Reading for Research Courses

Reading for Research Purposes courses are graduate-level seminars that prepare students to read and do research using scholarly texts in foreign languages. Their design is innovative and distinct from similar courses offered by peer institutions.

Students build on their fundamental knowledge of a language’s grammar and the most common vocabulary terms used in scholarly writing while developing reading comprehension skills and working intensively with academic texts in their own specific areas of research. Students who perform well in Reading for Research courses are able to analytically read scholarly texts and to synthesize the key points, arguments, and evidence in these texts in order to integrate this information into their own research.

These courses (numbered 33333 and 33300 in the various languages) also include practicing the skills necessary to perform well in the Academic Reading Comprehension Assessment (ARCA), administered by the Office for Language Assessment (OLA). Undergraduate students may also take Reading for Research courses and have the option of taking the ARCA, or completing a final assignment in which they identify, cite, and describe the relevance of multiple secondary texts in their discipline.

Students will be successful in the Reading for Research courses (as well as on the ARCA) if they already possess the prerequisite reading skills in the targeted language; please see the individual course listings from the Registrar for detailed information about prerequisites. If not, it is recommended that students take a Reading for Research Prerequisite Course (numbered 13333 in a limited number of languages). This course is designed for students without prior experience or training in the language. In the prerequisite course, students learn grammar and syntax fundamentals, basic vocabulary, and basic reading strategies that they will build upon to be successful in the Reading for Research courses, and ultimately be skillful readers of scholarly texts in foreign languages in their discipline.

Reading for Research courses and their prerequisites are listed in the Registrar’s Schedule of Classes. Depending on the language, these courses may be taught during the academic year and the Summer Session. Students should check with their deans of students or with the language programs to find about about course offerings.