The Drake University Language Acquisition Program mentors students as they gain functional proficiency in a language other than English, develop cultural understanding, and become responsible global citizens. Students prepare to study or live abroad, enhance professional development, and pursue personal interests while working alongside native speakers and language acquisition specialists.

Mentorship Collective

Instead of a lone professor at the front of a classroom, DULAP provides a mentorship collective including faculty who are professional language acquisition specialists, native-speaker language partners and research assistants, as well as specialists in language and culture. A key part of the collective is the language technology specialist who helps students develop their ePortfolios.

Personal Attention

Each course group has no more than four students. In addition to the language course, each student new to DULAP also gets personal attention in the Language Learning Strategies course, in which students learn to be more effective language learners. Students also meet regularly with their language coordinator throughout the semester.

Language Learning Strategies

All language students enroll in the Language Learning Strategies course, where they can expect to become more reflective and intentional learners, to observe cross-cultural differences, to improve relevant technology skills, and to receive additional guidance in the first semesters of language learning at Drake.

ePortfolio

All student develops an "electronic portfolio" (ePortfolio) documenting their language learning process and progress, including audio clips, video clips, writing samples in the target language, and reflective writing. Students are taught all the tools and techniques they need to complete this project.