Beginning in fall 2012, language instruction in Modern Greek, Dutch, Romanian and Tamil will likely be available to Cornell students through video conferencing classes with other universities, according to Richard Feldman ’69, director of Cornell’s Language Resource Center.

Romanian and Tamil have not been offered for at least 12 years, Feldman said. Dutch and Modern Greek were cut by the College of Arts and Sciences in 2009 and 2011, respectively, but an intermediate Dutch class is already available to students through the same distance learning method administrators hope to use for the other courses.

Although “optimistic,” Feldman said the programs must clear “some remaining administrative hurdles” — such as approval from the Educational Policy Committee — to be approved. 

Cornell is preparing a memorandum of understanding with Yale and Columbia that would allow students to take instruction in foreign languages through video conferencing, Feldman said. In exchange, Cornell might offer instruction in Sinhalese, Bengali, Indonesian and Vietnamese to peer institutions, he said.

“We have every reason to think administrators on both sides are in favor of this,” Feldman said. “I feel quite confident.”

While Feldman emphasized that the distance learning program more closely resembles a classroom setting than an online class, he said that the traditional in-person mode of instruction is preferred. 

“We don’t see this as a way of substituting for dropped language [classes]. It’s always better to have the teacher in the room, directly there with you,” Feldman said. “It only makes sense in my field for very small courses, and I regret this being used as a substitute for a dropped program.”

Still, he touted the program’s advantages.

“The way we like to think of it is: In expanding the curriculum by exchanging very small courses, we expand the impact of our own classes and in return receive classes Cornell students wouldn’t otherwise have access to,” Feldman said.

Feldman said that he thinks distance learning may have some additional benefits.

“When the communication channel between teacher and student is narrowed, students listen more carefully. They hang on every word,” Feldman said.

Students in the intermediate Dutch class attend class in the video conferencing room in Noyes Lodge, where two video cameras and a large flat-screen TV allow for teacher-student interaction. In the room, Moniek van Rheenen ’14 acts as a facilitator for Yale lecturer Chrissy Hosea, who previously taught the language at Cornell, by proctoring exams, making copies and sending scanned quizzes back to Hosea. 

“I see the technology actually enhancing the way she teaches,” van Rheenan said.

Like Feldman, Claire Cordella ’12, a student in the intermediate Dutch class, also said that while students have to be self-motivated “and participate more readily,” the virtual classroom is more similar to a traditional classroom than she would have expected.

Prof. Gail Holst-Warhaft, the director of the Mediterranean Studies Initiative in Cornell’s Institute for European Studies, agreed that the initiative could provide students with more opportunities.

“Certainly, I think it’s a terrific deal for Cornell. It’s very cost-effective, and Cornell boasts of being able to offer any subject that a student wishes to study. If that can be done using fewer Cornell resources, then I think it’s a great solution,” Holst-Warhaft said.

Feldman added that the cost of the classes for the University would be minimal.

“Offering these courses won’t involve passing around money from the University or students, except there will be some need for funds to hire [a] hourly facilitator at [a] remote site,” Feldman said.

Alex Orfanos ’13, president of the Hellenic Students Association, said his organization is “very much in favor of the program.”

“We understand that there are limited resources, but we hate to see these languages disappearing. It shouldn’t be a zero-sum game in that sense,” Orfanos said. “It’s going to be a battle for all these smaller programs in the next few years.”