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Enrollment in Most Foreign-Language Programs Continues to Fall

By  Julian Wyllie
March 7, 2018

Enrollment in language courses other than English fell 9.2 percent in colleges and universities in the United States between the fall of 2013 and the fall of 2016, according to a new study by the Modern Language Association.

The study includes research based on the enrollments of undergraduate introductory courses as well as advanced-degree programs.

Of the 15 most commonly taught languages, the only two that showed gains in enrollment during the 2013-16 time frame were Japanese and Korean. Enrollment in Japanese language programs grew 3.1 percent, and enrollment in Korean language programs grew 13.7 percent.

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Enrollment in language courses other than English fell 9.2 percent in colleges and universities in the United States between the fall of 2013 and the fall of 2016, according to a new study by the Modern Language Association.

The study includes research based on the enrollments of undergraduate introductory courses as well as advanced-degree programs.

Of the 15 most commonly taught languages, the only two that showed gains in enrollment during the 2013-16 time frame were Japanese and Korean. Enrollment in Japanese language programs grew 3.1 percent, and enrollment in Korean language programs grew 13.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the sharpest declines during that same span were in Italian, ancient Greek, Portuguese, Biblical Hebrew, and modern Hebrew programs, which ranged from 17-percent to 24-percent drops.

Dennis Looney, one of the authors of the study, says the results reflect the continued interest in Asian languages.

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Looney, who is director of programs and of the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages at the MLA, said the study’s full report, due this summer, will display the top performing programs in each language. These figures are already available online through a database.

“What one wants to do with these numbers is drill down and look more carefully at the program level to find examples of programs where there hasn’t been a decline,” he said. “This is the way we hope our enrollment data is used. Readers can use the data and compare it to their own programs and figure out why some are growing at a time when enrollments are dropping on average.”

Looking Back

Enrollment in language programs between 2006 and 2009 was mostly growing. Arabic, Chinese, American Sign Language, and a few others showed enrollment growth of at least 5 percent in that time period. At the time, Arabic was the standout with nearly 47-percent growth during that period.

But by 2013, enrollment in Spanish, French, German, and other programs had taken a dive. The only states with an increase in language-program enrollment by 2016 were Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, and Rhode Island.

The largest decrease during the 2013 to 2016 period was in Oregon, at 28 percent, although some other states, like North Dakota and Illinois, were close behind.

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Spanish, French, and American Sign Language continue to be the top three studied languages. Overall, the ratio of modern-language enrollments per 100 students in American colleges has been cut in half since 1960. Since the mid-1970s, however, Looney says, the ratio has stabilized at between nine and seven course enrollments per 100 students.

Clarification (3/8/2018, 10:45 a.m.): This article originally described a steady decline in enrollments since 1960. That description has been updated to better describe the nature of the decline.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Teaching & LearningInternationalAdmissions & Enrollment
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