3. Enter number codes. Additional characters are available by
using the former numberpad, now built into the ThinkPad keyboard. For
these, press "SHIFT" and "NUMLK" (activates the numberpad),
release, and then while holding down "ALT" enter the following
codes on the numberpad keys (7-9, J-L, M-.). Deactivate the numberpad
(press "SHIFT" and "NUMLK" again) before resuming
normal typing.
¢ (cent) 0162
£ (pound stirling) 0163
¥ (yen) 0165
™ (trademark) 0153
« » (Romance quotes) 0171 0187
§ (section) 0167
¶ (paragraph) 0182
† ‡ ("daggers") 0134 0135
º (degree) 0186
ª ° (raised a, o for Spanish ordinals) 0170, 0176
¼ ½ ¾ (fractions) 0188, 0189, 0190
× (times) 0215
· (mid dot for multiplication) 0183 or • (heavier bullet) 0149
÷ (divided by) 0247
± (plus or minus) 0177
µ (mu) 0181
´ (prime) 0180
² (squared) 0187
³ (cubed, cubic) 0179
¯ (overline) 0175
þ Þ (thorn) 0154, 0222
å Å (Swedish o-a) 0229 0197
æ Æ (ash) 0230, 0198
This enter-the-code method is more convenient than point-at-the-chart,
but not quite as fast as keyboard shortcuts. (Making a macro can help
for frequently used symbols.) Note that just about any character or symbol
is possible on a computer, from math to music, from phonetic symbols to
Chinese and Arabic, but you need to install special fonts for these.
Q: Should I use foreign language spell-checkers and grammar-checkers?
A: Of course, but for classwork you should check with your teacher.
These do exist for foreign languages, but with the same limitations as
those in Word for English. They do cut down on spelling mistakes
and (in grammar) catch many agreement errors, but they miss numerous errors
in context and flag "errors" that are not errors in
context. To succeed in language study you should really learn to monitor
and correct mistakes yourself.
Q: How about translator programs? Do they work?
A: First of all, you should never begin with English and
then translate (with either mind or machine) into the foreign language:
this little trick is guaranteed to short-circuit any real language learning,
and the results sound like English. Second, despite the hype, machine
translators are just data bases that match one word to another and convert
mechanically without sensitivity to meaning and construction. The result
is gibberish that's far worse than your own efforts in the language. (Actual
example: Spanish Vete al cuerno = 'go to the devil!' was rendered
'Veto to the horn'.) Don’t jeopardize your course grade with such
junk, and spend your money instead on a decent bilingual dictionary or
a nice CD of Spanish, French, or Italian songs.
Q: Would it help to get a tutor?
A: Ask your course instructor, who can also explain the limits to
which tutoring is permitted on classwork. In general, it's okay to have
a tutor go over already graded work with you, or just chat with you in
the language, or explain something to you. But many instructors would
disallow direct assistance on written work to be turned in for a grade.
If tutoring seems a good idea, you have two options: (1) the free tutoring
that the Department of Romance Langs. offers on certain days of the week,
and (2) paid personal tutoring. Contact the Dept. for further information
(B201 Tribble, or tel.758-5487). Some programs (e.g. Athletics) provide
tutors too.
Q: I'm having trouble learning the language. Any suggestions?
A: There are learning disabilities and a few differences in learning
styles that can affect aspects of your work: reading, association, retention...
If you think you have a special problem, talk with your instructor and
the WFU Learning Assistance Program. But there's seldom if ever a foreign-language-specific
problem, and you may just need to adjust your study habits from the content-oriented
focus of some courses to the skill-oriented basis needed for language
acquisition. In particular, four key skills are practiced in our classes
-- speaking, listening, reading, and writing; and the more you use each
one, the better you become at it.
Here're some general advice.
- Use it! As a student of a foreign language always remember:
USE IT OR LOSE IT! Use every opportunity to speak, hear, and
read it— even talk to yourself and think in the language.
You're learning a skill in language, not about a language, and
mastery requires practice. Sometimes that means goofing, but that's
okay: you learn through your mistakes, and it's better to make them
in practice than on tests. Your brain, swamped by stimulation, discards
what is not put to use, so the more you use something, the faster and
better you handle it. Tests examine not only what you know, but
how well you know it and how quickly you can put it to use.
- Develop good study habits! Study with full concentration,
but for brief periods; studies show that a skill practiced in, say,
four 15-minute sessions can sink in much better than if relentlessly
crammed for 60 minutes and then dropped. Put tricky points on cards
to carry with you and take advantage of those mentally idle moments
in your day (walking, standing in line, eating breakfast, etc.) to practice
the language. Memorize not only vocabulary, but also useful formulas
you can rely on to get things done. Figure out what works for you and
practice things yourself.
- Avoid translation. Although it may seem safer to translate,
it becomes a trap: you develop no real skill in the language,
and it doubles your processing time (which becomes a problem on timed
tests). Try to speak, hear, read, and write in the language without
mediation from English —and it'll seem increasingly natural (and
quicker) for you.
- Consistent attendance is vital in a language class. When you're
absent, you've not missed a lecture you can make up by borrowing others'
notes, but a unique personal opportunity to practice communicative skills
that will be tested on exams.
- Assume that grammar does mean something. Many students think
of "grammar" as just a stylistic matter of proper form in
an otherwise intelligible sentence, as in correcting different than
to different from. But in other languages, form and endings of
words can make a huge difference in meaning, and you should assume that
if a language has kept a piece of machinery for hundreds of years, it's
because it communicates something and makes a difference.
- Be willing to take risks and make mistakes, trying out the
new structures and vocabulary you're learning. Students who play it
safe (stick to the simple, reliable forms instead of trying new ones)
are holding themselves back --- "nothing ventured, nothing gained."
At the same time, learn from your mistakes. There's no disgrace
goofing with something you didn't know; but progress comes from learning
from it and doing better next time.
- When you have a question, ask it! Never fear to ask for help;
often the same thing puzzling you is confusing others too, and it’s
better to ask about little problems before they snowball into big ones.
- Allow yourself to assume a new identity, as in a play. In the
"guise" of a foreign language, you can be a different person,
play another role, take on a different self. Let yourself be an extrovert,
participate, jump in, chat away, experiment; be willing to make mistakes
in order to communicate.
- Aim for whole language, not just words. Think beyond words
and brief phrases to the whole message you want to get across, within
the overall conversation (in speech) or the overall theme (in writing).
- Keep on trying to keep a conversation going. When you run
up against something you don't know the word for, don't give up; develop
the ability to paraphrase (circumlocute) E.g. if you need to refer to
a 'doorknob', don't just halt the conversation or invent a fake word
like la doorknob-a, but say in the language something like 'that
thing on a door that you grab to open it' and keep going.
(Some of these suggestions come from Middlebury College Summer LanguageSchool
Handbook, 1997. See also Joan Rubin & Irene Thompson, How to
Be a More Successful Language Learner, Heinle & Heinle 1982, or
H. Douglas Brown, A Practical Guide to Lnguage Learning, McGraw
Hill, 1989.)
Q: I just can't keep up with vocabulary. How can I learn it better?
A: Any foreign language course requires vocabulary development, because
one needs tens of thousands of words to communicate. There are many tricks
and memory aids, e.g. the traditional fistful of vocabulary cards for
drilling yourself. But the important strategies are (1) to relate (associate)
the new to the old, (2) to use new words (e.g. by making sentences
with them — that takes them out of a book and registers them in your
own brain), and (3) to review previous vocabulary constantly, especially
words you had trouble with.
Q: Can you recommend me a decent dictionary and grammar for reference?
A: Good point! Bookstores and libraries offer a bewildering variety
of reference works for foreign language study, but no, they're not
of equal quality. Some are archaic, and many present as synonyms words
thta mean very different things (producing some hilarious goofs sometimes).
The Spanish faculty have recommended the following:
paperback dictionary: The Bantam New College Spanish & English
Dictionary .
hardback (and fuller reference) dictionary: Houghton-Mifflin’s
The American Heritage Spanish Dictionary, & reference grammar:
Dozier & Iguina: Manual de gramática: Grammar Reference for Students
of Spanish, Heinle & Heinle; or.Kopenhaver & Wingit, Essential
Spanish Grammar in Review (McGraw-Hill)
The French faculty recommend:
monolingual dictionary: Le Robert Micro. (Robert Pr.)
bilingual dictionary: Collins-Robert French-English Dictionary,
(Collins Publ.), & Compact Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary
(Oxford U. Pr.)
grammar: Hoffmann, L'Essentiel de la grammaire française (Scribner)
You can also ask your instructor for advice.
Q: At what level should I start the language?
A: The level at which you are placed. Our placement tests are given
to freshmen during orientation and to transfer students shortly before
they register. The scores are processed, and then your advisor lets you
know your placement level and helps you sign up for the indicated course.
NOTE: if you feel you can and should enter at a higher level than
the one where you were placed, you may sign up for it. But if you prefer
to enter at a lower level, you must follow this procedure:
- Sign up for the course at which you were placed, attend for several
days, and get the instructor's opinion about whether you are ready for
that level.
- Make an appointment with the appeals officer for that language (a
faculty member designated by the department): currently Dr. Stan Whitley
(Spanish) and Dr. Connie Dickey (French). He/she will interview you,
check your placemnt score, ask about your background, try to determine
a specific weakness that did not appear in the placement test, and decide
whether you should drop down a level.
- If the appeals officer approves your request, he/she will fill out
a form for the dean, and then you drop your current course and add the
new one.
Without this written permission from the designated placement appeals
officer, you will not receive credit for a lower-level course that
you switch to.
Q: How do I get information on study abroad?
A: Fastest way: check out the Study abroad page linked to our departmental
home page. Or call the department office (758-5487), especially to get
application forms. We have programs for study in Salamanca (Spain), Quito
(Ecuador), La Habana (Cuba), Dijon (France), Venice (Italy). We also have
exchange scholarships for study at the Universidad de Burgos (Burgos,
Spain) and at the Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia). Finally,
there is further information on foreign study (including other universities'
programs) in the dept. lounge (B213 Tribble), and in the Office of International
Studies (27 Carswell).
Q: What clubs can I get into for more practice with the language?
A: Now that's a good way to really learn the language! Check
out our pages Upcoming events and Clubs, Activities, Honorary Societies
linked to the dept. home page; or call the department office (758-5487)
for information on the following department-sponsored extracurriculars.
There's also the honorary society Sigma Delta Pi.:
- SPANISH: Cine Club (Film Festival), Mesa Hispana, Club Hispano.
- FRENCH: La Grenouille (French newspaper), La Table Française (currently
Cercle Française & Café Conversation), French House
- ITALIAN: Italian Film Festival, Circolo Italiano.
Q: Who can I see about talking about a major or minor in a foreign
language?
A: See the WFU bulletin for essential requirements, and talk with
your instructor. To get in touch with the current advisors for the program
in Spanish, French, Italian or linguistics, call the department.
Q: How can I arrange transfer credit?
A: For transfer credit (from either U.S. universities or abroad),
go to the Registrar's Office and pick up a transfer credit form , and
submit it with a copy of the course description to the Chair of the department
for approval.
Q: How can I schedule an appointment for a campus visit?
A: Rising high school seniors who are interested in visiting a class
on campus should contact either the departmental secretary or the Admissions
Office to schedule an appointment. Many professors don't mind a visit
as long as there's room in the classroom, but it should be agreed to in
advance.
