IHE: Foreign Language Enrollment Declines 16% Since 2016

[Wahoo Redux]

IHE: Foreign Language Enrollment Sees Steepest Decline on Record

Enrollment in courses in languages other than English plummeted an unprecedented 16.6 percent between fall 2016 and fall 2021, the Modern Language Association's latest census found—a roughly 236,000-student drop that diminished head count in these classes to about what it was in 1998.

[marshwiggle]

IHE: Foreign Language Enrollment Sees Steepest Decline on Record

Enrollment in courses in languages other than English plummeted an unprecedented 16.6 percent between fall 2016 and fall 2021, the Modern Language Association's latest census found—a roughly 236,000-student drop that diminished head count in these classes to about what it was in 1998.

From the article:

Korean continued its rise, while Western European languages further shrank.

I'm guessing that part of the shift is based on what students think is useful. So interest in any language is more related to possible employment than cultural enrichment.

[Hibush]

California has lots of languages, and recognizes that in the K-12 system. How much does a program like this affect subsequent foreign-language enroment in college?

The California Department of Education (CDE) mission is to equip students with world language skills to better appreciate and more fully engage with the diverse mixture of cultures, heritages, and languages found in California and the world, while also preparing them to succeed in the global economy. The CDE has set specific goals in the Global California 2030 Report. By 2030, half of all kindergarten through grade twelve students will participate in programs leading to proficiency in two or more languages, either through a class, a program, or an experience. By 2040, three out of four students will be proficient in one or more languages, earning them a State Seal of Biliteracy.

[lightning]

IHE: Foreign Language Enrollment Sees Steepest Decline on Record

Enrollment in courses in languages other than English plummeted an unprecedented 16.6 percent between fall 2016 and fall 2021, the Modern Language Association's latest census found—a roughly 236,000-student drop that diminished head count in these classes to about what it was in 1998.

From the article:

Korean continued its rise, while Western European languages further shrank.

I'm guessing that part of the shift is based on what students think is useful. So interest in any language is more related to possible employment than cultural enrichment.

Sort of

Yes, students think Mandarin, Korean, Arabic, etc are "useful," but new tenure-track lines to staff the teaching, research, and shepherding of the curriculum & students for these specific in-demand language subjects didn't materialize fast enough and the entrenched Western languages faculty of decades--if they were able to secure lines at all--were usually replicating themselves.

Then, the few students who were able to major in Mandarin, Korean, Arabic, etc., realized "Gosh, darn it. Mandarin is hard. I'm going to major in <insert easier major here>."

[marshwiggle]

California has lots of languages, and recognizes that in the K-12 system. How much does a program like this affect subsequent foreign-language enroment in college?

The California Department of Education (CDE) mission is to equip students with world language skills to better appreciate and more fully engage with the diverse mixture of cultures, heritages, and languages found in California and the world, while also preparing them to succeed in the global economy. The CDE has set specific goals in the Global California 2030 Report. By 2030, half of all kindergarten through grade twelve students will participate in programs leading to proficiency in two or more languages, either through a class, a program, or an experience. By 2040, three out of four students will be proficient in one or more languages, earning them a State Seal of Biliteracy.

That's ridiculous. The "State Seal of Biliteracy" will be totally bogus. In Canada, people have minority language training all through school, and very few graduates would consider themselves "proficient" in the other language.


From Statistics Canada:

The proportion of the population who could conduct a conversation in English and French in 2021 was 18.0% in Canada and was as follows in the provinces, from east to west, and then the territories: Newfoundland and Labrador (5.1%), Prince Edward Island (12.7%), Nova Scotia (10.3%), New Brunswick (34.0%), Quebec (46.4%), Ontario (10.8%), Manitoba (8.3%), Saskatchewan (4.7%), Alberta (6.1%), British Columbia (6.6%), Yukon (14.2%), Northwest Territories (10.6%), and Nunavut (3.8%).

Source(s): Census of Population, 2021 (3901).

[RatGuy]

I think that decline is natural when you consider how many universities are either not requiring hours in a foreign language class and/or allowing computer science classes to count towards foreign language requirements.

My university recently changed those requirements. Before the change, incoming students were only allowed to test out of 3 hours of foreign language -- and many of our incoming students have foreign language AP credits or equivalent. Now? Students can test out of their entire foreign language gen-ed requirement. Enrollment in those classes plummet.

[apl68]

California has lots of languages, and recognizes that in the K-12 system. How much does a program like this affect subsequent foreign-language enroment in college?

The California Department of Education (CDE) mission is to equip students with world language skills to better appreciate and more fully engage with the diverse mixture of cultures, heritages, and languages found in California and the world, while also preparing them to succeed in the global economy. The CDE has set specific goals in the Global California 2030 Report. By 2030, half of all kindergarten through grade twelve students will participate in programs leading to proficiency in two or more languages, either through a class, a program, or an experience. By 2040, three out of four students will be proficient in one or more languages, earning them a State Seal of Biliteracy.

That's ridiculous. The "State Seal of Biliteracy" will be totally bogus. In Canada, people have minority language training all through school, and very few graduates would consider themselves "proficient" in the other language.


From Statistics Canada:

The proportion of the population who could conduct a conversation in English and French in 2021 was 18.0% in Canada and was as follows in the provinces, from east to west, and then the territories: Newfoundland and Labrador (5.1%), Prince Edward Island (12.7%), Nova Scotia (10.3%), New Brunswick (34.0%), Quebec (46.4%), Ontario (10.8%), Manitoba (8.3%), Saskatchewan (4.7%), Alberta (6.1%), British Columbia (6.6%), Yukon (14.2%), Northwest Territories (10.6%), and Nunavut (3.8%).

Source(s): Census of Population, 2021 (3901).

With it being California, I suspect that what they're aspiring to is simply to have students be proficient in English and whatever language most of them grow up hearing at home.

[apl68]

I think that decline is natural when you consider how many universities are either not requiring hours in a foreign language class and/or allowing computer science classes to count towards foreign language requirements.

My university recently changed those requirements. Before the change, incoming students were only allowed to test out of 3 hours of foreign language -- and many of our incoming students have foreign language AP credits or equivalent. Now? Students can test out of their entire foreign language gen-ed requirement. Enrollment in those classes plummet.

Alma Mater still offers more variety of language courses than the average SLAC in its league, although I don't know if they still have a foreign-language gen ed requirement.  This is in addition to the specialized language courses required for ministerial students.  I think they've decided to treat offering languages for such students as still want them--interest hasn't yet died out entirely in this country--as a niche they can fill.

[Sun_Worshiper]

It is a shame. There was a good article in The Conversation yesterday about how this is a problem for US national security.

Why is Korean more "useful" than, say, French or Spanish? No diss to Korea, a country that I have genuine and personal affection for, but how many people speak Korean outside of Korea?

[Parasaurolophus]

Why is Korean more "useful" than, say, French or Spanish? No diss to Korea, a country that I have genuine and personal affection for, but how many people speak Korean outside of Korea?

I had the same thought. I wouldn't have thought Korean would be perceived as particularly useful. As someone working in a "what are you going to do with that?" subject, it doesn't seem to me that perceptions of degree utility are particularly carefully considered.

That's ridiculous. The "State Seal of Biliteracy" will be totally bogus. In Canada, people have minority language training all through school, and very few graduates would consider themselves "proficient" in the other language.

I always thought French education was mandatory in Canadian schools. What I've discovered since moving to BC is that it... isn't (it is in some provinces, like Ontario, New Brunswick, and Québec). In BC, you only get French classes if your school has a French teacher (and, as you can imagine, most don't). Second-language learning is optional, and only offered in grades 9-12. You can get some French in grades 5-7, but not everywhere (again, because of lack of teachers). 0_o

Frankly, it explains a lot.

[marshwiggle]

That's ridiculous. The "State Seal of Biliteracy" will be totally bogus. In Canada, people have minority language training all through school, and very few graduates would consider themselves "proficient" in the other language.

I always thought French education was mandatory in Canadian schools. What I've discovered since moving to BC is that it... isn't (it is in some provinces, like Ontario, New Brunswick, and Québec). In BC, you only get French classes if your school has a French teacher (and, as you can imagine, most don't). Second-language learning is optional, and only offered in grades 9-12. You can get some French in grades 5-7, but not everywhere (again, because of lack of teachers). 0_o

Frankly, it explains a lot.

I wasn't sure about that, since the provinces I've lived in are.... Ontario, New Brunswick, and Québec.
Even then, with A's all through school in French, I'd never consider myself *bilingual. Travelling in France I was able to have basic utilitarian conversations in French, but I never had to have a sustained conversation.
Bilingualism is hard. (At the very least, it requires lots of sustained conversation in the target language.)


(*I use to call myself "bilingual outside Québec", since I could speak more French than the majority of Canadians outside Québec.)

[Parasaurolophus]

Ha! As it happens, those are also the provinces I've lived in, plus Alberta and now BC. I believe French is optional in Alberta, too.

I don't know to what extent this is all just the result of the decay of efforts at bilingualism, though. It may be that it was required early on, then provincial governments decided it wasn't worth their energy. Seems like a silly way to implement a national goal, though.

You should see the faces people make when my credit card receipt spits out in French. Half the time they can't tell what language it is.

[Hibush]

I don't know to what extent this is all just the result of the decay of efforts at bilingualism, though. It may be that it was required early on, then provincial governments decided it wasn't worth their energy. Seems like a silly way to implement a national goal, though.

To what extent do Anglophone Canadians (including school administrators) feel like this is a mandate from Francophone Quebeckes that wasn't motivated by a sense of building national fraternité? That could generate a reduced motivation that doesn't result in bilingualism, or even "biliteracy".

[marshwiggle]

Ha! As it happens, those are also the provinces I've lived in, plus Alberta and now BC. I believe French is optional in Alberta, too.

I don't know to what extent this is all just the result of the decay of efforts at bilingualism, though. It may be that it was required early on, then provincial governments decided it wasn't worth their energy. Seems like a silly way to implement a national goal, though.

You should see the faces people make when my credit card receipt spits out in French. Half the time they can't tell what language it is.

To be fair, I feel sorry for people in provinces where they don't hear French. Even though I lived in English growing up, since I heard French all around I knew what it should sound like, so that helped my pronunciation. (Since I've lived outside of Quebec for decades, I can tell that my own pronunciation has gotten worse since I just don't hear it as much now.)

[apl68]

It is a shame. There was a good article in The Conversation yesterday about how this is a problem for US national security.

I know, right?  This is one humanities field that has an argument for its utility that one would think would be enough to appeal to the crude utilitarianism that now dominates our higher ed.  But the students don't seem to perceive its utility, and if they aren't demanding the classes then the colleges find it easy to cut the programs.

Why is Korean more "useful" than, say, French or Spanish? No diss to Korea, a country that I have genuine and personal affection for, but how many people speak Korean outside of Korea?

I've been wondering why there seems to have been a mild Renaissance (so to speak) of students studying Italian in some quarters.  It seemed like it was on its way out, like most of the traditional European languages.  But there has evidently been an uptick in interest.  Alma Mater started offering Italian sometime back, after having never offered it before.