Based on a presentation delivered to the Washington Association of Foreign Language Teachers, March 19, 1971. (DS)

Examines the languages (German, Italian, French) year-10 British students choose to study and shows how each language has fared to provide a basis for comparisons across languages. Also examines the results of interviews with students to determine the motive behind decisions to pursue or drop a language. (five references) (CK)

This report explains that 2000-01 was the eighth year in which the Centre for Language and Communication Studies (CLCS) at the University of Dublin's Trinity College offered extracurricular foreign language modules to students who were not studying a foreign language as part of their degree course. The modules are intended to develop students'…

Discusses statistical indication of decrease in students studying a second foreign language. Responses to a questionnaire sent out in 1973 to German teachers in the county of Yorkshire in an attempt to discover reasons for these statistics are analyzed and discussed. (RM)

Describes the present program of the German Department at Brown University. The language requirement was abolished at the university in 1969; consequently the program had to be redesigned with special attention given to student motivation. (TL)

The Department of Germanic Languages at the University of Texas at Austin has developed a language program in which students are trained in listening and reading comprehension before practicing production. The main objective was to improve student attitudes and reduce attrition between semesters. (SW)

Twelve suggestions for building a German program to attract and maintain student interest and enrollment are discussed. The strategies concern: teacher qualities; mini-course units; cadet teaching; average student; grading; community involvement; foreign language projects; and inter-cultural readings. (SW)

Looks at factors that contribute to the international status of a language, reviews the economic relations between the United States and German-speaking countries, and finds a confluence of factors that contributes to the reemerging utility of German-language skills for Americans. Discusses enrollment patterns in German-language courses and how…

Examines the Modern Language Association database containing information on several institutional characteristics and foreign-language registrations in individual colleges and universities in selected years (1970, 1974, 1980, 1986, and 1990). The database permits assessment of changes through time in registration levels and the percentage of…

This report offers figures on modern foreign language enrollments in four-year colleges and universities for fall 1961 and compares them with those of fall 1960. Most of this information is presented in tables, the majority of which detail enrollment figures and percent of change by state and institution. Individual institution enrollment for…

There is a need for expanding offerings in foreign language instruction to reach different age and interest groups, prepare teachers, and educate students for positions in business, industry, and government. For students, foreign language study could be combined with the study of another field. (SW)

Argues that despite the decline in enrollments in German at elementary and secondary schools and colleges and universities, there is reason to hope that interest can be invigorated. Suggests that there are easy instructional methods and materials for developing a new motivation in learning the language. (Author/VWL)

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…

Discusses declining enrollments in German as a foreign language programs and what can be done to offset the erosion in small undergraduate programs. Twelve ways to attract students to German, ranging from placement strategy to technology, and fifteen ways to retain them, such as offering German social events and internships, are presented.…

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…