Partner With Us
Story
The Department of Foreign Languages and International Studies is service oriented, dedicated to missions and caring for others. The majority of our majors are pre-medical profession candidates, many desirous of serving others in foreign countries and low-income population areas in the United States. Many of our graduates will have completed multiple concentrated efforts or internships in a foreign field prior to graduation. Some of our students enter the teaching profession, providing role models for youth and leaders of tomorrow.
Our program is nationally recognized by ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) placing it among the top 2% of university language programs in the United States. A requirement in the maintenance of this accreditation is evidence that our students are orally proficient in their target language. Helping our students achieve this level of competency is an ongoing challenge both academically and economically. We need your help economically in specific areas listed below. These are some of the “nuts and bolts” we have found essential in the preparation of these students.
To make a gift and sponsor/provide any of the items listed, click here.
Invest Your Resources
Speaking Tables – Our students need practice outside of the classroom to achieve proficiency in their target language. Therefore, we coordinate “speaking tables” four times a week where language students spend their lunch hour conversing in the target language with native speakers. The Foreign Language Department pays for the meals of foreign students, some of whom might struggle to pay for eating in the cafeteria – in exchange for sitting with fellow students in need of conversation practice. This is a blessing to all students involved – both the native speaker and those who are learning. Just as coming to Harding can be a financial challenge for a foreign student, many Harding Students from the United States cannot afford to travel abroad, but through speaking tables they are able to have the same experience in Searcy while building relationships with fellow students.
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Sponsor the language tables for a week- $100
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Sponsor language tables for two weeks - $200
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Sponsor language tables for a month - $400
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Sponsor language tables for a semester - $2,000
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Sponsor language tables for an academic year - $4,000
Digital Voice Recorders – Our department needs five RCA RP5120 Digital Voice Recorders. Professors use these to administer, rate, and score oral interviews with students. Interviews are converted into computer files and kept for accreditation purposes. Students also sign the recorders out for class projects and interview native speakers, especially in our upper-level phonetics class.
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Sponsor one recorder – $26
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Sponsor two recorders – $52
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Sponsor all five recorders – $130
Library – The Brackett Library allots us a small fund each year for the purchase of books in foreign languages. The vast majority of these are research and reference oriented, and if you have priced a reference book in English lately – just imagine it doubled or tripled. Our students are required to write a research paper every semester in the majority of our upper level classes, and they need these works to be available for their academic preparation. We have culture classes, civilization classes, language classes, and we even have business classes which would benefit indefinitely from any donations in this area.
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I would like to donate foreign language books and reference materials – Please contact us at 501-279-4645 or avaconley@compuserve.com.
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Sponsor one book - $100
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Sponsor two books - $200
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Sponsor five books - $500
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Sponsor 10 or more books - $1,000
Build a Video Library – We are attempting to build a video library of classical and reference works in film. When I say classical works, I am talking about Romeo and Juliet, history series, and these types of well known, time-tested pieces. Our students not only have to engage in academic research, they must learn to be able to hear their chosen language spoken and understand it in order to obtain their degree. There are other ways to do this of course, but it always helps to give the most exposure possible. So we are trying to create ‘movie nights’ and also allow students to come in and watch a movie to help them master their major. These videos are pricey. They run anywhere from $120 to $220.
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I would like to purchase or donate a specific film - Please contact us at 501-279-4645 or avaconley@compuserve.com.
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Sponsor one modern culture film or video -$25
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Sponsor two modern culture films or videos -$50
- Sponsor three modern culture films or videos -$75
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Sponsor five modern culture films or videos -$125
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Sponsor one academic film or video -$150
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Sponsor two academic films or videos -$300
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Sponsor three academic films or videos-$450
Aristoclass - This is a classroom management program that we hope to install on the computers in our language laboratory. Aristoclass aids the instructor in monitoring students, leading them through their work, helping them discreetly with individual questions, and correcting pronunciation. This software will be used heavily in our phonetics classes which enable our students to perfect their pronunciation. Every class will be able to use the lab at various times throughout the semester to incorporate more technology-based learning into the class. Potentially, you could be helping our students every hour of every day with a donation in this area.
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Sponsor Aristoclass for one student computer – $100
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Sponsor Aristoclass for two computers -$200
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Sponsor Aristoclass for five computers-$500
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Sponsor Aristoclass for the entire lab -$2,000
Equipment/Gifts in Kind – We have a variety of equipment needs in our department. While it may seem counterintuitive to need electronic equipment to teach a foreign language, in today’s classroom environment – we are dealing with a generation who operates with technology much like a fish does in water. This is how they learn. Further, we try to employ a variety of teaching methods for the different types of learning. Among the items we could use are portable tape/CD players, RCA small tape recorders, DVD players, a television which can be mounted on a wall, etc.
I would like to donate and ship/deliver equipment I am no longer using – Please contact us at 501-279-4645 or avaconley@compuserve.com to see if we are in need of this item.
Staff Development – Right now we are unable to send all of our teachers to national conventions, but given our recent recognition by the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), we feel an increased need – and are actually in some senses required – to help our entire staff acquire vital additional training. Would you help us in this effort? While it would cost as much as $10,000 to send all of our professors to a national conference (and we will still need to do some of this), we can create our own workshop by bringing one of the same nationally known speakers to train our faculty for just $2,000. Would you help us as we foster an environment of learning?
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Sponsor one Harding Faculty for our Workshop -$200
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Sponsor two Harding Faculty for our Workshop -$400
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Sponsor three Harding Faculty for our Workshop -$600
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Sponsor five Harding Faculty for our Workshop -$1,000
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Sponsor all Harding Faculty for our Workshop -$2,000
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Sponsor National Convention Registration -$200
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Sponsor Hotel -$400
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Sponsor Air Fare -$400
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I have airline miles I can donate in increments of 50K or 100K (these can be used at any time). Please contact us at 501-279-4645 or avaconley@compuserve.com
To make a gift and sponsor/provide any of the items listed, click here.
Invest Your Time
We are always exploring means by which alumni or friends/family of Harding may be more involved. If you have an idea or would like to donate time to Harding and the Foreign Language Department, please call/contact us at 501-279-4645 or avaconley@compuserve.com.