World language studies finding new ways to maintain programs

LANSING — While world language enrollments have increased at some campuses since the COVID-19 pandemic, some language departments are trying to immerse themselves deeper into the overall curriculum to survive since most universities have phased out a language requirement to graduate. 

Leyre Alegre Figuero, the modern languages and cultures director at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, said, “The enrollment numbers have gone up since the pandemic. However, the resources we have from the institution have gone down.”

 The Modern Language Association is undertaking a census of enrollments for fall 2024. It will be the organization’s first update since the 2021 census, and there are no interim statistics on changes in enrollments since 2021. 

The association’s earlier study found a 17% drop in language course enrollments between 2016 and 2021 nationally.

Figuero said, “What we are struggling with right now is the obstacles that have been created by the institutions.”

According to the U.S. Department of Education, individual institutions are responsible for creating their own curriculum and graduation requirements. Program cuts in languages are often the result of university budget pressures, perceived lack of student interest and elimination of language requirements to graduate. 

“We had 13 faculty and grad students and now we are down to only seven. And we are closing the French program this year so we’ll be down to five,” she said.

“We have a bigger number of enrolled students,” she said. And with the cutting of resources, “we as faculty are stretched thin.”

The problem is nationwide, experts say.

For example, West Virginia University announced plans last year to eliminate all 24 of its language faculty as part of the institution’s need to close a $45 million budget gap, but pivoted amidst protests and decided to keep five professors, according to news reports.

Among other recent developments, the State University of New York at Potsdam announced plans last year to drop its bachelor’s degree programs in Spanish and French. 

Isabel Asensio, a member of the American Translators Association and a professor of Spanish translation and interpretation at Weber State University in Utah, said institutions can help in several ways.

For example, they can stop reducing the number of semesters or credit hours of language instruction needed to graduate. They also can include student newspaper articles in Spanish or the most commonly spoken language other than English in the area and can create interdisciplinary programs where language studies would serve as a valuable addition to other majors, Asensio said. 

Some language departments are collaborating with other programs. 

Figeuro said, “For example, we took the language programs and created new courses that were more aligned with the needs of students navigating different job markets.”

“We created courses that were for professions — we have courses for the medical field, we have a business course, we have a translation course,” she said.

Starting next academic year, Weber State will offer a certificate in Spanish for health care. 

According to Asensio, the certificate opportunity is already attracting bilingual students pursuing degrees in health care and who want to hone their language proficiency while improving their professional vocabulary. 

“The language faculty are creative and constantly seek ways to raise awareness and advocate for language studies,” Asensio said. “At the same time, it can be exhausting to continuously defend our profession and field of study.”

“It is also frustrating and condescending when people dismiss language learning as merely a hobby,” she said.