Día de los Muertos celebration
Students and faculty built ofrendas on campus to celebrate the Day of the Dead
Modern Languages Department
The ability to speak another language and understand its culture becomes your passport to greater global awareness. With majors in Spanish, Adolescence Education: Spanish (7-12) and Teaching English as a Second Language (K-12), as well as courses in French, Italian, and American Sign Language, Cortland provides an international perspective.
Because nothing builds language skills like immersion in another culture, we encourage you to study abroad through our programs in Spain, Mexico, Venezuela, Germany and France. Whatever choices you make, your Cortland degree will provide a solid foundation for foreign language teaching or careers in international business and other professions.
Whether it is our international faculty supporting you in achieving your goals, connecting with multilingual students on campus, or studying abroad yourself, there are many ways to explore the world through the Modern Languages department.
"Why you should learn another language" presented by Adolescence Education: Spanish major Ryan Lerner at TEDxSUNY Cortland
Majors
Graduate Programs
News
Junior TESOL and Spanish Major Awarded 2026 Summer Research Fellowship
Roberto Crisostomo Suarez will travel to Brazil this summer to collect data for his research project, How Learning Languages Changes the Way We Think: A Study of Pre-Service TESOL Teachers in Brazil and the U.S.
University to cover U.S. passport fee for qualifying students
The Red Dragons Global Passport Program positions students for study abroad opportunities.
Student scholars dance to Cuban beat
A foray to Cuba immersed SUNY Cortland students in music, dance and art as well as scholarship.
Department Updates
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Announcing a new 3-credit asynchronous online Summer Course: Modern Italy – Art, Food, and Film in a Global Context. From art to cuisine to cinema, discover what makes Italian culture resonate around the world with Dr. Giovanni Dettori from May 20-June 24. In ICC 329, students explore contemporary Italian culture through art, food, and film, examining Italy’s cultural identity and global influence. Topics include modern art movements, food traditions recognized by UNESCO, and the evolution of Italian cinema. No prerequisites. Taught in English. Open to all students. Not a Cortland student? Register here! Contact Dr. Dettori at [email protected] for more information.
- Dr. Odalis Hidalgo, Assistant Professor of Spanish, was featured in the NYSUT article, "Why I Teach: The Power of Education."
- Apply for Scholarships between November 15-February 1.
- The 2025 Virginia Levine Second Language Educators' Conference was held on Saturday, September 20, 2025. Language teachers of all levels (and those interested in language learning and teaching) attended this free conference on the SUNY Cortland campus and had the opportunity to earn 4 hours of CTLE credit. Save the date for September 19, 2026!
- Congratulations to our 2024 recipient of the Virginia Levine, Ph.D. Scholarship, Ryan Lerner!
- The recipient of the 2024 Excellence in Teaching Award — Non-Tenure Track is Shena Driscoll Salvato, Lecturer IV: TESOL.
- As featured in the March 5, 2024 issue of The Bulletin, Christopher Gascón, Professor: Spanish, wrote and recorded a song inspired by Cortland’s common read, Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The single, “Hold On,” was released in February, 2024, and can be heard on all major music streaming services under artist name Juniper Salute.
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Giovanni Dettori, Lecturer: Italian, published "Italian Literature outside the National Literary Canon: The Case of Bellas Mariposas by Sergio Atzeni" as part of the multi-volume work The Many Languages of Comparative Literature / La littérature comparée: multiples langues, multiples langages / Die vielen Sprachen der Vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft.
Clubs/Societies