yet more about enrollments

[Benjamin Rifkin]

I think we should also consider the following possibility.  Many states,
Wisconsin included, are mandating the implementation of foreign language
instruction at the middle and/or elementary school levels.  School
districts, faced with decreased funding from state and federal levels and
local distress at increased property taxes, often must fulfill these
mandates in the least expensive way possible.  That means hiring a single
foreign language teacher, most often a teacher of Spanish, or a couple of
teachers, most often Spanish  and French and, if possible, German.  As
early as first or second grade, some students start to study Spanish,
French or German; in high school, where they may have more choices, they
are most likely to continue the language they have already begun to study.
In college, they are most likely to continue to study that language ...
whether by going back to first semester for an "easy A" or trying to get
college credit for their high school studies by taking a more advanced
course, thus speeding up the time to degree (if there is a foreign language
requirement) or freeing up time for other courses in other areas of
instruction (i.e., not foreign language studies.)  In Wisconsin there has
been a significant decrease in instruction in all languages except Spanish
on the pre-college level, and this may be one of the causes.  A recent
article in the journal **The Voice of WAFLT [Wisconsin Association of
Foreign Language Teachers, the WI affiliate of ACTFL]** discussed factors
for students to consider in selecting one or another language, mostly
focusing on difficulties in various areas (pronunciation, grammar,
vocabulary, etc.), but presenting the choice as a closed one among French,
German and Spanish.  Reading the article, one might feel that there is no
reason to study anything other than Spanish, let alone consider anything
beyond the three most commonly taught languages.

I think we ought to consider trying harder to connect to our colleagues in
the schools and school boards about encouraging the expansion of foreign
language programs.  At the very least, we should encourage the
implementation of foreign language exploratory classes in which students
could learn a little bit about a broad range of cultures and languages,
expanding their horizons beyond French, German and Spanish, learning
something about the cultures of Asia, Africa and, dare I say it, Central
and Eastern Europe.  This might be enough of an enticement for some
students to remember Russian language and culture as an option for study,
at least at the college level, if there is nothing possible before that
time.

Ben Rifkin


**********************************
Benjamin Rifkin
Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1432 Van Hise Hall, 1220 Linden Drive, Madison, WI  53706
(608) 262-1623; fax (608) 265-2814
e-mail:  brifkin at facstaff.wisc.edu