The Decline of a Cultural Icon: France in American Perspective

Abstract

Recent reports from both Britain and the United States show a decline in language classes. Richard Needham, trade minister of Britain, in May 1995 stated that schools in the United Kingdom did a disservice to Britain's students by teaching instead of Spanish, when growing business opportunities in Latin America called for training in the latter language. According to Needham, French is a difficult language and it's not a language of world business. Spanish is easier and it's a gateway into anyway.'I A BBC study published three years later showed language classes with a 5 percent lead over Spanish for adult education students, a decrease from the 18 percent lead a year earlier. The reason given for this was the jump in British tourism to Spain.2 Twenty-five years ago Spanish overtook as the most popular second language taught in U.S. schools; university enrollment in courses dropped about 38 percent between 1968 and 1990, while Spanish rose 46 percent. By 1990, according to the Modern Language Association, 534,000 U.S. college students were