The present study uses data from 1147 university language students from lower-division and upper-division courses from eight different languages. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of course placement, first course enrollment, and personal/professional relationships had on university learners' intentions to minor or major…

Whereas major research universities may accommodate programs of study in Arabic, Chinese, or Persian, regional universities and liberal arts colleges have struggled to adapt to a wider and more complex array of world languages and literatures in the 21st century. Many have been forced to choose between radically restructuring or closing programs…

Since the late 1960's, German studies, like foreign language studies in general, have been on the decline. Part of the decline in foreign language enrollments can be attributed to higher education's declining rate of enrollment growth, part to elimination of language requirements for degree recipients, and part to shifting program emphases. A…

Twelve suggestions for building a German program to attract and maintain student interest and enrollment are discussed. The strategies concern: teacher qualities; mini-course units; cadet teaching; average student; grading; community involvement; foreign language projects; and inter-cultural readings. (SW)

This paper presents a case-study of the successful nine-month plan with which Tulane University guaranteed the growth and continuation of its Italian program. The paper provides a blueprint for the teacher of Italian on any campus who wishes to strengthen the position of his Italian program in this era when dwindling federal, state and university…

Noting a 14.3 percent decline in student enrollment in college German-language programs between the fall terms of 1968 and 1970, an analysis of the situation is developed and proposals for reversing the trend are outlined. Six major sections discuss: (1) the sad evidence of figures and what they mean for German, (2) the foreign language crisis…

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…

A study investigated results of the 1982 Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation initiative to expand teaching of Chinese in high schools. The approach taken was to examine the entire range of elements in the Dodge initiative at 55 schools where projects were funded, drawing from questionnaires, site visits, and interviews. Additional, different…

2024 Re-release of the 2002 first edition of this book. The author and copyright holder has released this work under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license. This book provides 101 ideas and strategies to empower overall marketing efforts: (1) "Put On Your Thinking Cap" (e.g., define the problem before marketing it, set reasonable…

A discussion of foreign languages in elementary schools (FLES) includes both historical and current overviews of FLES in the United States and makes recommendations for development of FLES programs. The historical review looks at program design and methods during the 1950s and 1960s and the successes and failures of program types and approaches.…

Described in this speech are five growing FLES programs in the State of Washington that reflect in their distinctive structural and content patterns the particular philosophy of the different school districts in which each has developed. In each description mention is made of (1) enrollment and district participation figures, (2) grades included…

A survey of 1,027 chairpersons of foreign language departments in all Central States region two- and four-year colleges reveals encouraging news about the state of foreign language programs as perceived by administrators, but mixed results regarding issues affecting faculty and administrators. Respondents (N=304) expressed a high degree of…

The Des Moines (Iowa) Public Schools foreign language program for K-12 is described and evaluated. The evaluation report focuses on six areas, including: (1) school district mission and philosophy of foreign language instruction; (2) context (state policies and standards, foreign language program overview and enrollment, fiber-optic communication…

This study investigated the status of instruction in cultures and languages other than English in Queensland, Australia in preparation for development of comprehensive and coherent public policies for the field. The report addresses the following topics: the policy development process (project background and the nature of language education…