Advertising Slavic Languages (was Re: alarm)

[Thomas R. Jr. Beyer]

Advertising can never hurt. Here at Middlebury we sent a personal letter
including a letter from a satisified student who had spent a year in Russia
to all incoming first year students.  We began our year with twenty
seven students in first year Russian, dramatically more than in the past
four
years.
I think the simple fact is that students and parents are unaware of the
extraordinary exciting opportunities in all of the countries of eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union.
In addition, you must reach out to kids while they are still in high
school. At the end of last year Vermont (that's the entire state) was no
-longer offering Russian at the high school level.  I volunteered to teach
via interactive television and thirty students from eight schools go to
video studios five days a week at 7:00AM. The time for complaining has
passed. The time for personal involvement and action is already here.
One historical note as I show my age.  Many will remember similar cries
around 1974-75 and 1980.