The University of the West Indies St. Augustine Campus Faculty of Humanities and Education Caribbean Studies Project HUMN 3099 Student name: ___Ariana Roberts_____________________________ Student ID no.: __816027156_________________________________ Degree Program: ______BA in Spanish__________________________ Supervisor: ___Dr. Anne-Marie Pouchet___________________________ Title of Thesis: An evaluation of the UWI Foreign Language Degree: graduate professional placement and academic advancement for the year period 2017-2023. Word count: _7778_________________ Declaration 1. I declare that this thesis has been composed solely by myself and that it has not been submitted, in whole or in part, in any previous application for a degree. Except where stated otherwise by reference or acknowledgment, the work presented is entirely my own. 2. I authorise The University of the West Indies to make a physical or digital copy of my thesis/research paper/project report for its preservation, for public reference, and for the purpose of inter-library loan. Signature of Student: ____Ariana Roberts_____________________ Date: ___10/04/2024________________ THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES The Office of the Board for Undergraduate Studies INDIVIDUAL PLAGIARISM DECLARATION This declaration is being made in accordance with the University Regulations on Plagiarism (First Degrees, Diplomas and Certificate) and should be attached to all work submitted by a student to be assessed as part of or/the entire requirement of the course, other than work submitted in an invigilated examination. Statement 1. I have read the Plagiarism Regulations as set out in the Faculty Handbook and University websites related to the submission of coursework for assessment. 2. I declare that I understand that plagiarism is the use of another’s work pretending that it is one’s own and that it is a serious academic offence for which the University may impose severe penalties. 3. I declare that the submitted work indicated below is my own work, except where duly acknowledged and referenced. 4. I also declare that this paper has not been previously submitted for credit either in its entirety or in part within the UWI or elsewhere. 5. I understand that I may be required to submit the work in electronic form and accept that the University may check the originality of the work using a computer-based plagiarism detection service. TITLE OF ASSIGNMENT – An evaluation of the UWI Foreign Language Degree: graduate professional placement and academic advancement for the year period 2017-2023. COURSE CODE – HUMN 3099 COURSE TITLE - CARIBBEAN STUDIES PROJECT STUDENT ID - ___816027156______________________ By signing this declaration, you are confirming that the work you are submitting is original and does not contain any plagiarised material. I confirm that this assignment is my own work, and that the work of other persons has been fully acknowledged. SIGNATURE - ___Ariana Roberts__________________________ DATE - __09/04/2024______________________________ i Abstract In several countries worldwide, the value of a foreign language degree is constantly being assessed to determine its validity to the respective society’s development. Since there is limited research done on this matter concerning the twin Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, this thesis examines and evaluates the value of the UWI foreign language degree among graduates who obtained their Bachelor of Arts in Spanish or French within the timeframe 2017-2023. The results provided in this research will be invaluable in the foreign language departments’ assessment of the utility and effectiveness of their language program among students as the focus of this research is to determine the value of the foreign language degree in a graduate’s academic and secular life. The data was collected through primary methods such as a survey and a questionnaire along with secondary sources that were used to compare and contrast the findings. Congruent with popular belief, most graduates from this study have attained careers in the teaching industry while those who continue to postgraduate studies seek their academic advancement abroad in countries such as the U.S. This implies that the UWI foreign language degree is valuable in a graduate’s secular career, however, there are improvements to be made concerning their postgraduate programs so that there may be a greater influx of postgraduate foreign language students. Key Words: Trinidad and Tobago, UWI foreign language degree, teaching industry, Spanish and French students, academic advancement. ii Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………i List of Figures………………………………………………………………………………..iii List of Appendices……………………………………………………………………………v Introduction: …………………………………………………………….…………………….1 Rationale……………………………………………………………….………………2 Thesis…………………………………………………………………………………..2 Parameters……………………………………………………………………………..2 Objectives……………………………………………………………………………...3 Methodology…………………………………………………………………………...4 Chapter Outline………………………………………………………………………..4 Chapter 1: Literature Review………………………………………………………………….6 Chapter 2: Findings………………………………………………………………………..…15 Chapter 3: Discussion of Findings…………………………………………………………...34 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………39 Works cited…………………………………………………………………………..………40 Appendix A………………………………………………………………………………......43 Appendix B…………………………………………………………………………………..53 iii List of Figures Pie Chart 1: Gender of those who participated in the questionnaire. Pie chart 2: participants’ area of study at UWI Pie Chart 3: year each participant graduated Clustered bar chart 1: Postgraduate levels of participants. Pie Chart 4: Number of participants who advanced to post-graduate level due to their experience as a UWI undergraduate foreign language student. Clustered bar chart 2: Participants view of the utility of foreign languages in varying industries Column Chart 1: various occupations of foreign language graduates Pie Chart 5: participants whose occupation requires their foreign language skills Pie Chart 6: number of participants who regard other degree fields as more useful than a foreign language degree in the secular world. Pie chart 7: participants who had a career path in mind prior to the start of their foreign language degree. Pie chart 8: participants who deem their foreign language degree as useful in their secular work Pie Chart 9: participants’ opinion on whether the secular society in Trinidad and Tobago view foreign language employees as important iv Pie Chart 10: participants’ view on whether Trinidad and Tobago’s wider society view foreign language as essential to economic and social development. Pie Chart 11: participants’ opinion on whether foreign language graduates have career opportunities in Trinidad and Tobago Pie Chart 12: participants’ viewpoints on whether foreign language graduates often gain employment in their field of expertise in Trinidad and Tobago Pie Chart 13: participants who believe a foreign language degree will be pertinent in the future. Clustered bar chart 3: participants’ viewpoint on why foreign language is important during world crises. v List of Appendices Appendix A: Interviews Appendix B: Copy of Questionnaire 1 Introduction Rationale The University of the West Indies (UWI) is progressing in its investment of the foreign language degree to the extent that there are currently eight language courses available, namely Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Yoruba. According to the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics, the objective of a foreign language degree “not only includes speaking and writing proficiency in the target language but also increases one's appreciation and critical analysis of the literatures and cultures that share that language.” (DMLL 2024). Hence, the foreign language degree focuses on equipping the expected graduate with the skills necessary to utilize their foreign language skills in society, whether in their home country or another country whose main language is the foreign language learned, or in the vocational setting. With the dynamic progress of the socio-demographic diaspora in Trinidad and Tobago, the main foreign languages used in the professional environment are Spanish and French (Morton-Gittens and Smith 2016). Therefore, the value of the foreign language degree is dependent in part on its applicability in a graduate’s career. This study seeks to evaluate how advantageous the UWI Spanish and French degrees have been to their past graduates in their professional life and advancing academic life during the year period 2017-2023, which is of great significance as world conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic would have implied an unprecedented shift in the availability of specific vocational occupations. Additionally, the findings of this study can prove to be essential to the Foreign Languages Department of UWI as this information can assist in discerning the trend of their students’ professional placement and subsequently, assess the need to re-evaluate existing courses or add new courses to adapt to the ever-changing demands of the occupational industry. With regard to the current foreign language students, 2 this study can prove useful in determining which job market is feasible and requires an expert in their degree choice. As the majority of foreign language students occupy jobs within the teaching sector of Trinidad and Tobago, this study will also consider whether this job market remains the primary source of career paths for students or if therein lies another upcoming sector that requires such a degree or if graduates land in other career opportunities that do not require their focus of study. Within the framework of this study, a hypothesis predicting the placement of graduates and their decision to further studies will be proved or disproved accordingly. During the period 2017-2023, the UWI foreign language degree has proven to be an invaluable asset in the teaching sector since graduates mainly prefer this career path and undergraduate professionals seek to advance in their foreign language studies abroad. Parameters This research project was carried out in a six-month timeframe and observed trends of UWI French and Spanish graduates in their choice of career placement and advancements in their academic life over 6 years, namely, 2017-2023. This specific timeframe was chosen not only for its currency but also for the reason that the job market and academic advancement was affected in a unique way given the circumstances of world events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Since Spanish and French are the only foreign language degrees offered by the University of the West Indies St. Augustine, the geodemography of the graduate population will be limited to French and Spanish graduates who are of Trinidadian and Tobagonian descent or who chose career paths within the twin island state since this population can be easily accessed and evaluated. Given the timeframe of this study, the entire population of the 3 Spanish and French graduates will not be considered, rather a representative sample with be analysed with at least 20% of graduates participating in the survey from each year. Additionally, this study will solely focus on the occupational and academic value of the UWI foreign language degree, rather than the socio-cultural or economic implications of the degree. Objectives This thesis aims to: Evaluate the value of the UWI French and Spanish degree in the professional sphere. Assess the level of continuation of the foreign language degree within the postgraduate context. Identify the demographics of graduates who actively use their degree in the workplace. Outline the main occupations that value the UWI Foreign language degree. Assess the level of satisfaction graduates achieve with their degree in the workplace. Examine the statistical evidence that demonstrates whether graduates obtain a job within the framework of their foreign language degree. Provide recommendations for improvement of Spanish and French degrees to align with industry and postgraduate needs. 4 Methodology The data collected in this study was from primary documentary sources, and primary oral sources. The primary documentary source was in the form of a questionnaire given to 25- 30 participants who are French or Spanish graduates who are of the professional class and postgraduates. Additionally, the primary oral sources stemmed from interviews conducted with a selected few of the graduates and postgraduates. These interviews were fundamental in assessing the satisfaction of the graduates in their working environment and their recommendations to enhance the value of the French or Spanish degree within the vocational environment. The approach to the data to be collected was a hypothetical approach. This implies that a thesis is used to guide and gauge the data gathered from the primary and secondary sources. The culmination of these sources indicates that the research approach is also a mixed-method approach. Qualitative data is the focus of the interviews where the effect of the foreign language degree was testified by selected participants. However, quantitative data derived from the questionnaires as numerical evidence of the value of the French and Spanish degrees was assessed through graphical and tabulated representations. Since this study is concerned with the educational and occupational outcomes of a degree, the genre is a social study variant. Chapter Outline This research paper consists of three chapters. Chapter 1 presents the application of the foreign language degree in the occupational industry of various countries and then draws reference to what occurs within Trinidad and Tobago. Chapter 2 outlines the research’s findings in both a graphical format and in a qualitative format outlining the experiences of 5 some graduates and postgraduates. Chapter 3 analyses and discusses the findings of this study and relates its significance to the objectives and hypothesis posited at the outset of this study. 6 Chapter 1: Literature Review Foreign language learning is defined as the study of a language that is not native to one’s country of origin (Moeller and Catalano 2015). Many countries follow the pattern of engaging young ones in foreign language learning, including Trinidad and Tobago. Such students who gain a love for and aptitude in foreign languages seek to advance in this field academically and secularly. To facilitate this need, the University of the West Indies has implemented foreign language degrees such as Spanish and French. However, the extent to which these degrees are useful in Trinidad and Tobago’s economic environment should be evaluated. Hence, a view of the utility of foreign language acquisition in the past, the perspective of the business world concerning foreign language graduates, career placement of foreign language students, and elements that challenge the value of the foreign language degree must be analysed. Foreign language learning can be considered as old as human history, both formally taught and informally acquired. McLelland postulates that the earliest records of language learning dates back to 1000 A.D as monks learned English-Latin dialogues (2018). The first prominent language learned in Europe is one of the languages of focus in this study, French. The reason for French language learning stems from the historical context of the Norman conquest of Britain in the eleventh century. Within this era, France was the dominating power in the European continent and as such, for merchants and politicians of a mother tongue other than French to form ties with this world power, French as a foreign language was of quintessential importance. Thus, French was taught to those in primary schools in Britain, 7 with 77% of students continuing their foreign language journey into secondary schools and scholars also saw the utility of French in their studies and career choices. Thus, from ancient times, French is a foreign language that is valuable to those seeking careers in political and in mercantile professions. Contrastingly, the second language of focus in this study, Spanish, was not regarded as one of importance in the time of French rule. As seen in the historical context of French learning, Spanish would only be regarded as a language worthy of learning if the country of origin, Spain, were a conquering world power, dominating trade routes and expanding colonial power. According to Elliot, Spain embarked on this rise to power in the late fifteenth century which also coincided with the Golden Age (2009). Spain expanded its overseas trading routes to increase its colonial power in the Americas and in the Caribbean. Hence, merchants, officials, priests, and governors carried their mother tongue and ensured that the local population learned Spanish, specifically Castilian with the objective of creating a subdued workforce and establishing the prominent religion in Spain, Christianity in the New World. Additionally, Greer notes that the Spanish Golden Age (a.k.a El Siglo de Oro) was a time for budding authors of Spain to publish literary works that proved invaluable to literature enthusiasts in countries other than Spain so much so that their works were published and distributed in Spanish to foreign lands (2011). Hence, Spanish in times past proved to be an asset to the labour force of Spanish colonies and those with careers in the literary world. In summation, history gives evidence that Spanish and French are valuable as foreign languages in various career paths that require such knowledge. 8 However, in modern times, the reasons and objectives for language learning have evolved with the dynamic revolution of the world’s advancements in career opportunities and need for workers with a second language. For example, although Tomé et al. emphasize that foreign language can influence the success of a business in today’s globalized market, there are countries who do not share this sentiment (2022). In the case of Russia, there is an intricately interconnected network of markets within the country. Due to this developed internal trade market, Russia is deemed as one of the world powers in the economic industry. Therefore, Tomé et al. recognized that larger economic world leaders do not see the need for their industry to hire those who can speak foreign languages. Contrastingly, smaller countries such as Portugal have a greater appreciation for foreign languages such as English, French, German, and Chinese. This can be attributed to the fact that Portugal would not be able to depend solely on internal business for its economic growth since it is a lesser economic power. Globalization of trade, however, broadens Portugal’s prospect in economic advancement. Consequently, industries such as the tourism and hospitality industries greatly benefit when they hire workers who can speak more than one language. Trinidad and Tobago has an international ranking of 105 regarding its economy which is significantly lower than that of Portugal which has a ranking of 51 (WorldData 2024). This implies that like Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago is a lesser economic power and depends on the connections provided through the global market. It can thus be postulated that those who speak foreign languages should be in great demand in the secular sector of this country as they are the determining factor in the success of international relationships. However, unlike Portugal, the official language of Trinidad and Tobago is English, which is the dominant language for international trade (Kenny 2024). This fact explains in part why the occupational atmosphere in the Twin 9 Island Republic does not see the need for workers specializing in languages such as Spanish and French which may limit the opportunities French and Spanish graduates encounter succeeding the completion of their degree. This study seeks to approve or disprove this hypothesis by analysing the job opportunities foreign language graduates are offered when they enter the professional sphere. In the case of students who focus their academic studies on foreign languages, their career placement does not seem to be what they would expect. With regards to Malaysia’s foreign language students, their specialization in a Bachelor of Arts in a specific foreign language does not make them eligible to work in the public sector as their education does not meet the requirements of the workforce (Marchart 2017). Thus, students who pursue foreign languages are at a greater disadvantage than other degree fields that are already facing saturated markets as this choice of degree severely limits their career opportunities. Consequently, as Marchart highlights, graduating foreign language students often find secular work that is either not based on their area of study or they are overqualified for with regard to what the company requires in line with their study. Within the realm of this issue, Marchart managed his primary research by interviewing foreign language graduates who were currently working at that time. After these students completed their field of study, additional training was provided to prepare them for their work in the private sector. Soon explained that her training was in a company that specializes in financial services which was quite different to her studies of foreign languages in university. Her tasks and projects were nothing like what she studied and Soon emphasized that she had to start from scratch (Marchart 2017). Another foreign language graduate, Lin feels that she had wasted her time 10 in her years of study as her language skills were not fully taken advantage of in the institution she was placed to work in. These experiences attest to the notion that foreign language students hardly find a career path that satisfies their field of study and their desire to continue advancing academically in their foreign language studies. One interview provides an optimistic viewpoint which was that of Sam. Sam, unlike Soon and Lin, was placed in a French company that required her French skills and put them to good use by sending her to their branch in France. In fact, over the course of Sam’s involvement in this company, her French communication skills increased. Therefore, Sam’s experience may be a success story or the aim of every foreign language student. However, the fact is that among the population that Marchart interviewed, Sam was the only one whose career satisfied her academic studies. Hence, therein lies a probability that foreign language students may not encounter career paths that are in line with their degrees. This leaves the concern as to whether this applies to the foreign language graduates of the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago. Thus, this study aims to confirm or negate this phenomenon within the past six years.m In more recent times, a 2018 study was performed as recorded by the journalist, Sharlene Rampersad, giving insight as to whether the foreign language degree is of use in the secular industry. Rampersad reports a Newsday survey which involved 73 participants. This sample size is comprised of degree holders of local institutions which includes the University of the West Indies. These graduates hold a variety of degrees such as in engineering, nursing, agriculture and psychology. Only 20 graduates found jobs in their areas of study whereas 53 are either unemployed or underemployed which includes one person who holds a foreign language degree, namely a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish. Hence, although the sample size is 11 substantially limited in the viewpoint of graduates with foreign language degrees, herein lies the possibility that within Trinidad and Tobago, there are foreign language graduates who either do not encounter jobs within their field of study or who do not attain a job at all. Furthermore, the main sector in which foreign language students are employed that use their degree is the teaching industry. However, with the historical event of the COVID-19 pandemic, the feasibility of gaining a job in this sector has dwindled. For example, there has been a retrenchment of 69 qualified teachers in the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) with the reason that they were “redundant” or viewed as a surplus of teachers (Mahabir 2020). Additionally, Alexander highlights that the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) is a saturated industry that puts prospective teachers, including those hoping to be Spanish and French teachers, on a waiting list after taking six to eight years to gain an interview with the TSC (2023). This saturated teaching industry therefore affects UWI foreign language student graduates who are now forced to look to another sector for employment to look after their personal and family obligations. Hence, the value of the foreign language degree in Trinidad can be questioned in terms of its utility in career placement. Due to the issue graduates face upon completion of their foreign language degree in terms of acquiring a job that matches their skillset, the practicality of their study is challenged. The personal experience of the author, Karen Connelly, sheds new light on foreign language acquisition. Through the interactions she had with her Filipino friends and her travels to foreign countries such as Thailand, she was able to improve her speaking and writing skills in the languages she acquired which enhanced and enriched her endeavours as an author (2013). Her experience brings to light a pertinent concern, whether foreign 12 language acquisition through travel is more effective than a foreign language degree. Professor Emeritus of Second Language Acquisition, DeKeyser, affirms this claim through his study purporting that persons who immerse themselves in a foreign country will considerably increase their speaking proficiency (2017). Thus supposedly, travelling to a foreign country can replace the communication aspect of the foreign language degree, however, it must be noted that there is limited research on whether reading and writing skills can be acquired and thus replace the foreign language degree entirely. Moreover, the language skills acquired in a foreign country tend to be limited to survival language rather than formal training in the target language. It is noteworthy however, that the foreign language programs offered at the University of the West Indies offer a year abroad in selected foreign countries such as Colombia and Spain for students to engage in cultural immersion regarding their field of study (DMLL 2024). This implies, therefore, that the UWI foreign language degree is not easily replaced by immersion in a foreign country as it offers the opportunity for students to advance their communication and writing capabilities through this exact method. Nevertheless, another avenue that can challenge the UWI foreign language degree is Artificial Intelligence (AI). As Kok et al. defines, Artificial Intelligence is an aspect of computer science where computers or programs are designed to imitate human behaviour such as learning, reasoning and self-correction (2009). This definition implies that AI machines can think and act like humans which signifies that AI can help students to learn a foreign language like a teacher or lecturer. For this reason, AI can proposedly challenge or threaten those with foreign language degrees in the teaching industry. Pale underscores this 13 issue as her research reveals that AI can replace specific roles of a teacher in the teacher- student relationship such as speaker, content creator, director, and supporter (2023). Due to AI’s advancing technology, Pale hypothesizes that there is fundamentally no information a student cannot find using these devices that a teacher can provide. Therefore, consideration of this viewpoint may lead one to speculate whether AI can render a foreign language degree obsolete as the majority of career paths for these graduates in Trinidad and Tobago lies in the teaching industry. Contradictorily, instead of regarding AI as a threat to the career placement of foreign language graduates, this technology may be considered as a teacher’s companion. Alvarez- Jaimes and Lane postulate that AI can prove to be useful for teachers in the classroom (2023). For example, many secondary schools worldwide encourage teachers to engage their students in AI applications for second language acquisition such as Babbel, Duolingo, Zenochat and Mondly. Through Alvarez-Jaimes and Lane’s study, teachers have confirmed that AI aids in their teaching rather than overrides their position as teachers and can be viewed as another student’s learning tool (2023, 6, 7). Kolchenko furthers the viewpoint that AI is not capable of replacing teachers (2018). Through his own research, Kolchenko concludes that AI cannot adapt its learning program to the needs of each student in a particular classroom neither can it ascertain non-verbal clues as to whether the student is truly learning. Furthermore, Louis and Alzab emphasizes that while AI is improving in its ability to identify human communication and behaviour, it is not able to recognize the nuances of human language communication such as slang and dialect as well as a teacher versed in the foreign language can (2023). Consequently, there are varying stances as to whether AI can affect the value of a foreign 14 language degree in the professional arena. Through the personal experiences of participants who are employed, this study will affirm or negate whether AI poses this threat in Trinidad and Tobago’s educational sphere. Conclusively, the literature reviewed evinces the concerns that must be addressed in this study. With the dynamics of today’s societal demands in the secular world, the usefulness of the UWI foreign language degree should be evaluated. Business owners have contrasting perspectives on whether foreign language acquisition is necessary for their employees, especially when they are situated in their home country. Furthermore, there is a trend in foreign language graduates not acquiring a job that requires their specialized skillset or even attaining jobs in the industries that do require such, such as the teaching industry. An even greater concern is that of AI’s threat to those foreign language graduates who are currently employed in the saturated teaching sector. Thus, the sentiment remains whether the UWI foreign language degree is beneficial to graduates who seek to advance academically and secularly. The research done in this study attempts to prove or disprove any of the claims made by the authors by specifically looking at the utility of the UWI foreign language degree in Trinidad and Tobago. 15 Chapter 2: Findings A questionnaire was distributed to twenty-seven persons who would have graduated with either French or Spanish degrees. This chapter will outline the demography of the respondents and the qualitative and quantitative data obtained from their responses. Pie Chart 1: Gender of those who participated in the questionnaire. Pie chart 2: participants’ area of study at UWI 16 Pie Chart 3: year each participant graduated Clustered bar chart 1: Postgraduate levels of participants. 3 1 0 2 0 0 13 2 4 1 1 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Yes- Masters at UWI Yes- Mphil at UWI Yes- PhD at UWI Yes- Masters abroad Yes- Mphil abroad Yes-PhD abroad No I will pursue a postgraduate degree in UWI I will pursue a postgraduate degree abroad Postgraduate Diploma at UWI Postgraduate diploma abroad The Degree of academic advancement in graduates 7.4% 17 Pie Chart 4: Number of participants who advanced to post-graduate level due to their experience as a UWI undergraduate foreign language student. 18 Clustered bar chart 2: Participants view of the utility of foreign languages in varying industries 23 5 20 22 4 17 17 10 16 11 15 4 14 14 4 5 6 12 20 4 14 0 5 10 15 20 25 Clustered bar chart showing participants view of utility of foreign languages in different fields 19 Column Chart 1: various occupations of foreign language graduates Pie Chart 5: participants whose occupation requires their foreign language skills 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 5 13 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 OCCUPATIONS OF PARTICIPANTS 20 Pie Chart 6: number of participants who regard other degree fields as more useful than a foreign language degree in the secular world. The reasons for the participants’ stance are as follows. For the participants who said foreign language degrees are more useful than others (15): One participant believes that their foreign language degree was the “stepping stone” to their career path and better opportunities in the future. One participant believes that foreign languages in itself is a varied field. One participant believes that a foreign language graduate will have great communication and interpersonal skills which will contribute to a more open-minded labour force. One participant simply stated no, while five participants simply stated that their foreign language degree is more useful than other degrees. 37% 56% 7% More Useful Less useful Could be useful 21 Two participants believe that foreign languages have become more pertinent due to the change in social climate regarding the Venezuelan crisis and as a consequence, there will be a greater demand for their expertise. Four participants regard foreign languages as their passion. For the participants who believe that other degree programs are more appropriate for the job market (10): 60% of participants believe that the job opportunities are limited for foreign language graduates in comparison to other fields such as natural sciences, social sciences and business. One participant related their experience of their company prioritizing other core skills relevant to the job post and thus believes to gain a job one should major in another field. Another participant believes that a degree in another field will aid in their career advancement. One participant believes that foreign languages are only useful in the teaching industry and any other secular market require skills such as accounting or human resources. One participant believes that in order to gain a substantial career with a foreign language degree, one must advance to postgraduate studies. The participants who stated “maybe” (two participants) reasoned that although another degree may be more marketable, foreign languages are still a niche market that requires graduates’ expertise 22 Pie chart 7: participants who had a career path in mind prior to the start of their foreign language degree. Pie chart 8: participants who deem their foreign language degree as useful in their secular work 3.7% 23 Pie chart 8: participants’ whose postgraduate degrees are useful in their field of employment Pie Chart 9: participants’ opinion on whether the secular society in Trinidad and Tobago view foreign language employees as important 3.7% 24 Pie Chart 10: participants’ view on whether Trinidad and Tobago’s wider society view foreign language as essential to economic and social development. Pie Chart 11: participants’ opinion on whether foreign language graduates have career opportunities in Trinidad and Tobago 3.7% 25 Pie Chart 12: participants’ viewpoints on whether foreign language graduates often gain employment in their field of expertise in Trinidad and Tobago Pie Chart 13: participants who believe a foreign language degree will be pertinent in the future. 3.7% 26 Clustered bar chart 3: participants’ viewpoint on why foreign language is important during world crises. Participants also stated whether a foreign language degree is essential in Trinidad and Tobago’s society from their viewpoint. For example 70% of participants stated that a foreign language degree is essential due to the following reasons: Trinidad and Tobago’s society is becoming more multi-faceted and multicultural due to the Venezuelan immigrant crisis, hence there is a need for foreign language holders to give humanitarian assistance to this less fortunate community while also allowing businesses the opportunity to promote their products to these prospective customers. Foreign languages makes us more empathetic to immigrants, aids in understanding cultural differences and engenders new ideas. 2 18 2 1 1 2 1 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Breaks language barrier Improves communication Increased translation Assists refugees and immigrants Increased interpretation Aids government officials Foreign language does not aid in world crises Reasons for importance of language skills in world crises 27 Foreign language improves foreign connections, business relations such as that with the Latin community, CARICOM and the UN. Trinidad and Tobago require the expertise of foreign language graduates to evolve with the dynamics of globalization. Foreign language degrees can help citizens to become globally competent, enhance critical thinking skills and improve the country’s human resource development. The reasons for the 30% of participants stating that a foreign language degree is not essential to Trinidad and Tobago’s society are as follows: General knowledge of a language is necessary but not necessarily in the form of a degree. A foreign language degree is placed as a backburner qualification in the eyes of employers. A foreign language degree is not essential to society’s progress. Foreign language graduates are not acquiring the jobs they deserve. Although foreign language graduates’ skills are convenient and useful, Trinidad’s economy can survive without these skills. Moreover, participants highlighted why they believe a UWI foreign language degree increases one’s chance of gaining employment. 51% of participants claim that a UWI foreign language degree increases one’s chance at employment for the following reasons: Foreign language is a requirement in fields such as journalism, foreign affairs and customer service. Thus, employees see foreign language graduates as an asset with an uncommon special skill. 28 Due to a small number of persons graduating with a UWI foreign language degree every year, it makes these graduates more marketable. Trinidad is a diverse society that speaks many languages. There is a need for bilingual workers in various sectors of Trinidad such as in healthcare and in humanitarian work. The UWI itself has gained a reputation for enriching the higher level education sector which makes graduates from this regional university more marketable. 28% of participants stated that foreign language graduates do not gain employment for the following reasons: Foreign language skills are not a main priority in qualifications for jobs in Trinidad. The job market in Trinidad is oversaturated and there are limited opportunities for foreign language graduates as the main market that require this skill is in teaching. The advantage in gaining employment lies in another field of interest such as Information Technology, International Relations or Architecture along with qualifications in a foreign language. Multilingualism is not marketable in Trinidad since it has not progressed in becoming a bilingual country. 21% of participants have a mixed view on this matter for the reasons stated below: A foreign language degree is not acknowledged in a job interview however, a postgraduate degree or a degree in another field will be favoured. 29 Employers regard foreign language degrees as an additional skill so while it is not a main qualification, it increases one’s chance of employment as an additional skill. A foreign language degree will give you an edge over those who possess no degree but in comparison with another degree field, it is limited in its career paths. Many factors affect whether one gain’s employment with their degree, however foreign language degrees may be less favoured than other degree fields. Regarding the participants’ viewpoint on whether AI can threaten the value of the foreign language degree in the workplace, 70% of participants negate this notion for the following reasons: AI cannot give students the “personal and human touch” of a teacher when it comes to deeper language nuances and mechanics, culture and interaction with native speaker which can interfere with translation capabilities. AI learning applications such as Duolingo do not target the true needs of a student. AI cannot replace a teacher’s role in interpersonal relationships and emotional connection with students. On the other hand, 22% of participants believe that AI can threaten one’s role in the workplace such as in teaching due to the following reasons: Students seek easier ways to get their homework done rather than learn the language. It is more cost effective, efficient and effective for companies to invest in AI technologies than in human interpreters and translators. 30 Even though AI may not be 100% accurate, it facilities ease of communication. 8% of participants have mixed viewpoints on this subject stating that: AI is improving and may eventually threaten foreign language graduates at the workplace even though this may be difficult with the constant evolution and nuances of language. The level of AI’s threat depends on it’s the field of interest; if it is a field that requires foreign language it is not a threat however if it does not require language expertise it can pose a threat. Participants expressed whether they were satisfied with their learning experience at UWI in foreign language acquisition as well. 85.2% of participants expressed their satisfaction stating that: Their experience was interactive fun and memorable and their ability to speak their foreign language was greatly improved through exchange programs. Tutors and lecturers encouraged participants to advance in their language acquisition and used their expertise to educate students about the foreign language culture. The foreign language degree program is interactive, adequately addresses all facets of language learning, and is robust compared to other universities. Graduates achieved their goal of becoming a polyglot and prepared for their upcoming careers. 7.4% of participants stated that they may have been satisfied and that the question is not applicable to them. 31 7.4% of participants stated that they are somewhat satisfied since they believe that there should be opportunities to study abroad and that the program should be more structured with a focus on writing. Additionally, participants mentioned whether their experience at UWI prepared them for their work life. 48% of participants affirmed this statement giving reasons such as: Their experience at UWI aided in their interpersonal, collaborative, and error recognition skills and helped them to develop life skills such as overcoming obstacles, time management, and task prioritization. The structure of the programs in foreign language aided participants who are teachers to structure their lesson plans efficiently. 33% of participants negated this claim reasoning that: Education in general does not prepare you for the working world since this involves life skills and education is solely knowledge based. The foreign language program focused on language acquisition, not tracer training. Participants felt that they prepared themselves and learned on the job rather than the foreign language program. 19% of participants stated that their experience at UWI somewhat prepared them for the workplace since one’s experience depends mainly on oneself and that their unique experience of being online during the COVID-19 pandemic affected the practical aspect of their degree. 32 To specify their experience, participants were asked to relate whether they were satisfied with their undergraduate degrees. 93% of participations expressed their satisfaction through the following reasons: The program was diverse and allowed them to expand their point of view on the society and the world. The lecturers of the programs were exceptionally qualified as they were natives which exposed students to different cultures and they possessed qualities such as approachableness and supportiveness. The program is well organized, gave graduates a fulfilling and fun experience and opens doors for students to progress. 7% of participants stated that their undergraduate program was somewhat beneficial due to the fact that university life for them came with its own challenges and that a foreign language degree is not as practical as other degrees in the job market. Although only 52% of participants pursued a postgraduate degree, 43% of those who did pursue a postgraduate degree were satisfied with their experience reasoning that: Their postgraduate degree assisted them in preparing for and attaining their career path. Their enhanced knowledge in art and creativity impacted their view of the world. They gained mastery in their field and were exposed to professors of exceptional quality. 33 14% of participants were somewhat satisfied with their postgraduate experience since one of the participants was the only cohort of their year group while another believed that an exchange program would have enhanced their experience. 34 Chapter 3: Discussion of Findings According to the primary research data collected in Chapter 2, the responses from the participants in the questionnaire mainly pertain to a female-oriented viewpoint with the majority of participants graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish. The survey was distributed to graduates from all the years spanning 2017-2023 which was essential in making a holistic analysis of past graduates from recent and past times. In analysing the results of the questionnaires and the interviews, the hypotheses outlined in the thesis were proven to be true with the majority of graduates regarding their undergraduate degree an asset in their careers in the teaching industry, the most popular career, and UWI foreign language graduates prefer to advance academically abroad. Principally, the majority of participants (48%) have established careers as teachers in various levels of the teaching industry as shown in Figure 6. Notably however, Figure 7 also shows that there is at least one graduate in various institutions that are not related to the teaching industry such as in the hospitality industry, the immigration sector, the embassy and the police service. The diversity in careers accounts for the participants' standpoint in the value of foreign languages in various industries in Trinidad and Tobago as illustrated in Figure 6 with 85% of participants deeming foreign language degrees useful in the education industry and 51.9% of participants stating that a foreign language degree is vital in any industry. Furthermore, participants provided reasons as to why their degree proved helpful in acquiring employment. For example, 51% of participants stated that employers value foreign language employees since they possess a unique skill that is an asset to the working 35 environment while also emphasizing that these graduates are more marketable since there are only a few foreign language students graduating per year. Additionally, the aforementioned reasons attest to the notion that foreign language graduates do have career opportunities succeeding graduation with 85% agreeing on this matter while 48% of participants believe that employers value these types of graduates. These statistics are consistent with the findings of Tomé et al. in their study of Portugal, which approves the hypothesis that as a lesser economic power, Trinidad’s job market values foreign language degree in the arena of globalization as affirmed by one of the participants. Interestingly, 100% of participants are currently employed which alleviates the concerns postulated by Rampersad who claimed through her research that many graduates are unemployed. While this is so, participants such as Bilqees attest to the notion that Alexander purports stating that there is an oversaturation of the teaching industry. In addition, there is a divided perspective on whether participants obtain careers in their field of expertise as shown in Figure 16. This may be due to participants’ personal experiences in getting jobs that are not traditionally foreign language oriented which seems to be a trend in many foreign language graduates as Marchart also asserts in his study of graduates in Malaysia. Nevertheless, a majority consensus of the survey shows that a foreign language degree is useful in graduates’ career choices and provides employment despite its main market in teaching being oversaturated. However, it is noteworthy that the UWI’s main mission is not to provide students with career opportunities but to create competent researchers and problem solvers who seek to advance research that has already been established. Hence, this study is limited in evaluating the value of the UWI foreign language degree concerning what is important from the University’s perspective. 36 In line with issues that may pose a problem with the teaching industry, participants also stated their viewpoints on AI being a threat to their careers. Although Pale expresses that AI can replace some of a teacher’s role, 70% of participants negate this notion for several reasons. Primarily, AI does not have the innate human capabilities to form close interpersonal connections and recognizing the nuances of languages with regard to grammar and cultural differences. Additionally, participants also regard AI more as a tool that can help students but will not aid in them advancing academically as a teacher would, affirming the claim made by Alvarez-Jaimes and Lane. Although AI may not pose a threat in the teaching industry, some participants suggest that businesses may prefer this technology over manpower to facilitate an easier and cost-efficient line of communication. Therefore, AI is not regarded as a threat to the teaching industry but may pose a problem for graduates seeking careers outside of this field. With regards to those who academically advanced to postgraduate studies, there is a harmonious agreement between the interviewees’ and survey participants’ viewpoints on studying abroad. 80% of the interviewees deem a postgraduate degree abroad is more helpful than pursuing one locally since universities in countries such as the U.S. provide a wider diversity of courses and greater networking opportunities for graduates according to Shane, Kareem and Bilqees. However, Kareem and Bilqees also noted that if the UWI provided the courses they wanted to pursue as a postgraduate student, they would have stayed at the UWI to advance. This viewpoint is reasonable considering that 40.7% of participants claimed that their experience at the UWI encouraged them to continue advancing academically. Therefore, 37 due to a lack of resources in the UWI, graduates prefer to study abroad for their postgraduate studies. Moreover, in terms of the value of the UWI foreign language degree in a graduate’s personal development, participants have provided positive reviews of their experience. 85% of participants agreed in their satisfaction of their undergraduate experience at UWI while 93% of participants expressed their contentment with the foreign language program. The interviewees provided some personal, secular and academic reasons for this satisfaction. For instance, Shane and Christopher stated that they were able to form relationships with others in their community because of their expertise; while Bilqees and Johnathon mentioned that their communication and interpersonal skills were enhanced. All interviewees attested that the program aided in them acquiring secular work through networking and the creation of their niche programs in different industries. Moreover, the connections some of the interviewees had with their lecturers encouraged them to continue advancing academically. Contrastingly, the interviewees have suggested some changes to the foreign language program itself. Shane recommends that the Spanish program includes more Hispanic literature whereas Christopher proposes that Spanish and French programs involve themes that are more gender inclusive. As a result, the UWI foreign language degree is valuable in other areas of a graduate’s life but its overall value can be improved through pedagogical changes. Although graduates value foreign languages, the majority consensus demonstrates that the wider society of Trinidad and Tobago does not value foreign languages. As represented in Figure 14, 85% of participants claim that the wider society of Trinidad and Tobago do not 38 value foreign languages as they do. The interviewees proposed reasons for this view as 100% agreed with this statement. For example, Bilqees and Shane related the historical and cultural reasons that create a stereotypical perspective of languages not being a lucrative career or even an option as a career as opposed to other fields. In addition, Kareem stated that the U.S. has a greater need for foreign language expertise as they receive a greater number of migrants than Trinidad and Tobago does. Despite this finding, 74.1% of participants believe that a foreign language degree will still be pertinent in the future and 100% of participants believe that a foreign language is crucial in a world crisis such as during war or a global pandemic such as COVID-19. Consequently, there are contrasting perspectives on the value of the foreign language degree in Trinidad and Tobago’s society versus the global importance of this degree. Conclusively, the value of the UWI foreign language degree has been assessed and analysed. Graduates believe that this degree is valuable in their secular, academic, and personal lives with the majority of graduates stemming from the teaching industry. Those in the teaching industry claim that AI is not a threat to their careers but may be a threat in the business world. Those participants who advanced academically prefer to do so abroad, noting that there is a lack of resources at the UWI to satisfy their academic need. Also, contrasting viewpoints on the importance of the foreign language degree from the Trinidad and Tobago society’s standpoint versus the global and graduate standpoint may pose a challenge to the perspective of whether society also values a UWI foreign language degree. 39 Conclusion The findings of this research prove the thesis to be true. The UWI foreign language degree is valuable in a graduate’s secular life as most graduates gain jobs in the teaching industry while graduates who wish to pursue postgraduate degrees seek to do so abroad rather than at UWI. The reasons for postgraduates moving abroad imply pedagogical changes that should be implemented to encourage students to continue their studies locally such as diversification of courses and employing capable lecturers. Furthermore, the UWI foreign language degree can prove to be relevant in a global crisis and pertinent in the far future which enhances its value in a graduate’s life. 40 Works Cited Alexander, Jenieve. “Waiting in Vain to Become a Teacher.” Trinidad Express Newspapers, May 21, 2023. https://trinidadexpress.com/opinion/letters/waiting-in-vain-to-become-a- teacher/article_b3b678a6-f76c-11ed-8078-ef26bf665cda.html. Alvarez-Jaimes, Javier E., and Sharrah Lane. “Rising Against the Machine: Appeasingthe Educators’ Fears of Artificial IntelligenceTaking OverForeign Language Education.” Journals.Charlotte.edu, August 28, 2023. https://journals.charlotte.edu/ltj/article/view/1633/1344. Connelly, Karen. “The First and Last Country: Some Notes on Writing and Living the Foreign.” Ebscohost, Spring 2013. https://web-p-ebscohost- com.ezproxygateway.sastudents.uwi.tt/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=16d301c b-0fb8-4f34-a90d-ac34e53fd94d%40redis. DeKeyser, Robert M. “Study Abroad as a Foreign Language Practice.” Essay. In Google Books 1, 1:208–9. III. New York City, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Elliot, John. 2009. Spain, Europe and the Wider World, 1500-1800. Yale University Press: J.H. Elliot and Annie Burr Lewis Fund. https://books.google.tt/books?hl=en&lr=&id=zEJKW5FXrekC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq= spain+world+power+sixteenth+century&ots=PwhN_3-- Lv&sig=boGrDXfWhNIZv2AI9aXUk1Z3ZiA&redir_esc=y#v=snippet&q=spain%20p ower&f=false. Greer, Margaret R. “Thine and Mine: The Spanish ‘Golden Age’ and Early Modern Studies.” Jstor.org, 2011. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41414095 . Kok, Joost, Egbert Boers, Walter Kosters, Peter Van Der Putten, and Mannes Poel. 2009. “ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE- DEFINITION, TRENDS, TECHNIQUES, and CASES.” Eolss. https://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C15/E6-44.pdf. Kolchenko, Vasiliy. 2018. “Can Modern AI Replace Teachers? Not so Fast! Artificial Intelligence and Adaptive Learning: Personalized Education in the AI Age.” HAPS Educator 22 (3): 249–52. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1227770. Louis, Mary, and Mohamed ElAzab. 2023. “Will AI Replace Teacher?” International Journal of Internet Education 22 (2): 9–21. https://doi.org/10.21608/ijie.2023.312491. Machart, Régis. “The Implementation of Industrial Training in Tertiary Education in Malaysia: Objectives, Realisations and Outputs in the Case of Foreign Language 41 Students.” Jstor.org, January 30, 2017. https://www-jstor- org.ezproxygateway.sastudents.uwi.tt/stable/44980080?sid=primo&seq=1. Mahabir, Kumar. “University Corruption Exposed: Retrenchment Was like a COVID-19 Ambush.” IndoCarribbean Publications, May 6, 2020. https://indocaribbeanpublications.com/2020/05/05/university-corruption-exposed- retrenchment-was-like-a-covid-19-ambush/. McLelland, Nicola. “The History of Language Learning and Teaching in Britain.” EbscoHost, 2017. https://web-p-ebscohost- com.ezproxygateway.sastudents.uwi.tt/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=e735bfd d-5857-4ce3-93f2-7654e50ea387%40redis. Modern Languages and Linguistics, Department. “Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics” Mona.uwi.edu, 2024. https://www.mona.uwi.edu/modlang/. Moeller, Aleidine J., and Theresa Catalano. “Foreign Language Teaching and Learning.” Digital Commons, 2015. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1195&context=teachlearnf acpub. Morton-Gittens, Mala, and Peter Smith. “Trinidad and Tobago.” Pirls 2016, 2016. https://pirls2016.org/wp-content/uploads/encyclopedia- pirls/downloadcenter/3.%20Country%20Chapters/Trinidad%20and%20Tobago.pdf. Pale, P. “Which Teachers Should Be Replaced By Ai.” ProQuest, 2023. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2828924745?accountid=45039%20%E2%80%93& parentSessionId=KJWZnSaYu3HhI86TcOR%2F1RXEVPhfmZDXPQEzQleEW4s%3 D&pq-origsite=primo&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals. Rampersad, Sharlene. “Dusty Degrees - Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.” Trinidad and Tobago Newsday -, June 25, 2018. https://newsday.co.tt/2018/06/24/dusty-degrees/. Thomas Kenny. 2024. “Why Is English the Language of Business? | NCC.” Northwest Career College. March 12, 2024. https://www.northwestcareercollege.edu/blog/why-is-english- the-language-of-business/#:~:text=language%20of%20business.-. Tomé, Eduardo, Elizaveta Gromova, and Andrew Hatch. “Knowledge Management, Agile Management, and the Use of Foreign Languages—A Theoretical Analysis Illustrated with the Cases of Russia and Portugal.” EbscoHost, January 18, 2021. https://web-p- ebscohost- com.ezproxygateway.sastudents.uwi.tt/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=151823 89-e023-4dad-ab7d-3d35aecc14aa%40redis. 42 World Data, Info. “Economy in Trinidad and Tobago Compared to the EU.” Worlddata.info, 2015. https://www.worlddata.info/america/trinidad-and-tobago/economy.php. 43 Appendix A Interviews Question 1: Please state your name, gender, year of graduation, your field of study, and occupation. “My name is Christopher Thomas. I’m male. I graduated with my undergraduate French and Spanish degree in 2021. I work as an assistant to an ambassador in Trinidad and Tobago”~ Christopher Thomas “My name is Johnathon Auguste. I’m male. I graduated with my Spanish and French Undergraduate degree in 2018. I am currently a student aid with OJT and I am a Spanish to English interpreter” ~Johnathon Auguste “My name is Bilqees Mohammed. I am female. I graduated with my undergraduate degree in Spanish and French in 2023. I am currently pursuing a postgraduate degree at York University” ~Bilqees Mohammed “My name is Shane Solomon Prince. I am male. I would have graduated in 2018 with my Spanish degree. I am currently employed as a teacher III in Spanish by the Ministry of Education and I am a part-time tutor of Spanish at the Centre for Language Learning at the UWI” ~Shane Prince “My name is Kareem Tinto. I am male. I graduated from UWI in 2020 with a BA in Spanish. My profession is a police officer” ~Kareem Tinto Question 2: What motivated you to pursue a foreign language at the UWI?” 44 “As a teenager, I competed in International Scrabble Tournaments and I met brilliant polyglots who I aspired to imitate hence my pursuit of languages. I told myself that whatever field I would get into I must pursue at least three languages with proper fluency. I also had an obsession with new words and thirdly, I valued the connections one can build with others through language” ~Christopher “I was really good at languages in secondary school and in form 5 I wanted to be an interpreter and in order to pursue this career I knew I had to do a degree in foreign languages” ~Johnathon “Languages were always my passion ever since secondary school. I actually started off doing Law in UWI but I was so unhappy and wondering constantly what was being done in Spanish and French class. Hence, I switched because I always loved Spanish and French” ~Bilqees “Part of my experience at QRC is to go on a field trip to a foreign country and I got the opportunity to go to Venezuela and I loved it. I realized it wasn’t just a secondary school subject but languages involved people’s lives. After that first time experience the rest was history, Spanish was my thing. I did my degree in UWI because I was GATE funded and I didn’t have the money to go abroad.” ~Shane “I had a desire to continue building up my Spanish knowledge and because of this desire I looked at which institutions offer a full Spanish degree and the only institution that provided such was the UWI” ~Kareem Question 3: What motivated you to continue advancing academically as a postgraduate student? 45 “I believe that education is very important and I don’t believe I can pursue my career of interest without pursuing a postgraduate degree. I also believe that there are so many things in the world that I don’t know about that I would like to know” ~Christopher “I spent a year abroad in a university in Colombia during my degree program which helped me to seriously consider a postgraduate degree to become an interpreter” ~Johnathon “UWI has something that universities abroad do not have which is that languages are fully taught in the target language rather than a hybrid between the target language and the mother tongue. I would not have been able to acquire my languages successfully and academically advance to postgrad level if it weren’t for the UWI program” ~Bilqees “I was fascinated by the socialism of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and I wanted to pursue the understanding of Venezuelan politics at the postgraduate level. However, I was not able to pursue this as a Masters at UWI as they do not specialize in this area. I was forced to do the MPhil so that I could apply for a scholarship to a University abroad so that I can research my area of interest. I was also encouraged by Dr. Pouchet to study as a postgraduate student abroad” ~Shane “There was only one program that would have piqued my interest to continue advancing academically at UWI for my career path as an interpreter. Since I did not have the qualifications I looked for postgraduate degrees abroad” ~ Kareem Question 4: Would you have preferred to study your postgraduate at UWI or abroad? Why? “I had no intentions of doing postgraduate studies in the UWI although I love this university. I would have loved to have done a degree in Colombia so that I can experience life in another 46 country as a polyglot since I can speak English French Spanish and Portuguese. However, since my career path is in International Relations, it made more sense to do the postgraduate degree at the UWI although I would have preferred to do my postgraduate studies abroad” ~ Christopher “If you can stay in your country and what is offered is good enough in your country there is no reason to leave. The benefit of studying abroad is global exposure so maybe a postgraduate degree abroad is better for that reason” ~Johnathon “The Spanish Masters provided in the UWI is in Hispanic literature and my area of interest is in interpreting. Since UWI does it provide a postgraduate degree in interpreting I preferred to look to universities abroad. If the UWI had a postgraduate degree in interpreting I would have pursued that.” ~Bilqees “Studying abroad avails you to more opportunities such as networking and more access to funding than the UWI. UWI postgraduate Spanish programs are only in literature, not in culture, sociology or political science. My area of research was dictatorship in Hugo Chavez’s government and UWI did not have a postgraduate program that would have allowed me to pursue this nor did they have any specialists in my area of interest. There is also a higher level of recognition of degrees from US universities than the UWI” ~Shane “UWI does not offer the program that I would like to pursue which is in interpreting. If I was not rejected from the diploma in interpreting at the UWI and they offered a postgraduate degree that I was qualified for in this same field, UWI would have been my first choice. 47 However, studying abroad provides endless opportunities in networking and career paths in interpreting.” ~Kareem Question 5: In what ways has your foreign language degree aided your secular, academic, and personal life? “I was able to build a lot of personal relationships and connections because of my double major language degree at the UWI and my self-esteem in talking to others improved. Academically, my degree program made me wiser, a better writer and made me more passionate about taking an intellectual approach to all aspects of my life.” ~Christopher “Language always helps with expression and how to interact with people. It also leads you down the path of humanitarian work where you can deal with more vulnerable groups of people.” ~Johnathon “UWI paved the way for me to get into my career path, the interpreting and translation industry. I enjoyed the French literature program and because of this I would like to continue pursuing literature for my personal development. Personally, the degree made me happy as I did what was my passion, I made new friends, my communication and interpersonal skills improved and overall, I feel fulfilled” ~Bilqees “Spanish allows me to do a lot secularly, it allows me to network, I can freelance interpret and I am a Spanish teacher. Academically, Spanish has allowed me to present my papers at International Conferences, I was also able to teach Spanish abroad. Personally, it would have not been possible for me to date Spanish persons, travel frequently, and fit into my community which has mainly Spanish natives.” ~Shane 48 “With my secular work environment, I was able to create a program that meets the needs of my job and of Venezuelan migrants because of my experience at the UWI. In terms of academics, the rejection I received from the postgraduate degree at the UWI motivated me to pursue my current Masters in interpreting abroad which is a great achievement. Personally, being able to speak a Romance language aided me in learning other foreign languages.” ~Kareem Question 6: Are you satisfied with your experience as a former UWI foreign language student? “I am satisfied with my experience as a former language student although I did not like how certain things were done. There was a lack of themes and the way the program was structured was geared toward a certain group of people which are females since languages are mainly women-dominated fields. There should be themes that address issues of what men experience to attract a greater male alumni” ~Christopher “For the most part yes. The Spanish program was more satisfying than the French program as the lecturers were more fun, engaging, and innovative. The French program was more repetitive which made language learning dull” ~Johnathon “Yes. I got what I wanted out of the program. I personally had a really good relationship with my teachers which was important in my development. I can’t think of anything to change the language program” ~Bilqees “The UWI has an excellent Spanish program with respect to the linguistic aspect, the literature aspect was poor. There were no teachers to teach the courses I was interested in 49 such as death in Hispanic literature. Additionally one of the lecturers quit during my course of study which delayed everyone’s completion of their courses and thus became a serious problem I had to deal with. My issues with UWI were mainly administrative not academic.” ~Shane “I am extremely satisfied. I can’t say how much the degree has helped me. It has helped me to hold my footing in my Masters abroad. I think the foundation I got is what gave me the continuous backing and support to level up in Spanish. Being able to connect with the lecturers was also super important to me to reach where I needed to reach secularly” ~Kareem Question 7: Do you believe that our society values a foreign language degree or that other societies place greater importance on the foreign language degree? “I don’t think our society values the foreign language degree. There are less jobs for foreign language students than there are foreign language graduates which shows how our society values this degree. Other countries place greater emphasis on foreign language degrees probably because of their larger population” ~Christopher “No I definitely do not believe our country values the foreign language degree. We are not bordered with many nations who speak a foreign language so there isn’t that need or value for a foreign language degree” ~Johnathon “No. People are now starting to realize the value of the Spanish language. Trinidadians in general are narrow-minded when it comes to learning languages, that languages are only useful for teaching which is an oversaturated industry. West Indian persons believe that only 50 three degrees have value: Medicine, Engineering and Law since they’re seemingly profitable. Other societies do value a foreign language degree as they allow you more space for the Arts.” ~Bilqees “Yes other societies place greater importance on foreign language degrees. Both the Caribbean and the US were former colonies but the US broke from their hegemon longer than us so they base their language requirement on necessity. We have an official English language and therefore there is a general underappreciation of language by the government and the people” ~Shane “Most definitely other societies. Because the US is a large recipient of migrants they have a greater need for foreign language fields. In Trinidad and Tobago, we do not understand this dynamic in its entirety and things are not being don fast enough or to a greater level. We limit the application of language to only teaching” ~Kareem Question 8: What problems do foreign language students face post-graduation or in the workplace? “Post-graduation, a lot of students face unemployment. I was blessed enough to find a job where I can speak Spanish and Portuguese accordingly but many of my cohorts are unemployed up to this day. Many companies do not take graduates seriously and they’re opinion may not be as valued as those with other degrees” ~Christopher “Foreign language students will struggle in finding employment and they may have to advance to post-graduate degrees to find a job other than teaching which is where most of graduates end up” ~Johnathon 51 “I have not faced problems but that is because I am doing my Masters in something Trinidadians do find useful. My friends who find companies who want to hire them have no understanding that a foreign language degree requires a fixed pay rate just like any other degree. My friends in immigration do face xenophobia at their job” ~Bilqees “Most students who pursue foreign languages do so “con la vista puesta” on going abroad. Those of us who stay end up in the teaching service. There is not that much necessity for foreign language graduates in the workplace” ~Shane “I believe it is a case of pioneering. Graduates are too afraid of venturing into something unknown. I was brave enough to create an environment that never existed before in my workplace. Graduates need to show Trinidad the value of their degree in all institutions and create a niche for themselves” ~Kareem Question 9: Do you have any recommendations for improving the quality of the foreign language learning experience at UWI? “There needs to be a revamping of what is taught content-wise to the students. There is too much of a bias in the thematic structure for both Spanish and French. There has to be a larger initiative to incentivize students to speak and punish those who refuse to speak through loss of marks. An increase in exchange programs should be implemented to place students in environments that push them in their language learning” ~Christopher “No I do not have any recommendations” ~Johnathon “Not with the foreign language degree, the only problem is with the UWI administrative department. It takes forever to correct administrative errors which is frustrating.” ~Bilqees 52 “Yes. There needs to be more literature options in courses. Our students need a wider diversity of Spanish accents and contract professors or TA’s from countries other than Spain, Colombia and Cuba. We will also do well to have a B.S. in Spanish we can start generating policy makers and social workers rather than just teachers.” ~Shane “The program should push students from the beginning the various career opportunities they can pursue other than teaching. A greater amount of exchange programs would also be useful from the first year rather than from the second year” ~Kareem 53 Appendix B Copy of Questionnaire 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 Abstract Table of Contents List of Figures List of Appendices Introduction Chapter 1: Literature Review Chapter 2: Findings Chapter 3: Discussion of Findings Conclusion Works Cited Appendix A Appendix B