A RECENT survey released by the Modern Language Association of America (MLA) and funded by the United States Department of Education showed interest in foreign language study at US colleges and universities has increased broadly since 2002, AP has reported.
The survey includes data from 2,795 US colleges and universities measuring enrollments in the study of 219 languages other than English, from the most popular, including Spanish, French and German, to less commonly studied languages such as Navajo, Farsi, and Welsh.
The figures reflect a major push toward internationalization on college campuses, more government support for language study and simply more interest from students. Over four years, total enrollment in language courses has grown 12.9 percent.
Spanish remains the most popular subject, up 10.3 percent since 2002 and nearly four times more popular than French. Arabic is the fastest-growing major language, breaking the top 10 for the first time. The number of institutions offering Arabic has nearly doubled. More than 200 less-common languages are now taught on college campuses. Enrollment in those courses is up one-third in the four years covered by the MLA study.
“This significant growth in language study, and the diversity of languages being studied, is very good news for education in the US,” said Rosemary G. Feal, executive director of the MLA. “Students increasingly see their futures taking place in a multilingual world, and they want language preparation to help them function in that world.”
