Arizona: Tucson students no longer need 2nd language class

[interpreterman at aol.com]

When I was at the University of Texas at San Antonio, they also dropped their language requirement. These are two universities that are not too darn far from a major Spanish-speaking courntry--amazing. This is an interesting article in light of the last sentence in the article about shortages in strategic languages in the US military establishment, stating that Uncle Sam's shortages of knowledge about language and culture reflect those of US society as a whole.
Dan V.
Taipei, Taiwan


-----Original Message-----
From: Harold Schiffman <hfsclpp at gmail.com>
To: lp <lgpolicy-list at ccat.sas.upenn.edu>
Sent: Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:23 am
Subject: Arizona: Tucson students no longer need 2nd language class



Tucson students no longer need 2nd language class

Associated Press - December 11, 2008 12:14 PM ET

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - The Tucson Unified School District has dropped a
requirement that students take two years of foreign language classes
to graduate. The school board decision reverses a policy that went
into effect for incoming freshmen just last year. Board members cited
a possible budget crunch, the difficulty of finding certified language
teachers and the pressure to comply with upcoming state requirements
for students to take additional math, science and economics classes.

The state doesn't require high school students to take a foreign
language, but all three Arizona public universities require two years
of instruction for admission.

District academic officer Ross Sheard says the courses will still be
offered as electives.


Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.azstarnet.com
http://www.kswt.com/Global/story.asp?S=9504918&nav=menu613_2_6


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