Successful College and University Foreign Language Programs, 1995–99: Part 2

Abstract

THE MLA’s Office of Foreign Language Programs has undertaken a project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to discover what factors make foreign language programs successful. The field is increasingly aware of evolving conditions affecting foreign language programs in colleges and universities in this country. For one thing, enrollment patterns are changing. Before the project was undertaken, the MLA’s 1995 and 1998 enrollment surveys showed that while the number of students studying languages remained relatively stable, Spanish enrollments represented more than half the total, and student interest had declined in three traditionally taught languages—French, German, and Russian. Enrollment in less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) was increasing slightly, and of those students not taking Spanish a greater number were studying a greater number of languages (Brod and Welles 23 and 28; table 1). The most recent enrollment survey for fall 2002 shows a marked change: registrations are up in all the fifteen most commonly taught languages. Increases are particularly notable for American Sign Language, Arabic, and Italian. The downward trends for German, French, and Russian have stabilized or shown signs of reversal. The number of LCTLs offered and the number of students studying them increased substantially as well (Welles, tables 1a and 1b). The national context of foreign language and literature programs presents complex challenges. Most parents are eager for their children to study a second language in elementary and secondary schools. Yet the public perception that learning a language other than English is irrelevant and the idea that widespread knowledge of English around the world makes it unnecessary to know the primary language of someone whose second or third is English discourage heritage language speakers from maintaining their home languages and English speakers from learning new ones. Furthermore, the teaching of languages has changed dramatically in the last several decades. The technological revolution allows access to languages and cultures in completely new ways; today’s students, skilled in the uses of computers and the Internet, expect to take advantage of these tools in the classroom. Student populations, more diverse in age, ethnicity, and preparation for college, are increasingly career-minded and concerned that their language study be useful to them. The traditional rationale that learning a language deepens understanding of the world through the study of the linguistic, literary, and cultural artifacts of another people has been supplemented by the idea that language knowledge will be practical and enhance professional situations in later life. In the face of these changes and challenges, we wanted to find out how departments are managing and what conditions favor departmental success. Our fall 1999 survey collected information about the