The Department of World Languages is one of three departments that support the Humanities program.  The mission of the Department is to enable students to develop communication skills in a second language and to enrich their understanding and appreciation of diverse languages and cultures.  Accordingly, the Department supports the College’s mission by keeping students at the center of the learning experience and providing an engaging environment. We cultivate linguistically capable and culturally competent individuals to succeed in diverse fields in the global community and economy.  

To this end, the Department of World Languages offers instruction in:

  • American Sign Language 
  • Chinese 
  • French 
  • German 
  • Italian 
  • Spanish  
  • French and Latin American literature, culture and civilization courses 

Instruction in these courses also:

  • fulfill the foreign language requirement for the AA in Humanities degree at OCC, SUNY General Education purposes, and New York State teacher certification.
  • promote a fuller understanding of the differences and similarities among global communities through course work, community involvement and study-abroad opportunities.
  • develop lifelong learning skills by fostering critical thinking through linguistic analysis and the comparison of diverse cultures.
  • prepare students for further study and  professional careers requiring competence in foreign languages and the understanding of other cultures. 

The Department of World Languages also: 

Students should refer to SUNY Gen Ed Foreign Language Requirements and the World Language Department Placement Policy for placement into language courses. 

Want to be a tutor? The department needs good language tutors.  You do not have to be a native speaker, only have taken the course for which you would like to tutor and have done well in it.  A few other conditions do apply.  If you are interested, please contact the Learning Center (315) 498-2103 or go directly to Gordon G202.