Georgia Southern University Expands ‘Super-Critical Language’ Course Offerings

August 14, 2012

Georgia Southern University is expanding the number of foreign language courses that it is offering this fall providing students with an opportunity to study what the U.S. Department of State says are two of their “Super-Critical Languages” – Arabic and Chinese.

Georgia Southern University’s Department of Foreign Languages is now offering Chinese (Mandarin) and Arabic language classes ranging from elementary to advanced levels when University classes begin Aug. 20.  This will be the first semester in many years when both languages have been offered at all levels on the Georgia Southern campus.

Chinese and Arabic are among the six languages listed as Super-Critical by the U.S. Department of State. Others on the list include Dari, Farsi, Hindi and Urdu.  Mandarin Chinese is the most widely-spoken language in the world with more than 870 million native speakers. In addition to China and Taiwan, Mandarin Chinese is also spoken in the influential Chinese communities of Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines and Mongolia.  Arabic is the fifth most spoken language in the world and is the official language of more than 20 countries and 300 million native speakers.  English is considered second on the list of most popular languages.

With the growing importance of the Middle East and China in international affairs, there is an extreme shortage of workers in the West who are versed in both Mandarin Chinese and Arabic language and culture. Those who study Arabic and Chinese can often find careers in a variety of fields: journalism, business and industry, education, finance and banking, translation and interpretation, consulting, foreign service and intelligence and many others.

Students interested in enrolling are encouraged to visit:class.georgiasouthern.edu/fl or register online at: my.georgiasouthern.edu.

Georgia Southern University, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906, offers 117 degree programs serving more than 20,000 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. In 2011, the University was named the fourth most popular university in the country by U.S. News & World Report and is a top choice of Georgia’s HOPE scholars.  Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered approach to education. Visit: www.georgiasouthern.edu.