When I read the article titled “Is Foreign Language Learning Facing a Sharp Drop in Enrollment?” I got chills—it explained the situation we are seeing here in Berkshire right now.
According to the Modern Language Association’s 2019 report, 651 foreign language programs were eliminated by universities in the United States over the previous 3 years. Even more shocking, French departments lost the most programs (129), while interest in other languages, such as Korean and Hebrew, has gradually increased. How do we explain this “crisis,” not only for foreign language departments in this country, but especially for French?
Unfortunately, due to limited budgets at colleges and universities, the administration has stated that “unnecessary” or ‘unprofitable’ departments, such as foreign language departments, must be eliminated. They say these cuts are necessary so that universities have the budget to fund their “useful” departments, such as science and engineering. That’s the problem: we’re obsessed with the idea of profitability, instead of appreciating foreign language courses as a way to better understand ourselves and the world and different people.
Students increasingly hope to finish their studies as quickly as possible in order to get a lucrative job or pay off their student loans. They want a return on their investment of money and time in humanities and social science courses. So, studies suggest that we really do have a practical solution, which is to make foreign language teaching more “profitable” by combining it with other fields of study.
Although interest in French has been declining in recent years, numerous studies show that it is a very beneficial language for any career. Of course, this language can offer students many professional advantages in several fields. Recently, the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry provided training (for teachers) at UCLA, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Florida in Gainesville to help universities in the United States promote their French departments. Like the University of Utah, other universities need to develop language programs that are more focused on combining language with practical applications, offering French courses in the fields of business, law, tourism, and health.
I hope that by adding courses called, perhaps, “learning business French” to their language programs, universities, and also high schools like Berkshire, can save their departments from extinction.
Editor’s Note: To read the original article (written in French), click here.
