The 1980s witnessed substantial increases in enrollments in foreign language courses at American universities. Adjusted to take account of various factors, however, these increases are far from impressive and leave universities more monolingual than in the 1960s. Federal options for improving this are limited, but state and campus-based initiatives hold much promise. Generally, the emphasis should be on developing mastery by reducing attrition rather than on merely increasing gross enrollments at the introductory level.
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References
1.
1. Wilga M. Rivers, Ten Principles of Interactive Language Learning and Teaching, NFLC Occasional Papers (Washington, DC: National Foreign Language Center, 1989), p. 9.
2.
2. Richard D. Lambert, Language Instruction for Undergraduates in American Higher Education, NFLC Occasional Papers (Washington, DC: National Foreign Language Center, 1990), pp. 11-16.
3.
3. Elana Shohamy, The Power of Tests: The Impact of Language Tests on Teaching and Learning, NFLC Occasional Papers (Washington, DC: National Foreign Language Center, 1993), pp. 15-16.
4.
4. Richard Brod and Bettina J. Huber, “Foreign Language Enrollments in United States Institutions of Higher Education, Fall 1990,”ADFL Bulletin, 23(3):6 (Spring 1992).
5.
5. A. Ronald Walton, Expanding the Vision of Foreign Language Education: Enter the Less Commonly Taught Languages, NFLC Occasional Papers (Washington, DC: National Foreign Language Center, 1992), p. 1.
6.
6. Richard D. Lambert, “Foreign Student Flows and the Internationalization of Higher Education” (Paper, National Foreign Language Center, 15 Sept. 1992), p. 3.
7.
7. Richard D. Lambert, Foreign Language Planning in the United States, NFLC Occasional Papers (Washington, DC: National Foreign Language Center, 1992), p. 49.
8.
8. Brod and Huber, “Foreign Language Enrollments,” p. 7.
9.
9. Ibid., p. 8.
10.
10. Ibid.
11.
11. Calculated on the basis of ibid., tab. 3 and assuming half of the 1986-90 increases are traceable to one-time gains in community colleges.
12.
idem , Language Instruction for Undergraduates, p. 11.
13.
13. Lambert, Language Instruction for Undergraduates, p. 21.
14.
14. Brod and Huber, “Foreign Language Enrollments,” p. 8.
15.
15. Ibid.
16.
16. Ibid., p. 24.
17.
17. Ibid.
18.
18. Lambert, Language Instruction for Undergraduates, p. 20.
19.
19. Lambert, National Foreign Language System, pp. 4, 7.
20.
20. S. Frederick Starr, “English Dethroned,”Change, 10(5):26-31 (May 1978).
21.
21. Lambert, National Foreign Language System, p. 2.
22.
Lambert , National Foreign Language System, p. 3.
23.
23. Fixman, Foreign Language Needs, p. 16.
24.
24. Ibid.
25.
idem, Foreign Language Planning in the United States, p. 10.
26.
26. Lambert, Foreign Language Planning in the United States, p. 12.
27.
27. Richard D. Brecht, Dan Davidson, and Ralph B. Ginsberg, Predictors of Foreign Language Gained during Study Abroad, NFLC Occasional Papers (Washington, DC: National Foreign Language Center, 1993), pp. 17-18.
28.
28. Lambert, Language Instruction for Undergraduates, p. 23.
