1:00pm | There is a department at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) whose lengthy name — the Romance/German/Russian Languages and Literatures (RGRLL) department — might easily cause many to point out the so-called pointlessness and absurdity of the humanities.

But there is, as always, a caveat in this argument: the humanities are not areas of human knowledge strictly geared towards theory or a lack of practicality. In fact, they are essential in our ever-shrinking world as multiple cultures are beginning to interact on higher social, business, and political levels. And the use and need of multiple languages is key if we are to succeed in the future. In fact, then-director of the CIA Leon Panetta held a summit in 2010 that attempted to address ways to alleviate the severe deficiency in foreign language ability amongst United States Americans.

This is where that wordy department is contributing in a way that is so innovative, they were awarded a $100,000 grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to further an initiative called French and Italian for Spanish Speakers.

The program is rather fascinating, surrounding the idea of “intercomprehension” or the teaching and learning of more than one language at a time; in this case, creating courses for just Spanish speakers. San Pedro High School, one of the first participants in the initiative, offers French and Italian to its largely Latino student population; instead of treating students like “blank slates,” the curriculum enhances what they already know (Spanish and English) with their new language (French or Italian), helping the student learn multiple languages at once. In other words, it uses the known language as a bridge to the other — and have students come out trilingual following high school.

Clorinda Donato is the grant project’s principal investigator, culminating in some seven years of research and work. Working on the initiative with Donato is Claire Martin, project director and Spanish professor, and Markus Muller, content specialist for the project and RGRLL language program. The road to acceptance, Donato explained, began six years ago when RGRLL began a conversation with the French consulate after it recognized the department for its combination under one roof of French, Italian, and Spanish.

“It is a way to validate a potential for linguistic competence these students don’t know they have,” Donato said.  “With instruction that validates their knowledge of Spanish through a method that emphasizes the intercomprehension of the Romance languages, Spanish-speaking students are at a clear advantage when it comes to acquiring that second Romance language.”

Donato said other campuses have expressed interest in the French and Italian for Spanish Speakers Initiative. When the project was first presented at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages conference in Denver in November, the CSULB presenters were approached by many teachers who wanted to do the same at their schools.

Already this month, Donato and other have traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the Humanities Initiatives Project Directors’ meeting.  In early March, she will travel abroad to the University of Venice for a week-long seminar on the intercomprehension of the Romance languages.

The NEH grant will allow CSULB to expand its current program into area high schools and community colleges, including San Pedro High School, Wilson High, Long Beach City College and Rio Hondo City College.