Why students do not study Russian anymore

[David Kaiser]

My observations regarding undergrads' choice of language study, based on
lengthy discussions, are as follows

Why Spanish instead of Russian:

1> Russian's not as practical as other choices. In the US, outside of very
specific urban areas or very specific career choices, knowledge of Russian
isn't going to help you get a job or get around, especially compared to
Spanish and to a much lesser extent, French, German and Japanese.

2> Finding practice is much easier for Spanish than for Russian (or
anything else, for that matter). Language is more fun and develops more
quickly when you can use it regularly. In most communities, it is
relatively easy to find speakers of Spanish and TV/Radio that broadcasts in
Spanish. It's less common to find ways to use Russian, even in a big city
with a big Russian population.

3> Russian just isn't as sexy as it used to be, now that the Russians are
neither The Enemy (Cold War) nor Our New Friend (Perestroika). I think many
people just see Russia as lawless and corrupt and not worth the trouble.
(Of course, most of us who speak Russian would surely agree that it IS
worth the trouble)

Why students do take Russian

1> They already know and love Russian literature or culture and want to
know more or read it in the original.

2> It's still exotic, compared to Spanish or French or German.

3> The challenge, they know it's more difficult, that's why they like it.

4> Family/heritage/(easy A, for immigrants or their children)

5> Scholarly research. There is some great stuff written in Russian about
math, linguistics, physics, history, psychology, and many other fields, not
all of which has been translated into English.

That's my 2 cents, I hope someone somewhere finds it useful. I have to say,
though, that at the three schools where I have pursued Russian (Georgetown,
Arizona and Chicago), there did not seem to be a shortage of students,
relative to the number of classes offered.

Dave Kaiser
University of Chicago


At 01:28 PM 6/5/00 -0700, you wrote:
>Hello,
>
>My opinion on why students no longer study Russian is simple - Russian is a
>difficult language, and unattractive to students. In the past, people were
>probably more likely to study Russian because there was a perceived need for
>speakers of Russian - a Cold War era thing. But now, there is almost nothing
>drawing people to Russian. Students will take Spanish, French or German
>first, or Japanese or Chinese if they're interested in business. And even if
>students take beginning Russian, they tend not to go on, probably because
>there are easier options out there. In my experience, the people who stay in
>Russian these days are the people who develop a passion for the language and
>can't let it go. Casual students of Russian don't seem to exist beyond the
>first or second year.
>



"A shared purpose did not claim my identity.
On the contrary, it enlarged my sense of myself."
        Senator John McCain

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