Dept. to Cut Oral Language Classes

All Romance language courses emphasizing speaking will be abolished at the end of this term, Robert L. Politzer, coordinator of Language Instruction, announced yesterday.

"B" and "D" courses, which meet three hours a week and stress oral instruction, will be discontinued. All other courses, including intensive classes which meet six hours a week and "A" and "C" courses that meet three times a week and emphasize reading skill, will remain relatively unaltered.

The principal cause of the realignment, Politzer explained, was mounting evidence that three hours a week is not enough to teach an oral language. "One of the problems in language courses at Harvard," noted Politzer, "is that instructors have only three hours of contact with students each week, whereas other institutions like Princeton and Yale have five or six hours. Our students are more on their own as a result."

No Background for Tests

In order to pass the language requirement, the student must either pass a second year language course or achieve a score of at least 560 on a language proficiency test, both of which demand a good reading knowledge. "B" and "D" courses do not give the student a sufficient reading background to pass the aptitude test after one year, Politzer pointed out.

The Faculty is now considering a plan to revise the proficiency test requirement.

In addition, the Department plans to conduct a poll of the 700-800 students studying Romance Languages in mid-April to uncover new suggestions for improvements. Judging from student complaints, said Politzer, class time is largely spent correcting homework thus forcing the student to teach himself at home.