situation | III Strategic proposals | IV Implementation of the programme

II CURRENT SITUATION

1. Knowledge of foreign languages among students entering university | 2. Foreign languages in the universities | 3. Legal framework

2. Foreign languages in the universities

2.1. Foreign languages in the syllabuses

At present, Catalan university syllabuses include foreign languages in different ways.
There are qualifications which include obligatory foreign language studies and others in which they are optional. In some courses the language can be chosen while in others only English is taught. Courses can be general or involve specific or professional aspects of the language.

In general, a foreign language is obligatory for qualifications in tourism, teaching, humanities, translation and philology. Apart from qualifications in language and literature, public universities normally make English a requirement for qualifications in computer technical engineering, though it appears in the syllabuses in very different ways. Private universities, on the other hand, make English a requirement for almost all qualifications. Foreign languages for specific or professional purposes are offered mainly for business studies and technical engineering programmes. In some cases, when there is more than one group in the same year, the programmes offered may include essential subjects taught in English. In addition, some qualifications may call for an obligatory English examination.

Furthermore, many universities have their own language services, and normally their regulations for elective credits permit the validation of language courses or certificates recognised in the field.
At present there is a wide variety in the relative importance given to foreign language studies, so programmes should be analysed one at a time. This information is brought together in the following tables.

Syllabuses including foreign languages

Syllabuses with English as a 3rd language

2.2. Number of newly admitted students who will obligatorily study at least one foreign language

In the academic year 1999-00, 14,075 newly admitted students in first and first and second cycles were expected to study at least one required foreign language , which represented 26.68% of the total number of newly admitted students, (49,076). The following tables show in detail which syllabuses included foreign languages and the number of students following each one.

It should be kept in mind that the level and focus of language studies vary considerably depending on the qualifications the student is working for. For example, of the two universities with the most programmes including language studies, the Open University of Catalonia and the International University of Catalonia, the former aims at the student acquiring skills of written comprehension and expression, while the latter evaluates the four language skills (oral and written comprehension and expression).

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