Newspaper Article

WHY FOREIGN LANGUAGES ARE RELEVANT AGAIN

Rohter, Larry

1987

Overview

Some veterans in the field, however, regard the explosion of interest with a skeptical eye. After all, it was only a quarter-century ago that languages were riding the crest of a boom. The National Defense Education Act, passed in response to alarm over Sputnik as well as other Soviet advances in science and technology, designated mastery of certain languages as ''critical'' to America's national interests and set aside large sums of money for training programs. BUT THE campus cry for ''relevance'' as a criterion of intellectual legitimacy and the elimination of course requirements in the late 1960's led to a drastic decline of enrollments in language courses at all levels, a decline that continued well into the 1970's. By 1979, in fact, President Carter's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies concluded that ''Americans' incompetence in foreign language is nothing short of scandalous.'' The report noted that ''the United States requires far more reliable capacities to communicate with its allies, analyze the behavior of potential adversaries and earn the trust of the uncommitted.'' ''It is true,'' Mr. [Loye Miller] added, ''that due to very tough budget choices and high deficits the Secretary of Education has given priority to other programs, mostly those based on true need.'' But he said Mr. [William J. Bennett] ''has done what he can do to foster foreign-language study,'' including making available $1.6 million in discretionary grants, announced recently, ''to improve and expand instruction in critical foreign languages.'' In a sense, the nation is now paying for its neglect of languages during the 60's and 70's, which has created a gap just at a time when many older teachers are preparing to retire. ''It was necessary to discourage younger people from making career plans during the 70's when the market began to slip,'' said Richard Brod, director of special projects for the Modern Language Association, the principal professional group of university language professors. ''We didn't want people to have unrealistic expectations.'' As a result, many potential language teachers were funneled into other fields.

• Publisher: New York Times Company
• Subject: EDUCATION AND SCHOOLS / Edwards, J David / Hayden, Rose L / LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGES / ROHTER, LARRY