The efforts being made to deal with the problem of decreased enrollment in Latin are considered in this paper. Current attempts to improve the training of Latin teachers and to update teaching methods are discussed, and difficulties encountered with administrators and counselors are identified. Stressed is the need for support from administrators,…

A survey conducted in a large, predominantly white suburban high school in the midwest investigated student attitudes toward study of Russian and other foreign languages. Respondents were 815 students of Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Latin at three levels of instruction. Students were first asked to rank the reasons they chose the…

A SURVEY CONDUCTED AT ABINGTON HIGH SCHOOL IN PENNSYLVANIA REVEALED THAT OVER HALF THE SCHOOL'S 10TH AND 11TH GRADE STUDENTS DISCONTINUE THEIR LANGUAGE STUDY AFTER THEY FINISH 3RD YEAR FRENCH OR SPANISH. THE MOST COMMON REASONS GIVEN BY THESE STUDENTS WERE SCHEDULING DIFFICULTIES, LOW GRADES IN THE LANGUAGE COURSE, AND THE FEELING THAT FURTHER…

The decline in student enrollment in high school and college language programs is seen to be linked directly with student attitudes toward their classroom experiences in foreign language programs. Suggestions concerning teaching techniques for improving student motivation are discussed, and methods which involve the student personally as an active…

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)

Speech given at a meeting of the Modern Foreign Language Association of Virginia in October 1970. (DS)

Examines the problem of high attrition rates after the introductory compulsory year for students studying languages other than English (LOTEs) in Australian high schools. A quantitative study is described that determined students' intentions to continue with language studies in the following year. Implications for LOTE teaching are discussed. (51…

This study began with a survey of twenty-eight school districts of Erie County, New York, and its aims were to determine and compare attrition in foreign languages in those districts. The data, obtained through discussion with teachers, interviews with students, questionnaires, and Flander's Interaction Analysis, assisted in the formulation of the…

Findings of a study conducted in the Palo Alto (California) Unified School District. (DS)

Discusses heritage language students enrolled in Spanish as a foreign language courses. Students and teaching assistants answered questionnaires about course experiences and decisions. Results illustrate student perceptions about their level of expertise in Spanish, the advantages and disadvantages of having heritage fluency in a class of native…

Persistent low numbers of African Americans in the foreign language teacher certification program at the University of Texas at Austin motivated the study reported here. Two groups of students responded to a questionnaire that sought information on foreign language experience at elementary and high school, as well as family experiences in foreign…

This paper investigates the beliefs about language learning held by 53 first-month university students enrolled in Swahili compared to those of 113 students of French and Spanish. Based in part upon the research design and instrument of Elaine Horwitz (University of Texas-Austin), this paper isolates the results from a larger study of eight…

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…