--- Forwarded Message from Daniel Tom <[log in to unmask]> --- >Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 15:27:50 -1000 >From: Daniel Tom <[log in to unmask]> >To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Under Attack Again >In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]> ------------------ Last year I wrote that a committee made up of engineering and science professors examining where the University of Hawaii could make cuts had recommended the entire elimination of the European Languages Department. That recommendation fortunately was never implemented, but the department and the College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature had to vigorously defend themselves against this attack and point out the shortsightedness of such a recommendation. However, the College of Engineering subsequently did gain a major victory by finding a loophole to successfully exempt their engineering majors from the university's two-year language requirement. This happened in mid-semester and many engineering students immediately withdrew from the language courses they were taking. Now foreign languages are under attack again and this time it is more serious and even appears orchestrated (let's all gang up against the language requirement). Currently the University of Hawaii has a two year language requirement for all students regardless of the college or school they are enrolled in (with the exception of the College of Engineering as noted above). Students who take a language in high school can place out of the first year level and start at the second year and fulfill the requirement in less time. However, high schools in Hawaii teach a limited number of languages mainly Japanese, Spanish, French and Hawaiian. In the private schools you might have the addition of Mandarin and Russian. The university offers some 20 languages, many of them in the less commonly taught category. Leading the attack on the language requirement are the professional schools or what our Dean calls the "vocational" schools such as the School of Nursing, School of Architecture and the College of Business Administration. However, even surprisingly, the Music department is amongst the attackers. Among the arguments used against the language requirement is that it is responsible for many of the students in these professional schools taking 5 years to graduate. Presumably these schools have so many required courses of their own that they want their students to take that the language courses interfere with their students taking them and graduating in 4 years. The School of Nursing Dean complained that because many of the first year language courses meet daily M-F, it makes it difficult to program courses for nursing students such as clinical practice. Particularly for Asian languages even second year courses meet daily. This is not true of European languages. Another attack is that the language departments are overstaffed with faculty completely ignoring the fact that language courses cannot be taught as lecture courses with 100 plus students and a single professor. However, in an environment of budget cuts, areas of "overstaffing" become targets of the administration regardless how spurious the claim may be. Another argument backed up by "research" is the fact that by the time students reach college (even high school) the prime time for them to be receptive to picking up a foreign language is long past so why bother. If we follow their argument why should we bother to learn anything if the prime time for us to learn it is long gone. Why should a 50 year old get a medical degree? Here's where I need your help. We need to assemble facts in order to mount an offensive against these attacks and dispel any misinformation that has already been spread. The university is regarded as a Carnegie-1 research institution and presumably comparisions with other Carnegie-1 research institutions would carry more weight, but information from all institutions, state supported and private, would be appreciated. Please respond to the following questions: 1. Does your institution have a language requirement? 2. If yes, what is the requirement and does it apply to all students or only to certain students at your institution? 3. How many credits do the language courses carry? 4. Do the courses meet daily M-F or only MWF or some other combination of days? (i.e. how many class hours does the course meet on a weekly basis?) 5. Are students given college credit for language study in high school? If yes, how is eligibility for credit determined? 6. Please include any other information descriptive of the language requirement or language courses at your institution not covered by the above questions. Thank you. Daniel Tom Language Telecommunications, Resource & Learning Center University of Hawaii E-mail: [log in to unmask] FAX: 808-956-5134 Voice: 808-956-5118