Four aspects of the problem of retention of students in foreign language programs are discussed. (1) "Retention and Dropout: The National Situation," by K. E. Muller, describes a survey of retention rates in a sample of colleges and universities; (2) "Retention and Dropout: Some Remarks on One Department's Experience," by F. Valette, reflects on…

Discusses why most colleges have dropped a foreign language requirement and what should be done to reestablish and solidify the place of second language programs in a required curriculum. (EKN)

A discussion of articulation in second language education between instructional levels looks at the current state of articulation, issues in the transition from secondary to higher education, and proposes a new approach that shifts the focus from product to process. Three forms of articulation are distinguished: vertical; horizontal; and…

Translators and teachers of foreign languages need each other: translators need formal academic training and recognition and teachers of foreign languages need students. Unfortunately, translators know only too well that most FL teachers are not competent translators, and FL Departments generally consider translation as an activity beneath the…

A discussion of the status of German second language instruction, particularly at the postsecondary level, focuses on the role of standards, curriculum, and testing in increasing interest in and support for foreign language education. A substantial decline in German enrollments in the first half of the 1990s is noted, and possible reasons are…

The development of a successful short-range forecasting model for predicting enrollment in a university intensive English course began with examination of the characteristics (nationality, enrollment patterns, persistence) of both course participants and no-shows; the resulting figures revealed consistent patterns for country of origin and for…

Michigan Technological University has introduced a program which awards a certificate in Foreign Language and Area Study to students completing two years of the same foreign language and three area studies courses. It was developed in response to the necessity of dropping 19 foreign language courses. A survey of freshman English students revealed…

Brigham Young University has implemented a policy of allowing non-language majors, often with limited second-language proficiency, to study abroad. A study examined the effect of a six-month study program in Vienna (Austria) on the academic achievement and post-reentry language registrations of 224 students. Study-abroad students were matched with…

This paper concerns the practice of adopting literature in translation courses and civilization courses taught in English as a way of increasing foreign language enrollments at the undergraduate level. The need for cooperation between English and foreign language departments in coordinating courses is stressed, and several course titles are…

This paper reports on a 2-year project carried out in a foreign language department at a research institution in the United States that intended to professionalize the language teaching faculty. A change in the university's core curriculum resulted in the implementation of the foreign language requirement for undergraduate students. This led to a…

In 1980, Midwestern State University (Texas), a typical college in several respects, held a series of panel discussions aimed at making students aware of the practicality and applicability of language study. Originally conceived as a "work fair" that would help recruit English majors, exigencies of a changing academic situation and the English…

Major efforts have been made in the United States during the last 15 years to develop high quality programs for the teaching of African languages. These efforts are encountering increasing difficulties which are largely a function of a variety of special problems affecting the teaching of African languages. All of these problems contribute to…

A new major at the University of Scranton (Pennsylvania), International Language/Business (IL/Bus), is described that first accepted students in 1986. This foreign language major of 27 credits, with a concentration in business was modeled on two cooperative programs between the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Management that were…

Foreign language graduate assistants usually lack adequate teaching experience, yet must somehow repay their university for assistantships needed to remain in school. Such neophyte teachers rarely inspire students to continue language study. But the more experienced staff must teach upper-division courses for these same students and the graduate…

This paper outlines both negative and affirmative approaches to the issue of whether the public should be aware of a foreign language program. The negative approach would consider the diminishing demand for foreign languages for basic communicative needs in the United States and the conviction on the part of the public that it only needs one…