World Languages

Why Learn Arabic?

Mt. SAC offers beginning and intermediate, university-transferable Arabic language courses that include both verbal and written learning, taught by native speakers in both English and Arabic.

ARAB 1 – Elementary Arabic
ARAB 2 – Continuing Elementary Arabic

Arabic (ARAB)

Why Learn Chinese?

The Chinese languages are spoken by more than one billion people worldwide, and are the languages of the Han people, which is the largest ethnic group in China and the Republic of China. About one-fifth of the world’s population, or over 1 billion people, speak some form of Chinese as their native language, and Mandarin Chinese alone has around 850 million native speakers, outnumbering any other languages in the world. Standard Mandarin is the official language of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan), as well as one of four official languages of Singapore. Chinese—de facto, Standard Mandarin—is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.  Mt. SAC offers beginning and intermediate, university-transferable Chinese language courses that include both verbal and written learning, taught by native speakers in both English and Chinese.

CHIN 1 — Elementary Chinese
CHIN 2 — Continuing Elementary Chinese
CHIN 3 — Intermediate Chinese
CHIN 4 — Intermediate Chinese

Chinese (CHIN)

Why Learn French?

French is a Romance language spoken by about 300 million people in 54 countries worldwide as either a native or second language. Descended from the Latin of the Roman Empire, it was influenced by the Celtic and German languages. It is an official language in 41 countries in the French La Francophonie, the community of French-speaking nations. It is an administrative language of the European Union, the International Olympic Committee, and the United Nations among others. Along with English, it is the most used language in the European Commission.

Mt. SAC offers beginning and intermediate, university-transferable French language courses that include both verbal and written learning, including an extensive web site with sound and video files to help students learn pronunciation, taught by native speakers in both English and French.

FRCH 1 — Elementary French
FRCH 2 — Continuing Elementary French
FRCH 3 — Intermediate French
FRCH 4 — Continuing Intermediate French
FRCH 52 — Conversational French
FRCH 53 — Continuing Conversational French
FRCH 54 — Intermediate Continuing Conversational French
FRCH 60 — French Culture Through Cinema

French (FRCH)

Why Learn German?

German is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. German is closely related to English and Dutch. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 100 million native speakers and another 20 million non-native speakers, and Standard German is widely taught in schools and universities in Europe. According to the Guinness Book of Records, German accounts for the most written translations into and from a language worldwide. German is the 4th most commonly spoken language in U.S. homes.

Mt. SAC offers beginning and intermediate, university-transferable German language courses that include both verbal and written learning, taught by native speakers in both English and German.

GERM 1 — Elementary German
GERM 2 — Elementary German
GERM 3 — Intermediate German

German (GERM)

Why Learn Italian?

Italian is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people, primarily in Italy and Switzerland, where Italian is an official language (in Switzerland along with German and French). Of the Romance languages, Italian is considered to be the closest to Latin.  Mt. SAC offers beginning and intermediate, university-transferable Italian language courses that promote verbal, written, and cross-cultural skills. Courses are taught by native speakers in both English and Italian. There are opportunities for field trips, cultural events, and travel!

ITAL 1 — Elementary Italian
ITAL 2 — Continuing Elementary Italian
ITAL 3 — Intermediate Italian
ITAL 4 — Continuing Intermediate Italian
ITAL 53 — Continuing Conversational Italian
FRCH 54 — Advanced Continuing Conversational French
ITAL 60 — Italian Culture Through Cinema
ITAL 61 — Italian Culture Through Food

Italian (ITAL)

Why Learn Japanese?

Japanese is spoken by more than 130 million people, mainly in Japan, but also by Japanese emigrant communities around the world. It is distinguished by a complex system of honorifics reflecting the hierarchical nature of Japanese society, with verb forms and particular vocabulary to indicate the relative status of speaker, listener, and the person mentioned in conversation. The earliest record of Japanese is in a Chinese document from 252 A.D. A vast number of words were borrowed from Chinese or created from Chinese models over at least 1,500 years. Since the late 19th century, Japanese has borrowed a considerable number of words from Indo-European languages, primarily English.  Mt. SAC offers beginning and intermediate, university-transferable Japanese language courses that include both verbal and written learning, taught by native and native-level speakers in both English and Japanese.

JAPN 1 — Elementary Japanese
JAPN 2 — Continuing Elementary Japanese
JAPN 3 — Intermediate Japanese
JAPN 4 — Continuing Intermediate Japanese
JAPN 5 — Advanced Japanese
JAPN 50 — The  Art of Kanji
JAPN 53 — Conversational Japanese
JAPN62 — Japanese Culture Through Anime and Manga

Japanese (JAPN)

Why Learn Korean?

Korean (South Korean: 한국어/韓國語, hangugeo; North Korean: 조선말/朝鮮말, chosŏnmal) is an East Asian language spoken by about 77 million people. It is the official and national language of both countries: North Korea and South Korea, with different standardized official forms used in each country. It is a recognized minority language in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and Changbai Korean Autonomous County of Jilin Province, China. It is also spoken in parts of Sakhalin, Russia and Central Asia. Mt. SAC offers beginning university-transferable Korean language courses that include both verbal and written learning, taught by native and heritage speakers in both English and Korean.

KORE 1 — Elementary Korean
KORE 2 — Continuing Elementary Korean
KORE 3 — Intermediate Korean
KORE 4 — Continuing Intermediate Korean
KORE 60 — Korean Culture Through Cinema

Korean (KORE)

Why Learn Spanish?

Spanish is a Romance language originally from the northern area of Spain. It is the only official language covering the entirety of Spain, most Latin American countries, and one of the official languages of Equatorial Guinea. In total, twenty-five nations and territories use Spanish as their primary language. In addition, it is an important language in twenty other countries. Spanish is the native language to more than 400 million people, making it the most popular Romance language and probably the second most spoken language by number of native speakers. It is estimated that approximately 500 million people speak Spanish worldwide, probably making it the third most spoken language by total number of speakers. Spanish is also the second-most popular language in California, particularly Southern California.

Mt. SAC offers beginning and intermediate, university-transferable Spanish language courses that include both verbal and written learning, taught by native speakers in both English and Spanish.

SPAN 1 — Elementary Spanish
SPAN 1S — Spanish for the Spanish Speaking
SPAN 2 — Continuing Elementary Spanish
SPAN 2S — Continuing Spanish for the Spanish Speaking
SPAN 3 — Intermediate Spanish
SPAN 4 — Continuing Intermediate Spanish
SPAN 30 —  Spanish Composition: Exploring U.S. Latino Topics
SPAN 50 — Spanish of the Barrio: A sociolinguistic Perspective
SPAN 53 — Conversational Spanish
SPAN 54 — Continuing Conversational Spanish
SPAN 60 — Latin American Culture Through Cinema

Spanish (SPAN)

Why Learn Linguistics?

1. Understanding Human Communication: Linguistics provides deep insights into how language functions, including its structure, use, and development. This understanding enhances your ability to communicate effectively and to appreciate the complexities of human interaction.
2. Cultural and Social Insight: Language is a fundamental aspect of culture and society. Learning linguistics helps you understand how language shapes and is shaped by cultural and social contexts, offering a broader perspective on human behavior and societal norms.
3. Career and Academic Opportunities: A background in linguistics opens up diverse career paths in fields such as education, translation, speech therapy, language technology, and more. It also provides a strong foundation for further academic research in language-related disciplines.

LING 1 — Introduction to Linguistic Analysis
LING 2 — Languages, Gender, and Power
LING 3 — Languages, Cultures, and Writing in East Asia
LING 4 — Introduction to World Languages
LING 5 — Language, Context, and Data
LING 6 — Latin and Greek in Modern Language and Science

Linguistics (LING)