Foreign Language Enrollments in Public Secondary Schools, Fall 1994

Abstract

Foreign language enrollments continue to make healthy increases in public schools across the country, according to the seventeenth in a series of surveys conducted first by the Modern Language Association (1958–1970and then byACTFL (1974‐present). The following report summarizes the responses received from a questionnaire sent to officials in each state and the District of Columbia. Forty‐eight states responded; however, because not all states collect data, and some collect it in inconsistent formats, enrollments were estimated for several states in whole or in part. The survey was conducted pursuant to a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, International Research and Studies Program. The full report is available from ACTFL Headquarters or can be downloaded from the new ACTFL Web Site (http://www.actfl.org).

Toward a Definition of Heritage Language: Sociopolitical and Pedagogical Considerations

“…In contrast to Europe, for example, where a majority of the population must learn at least one foreign language in school and where an increasing number of children now begin foreign language learning as early as primary school, only a minority of U.S. students (33.8% in secondary schools and 5% in elementary schools, according to Draper and Hicks, 2002) learn a foreign language in school. 9 Consequently, most U.S. students never develop advanced professional-level competencies in foreign languages (Brecht & Ingold, 2002).…”

An Overview of Spanish Teaching

“…Not surprisingly, Spanish is also the foreign/world language most often taught in public and private schools in the U.S. Although the selection of languages to be taught in schools sometimes appears to be politically motivated -schools change the languages they offer according to major world events and sociopolitical contexts -Spanish has been the most widely offered foreign/second language in U.S. schools, kindergarten through twelfth grade, for many decades (Draper, 1991). By the 1970s, it became the most frequently studied foreign/second language in U.S. colleges and universities, when Spanish overtook French (Modern Language Association, 2013).…”

National Foreign Language Policy: A State Language Coordinator's Perspective

“…But mere change in the number of LOTE speakers does not by itself inform language policy. Despite increases in speakers of languages such as Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, and Arabic-to name just a few-most languages other than Spanish have scant representation as subjects for instruction (Draper & Hicks, 2002;Rhodes & Branaman, 1999). Based on the current national sentiments, the presence of LOTE speakers in the U.S. population, instead of constituting a demographic imperative for instruction in these languages, represents a threat for some; whereas for others, their presence provides only a resource for pragmatic or expedient policies.…”