This paper reports on a 2-year project carried out in a foreign language department at a research institution in the United States that intended to professionalize the language teaching faculty. A change in the university's core curriculum resulted in the implementation of the foreign language requirement for undergraduate students. This led to a…

In 1980, Midwestern State University (Texas), a typical college in several respects, held a series of panel discussions aimed at making students aware of the practicality and applicability of language study. Originally conceived as a "work fair" that would help recruit English majors, exigencies of a changing academic situation and the English…

Describes the implementation of a first-year comprehension-based Spanish language program at New Mexico State University. Includes a discussion of the history of the program and of the problems encountered in changing a traditional curriculum. Also describes the materials, classroom practice, and testing and evaluation techniques used in the…

Discusses growing enrollments in foreign languages at Spelman College, a small language arts college for African American women in Atlanta, Georgia. Attributes the growing enrollments to the willingness of faculty to attend to student needs, interests, and specific black heritage. Suggests strategies for attracting students of color to languages…

A new major at the University of Scranton (Pennsylvania), International Language/Business (IL/Bus), is described that first accepted students in 1986. This foreign language major of 27 credits, with a concentration in business was modeled on two cooperative programs between the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Management that were…

Foreign language graduate assistants usually lack adequate teaching experience, yet must somehow repay their university for assistantships needed to remain in school. Such neophyte teachers rarely inspire students to continue language study. But the more experienced staff must teach upper-division courses for these same students and the graduate…

Presents some of the factors responsible for increased foreign language enrollments at one university. (AM)

A discussion of enrollment variability and faculty hiring in college second-language departments looks at issues in how institutions handle staffing policy, graduate student admissions, offering graduate students a realistic picture of postgraduation employment prospects, and the master-apprentice relationship of the faculty member and graduate…

Discusses reasons for enrollment growth at institutions of higher learning, including instructional quality, departmental diversification, instructional innovation, and publicity and recruitment. (AM)

Discusses the response of Hope College (Michigan) language departments to shifts in language enrollments, particularly the rise in Spanish enrollments and declines in other languages. Strategies include using the smaller classes as an opportunity to enhance the teaching-learning environment and make those courses more attractive, placement…

The University of San Francisco developed a certificate program in Western European area studies covering French-speaking countries, and subsequently a Latin American area studies program for Spanish-speaking countries, in response to uneven language enrollments and as a means of increasing intermediate-level enrollment. The French program begins…

Both declining second-language enrollments in colleges and universities and the rapid metamorphosis of higher education are linked to the end of the Cold War. The strong state as the protector of the university's relative independence has ended, and the business sector is the new standard for measuring performance. In this context, German…

Describes and reflects on the experience of the University of Washington's Slavic languages program when faced with termination in 1995, including the initial response of faculty, staff, and students; the successful effort made to garner support from other institutions, alumni, business, and organizations; relations with the legislature;…

Examines the following factors, cited as important for building enrollments in a report on successful slavic language programs: (1) speaking and listening skills; (2) individual attention; (3) outreach activities; and (4) extracurricular programs. (AM)

For many years, the modern language enrollment at Butler University included many students with a second major in education, and the language curriculum served this population. As the number of teacher trainees diminished, foreign language majors increasingly indicated second majors in business. To serve this population, the foreign language…