LANGUAGES & SECURITYFewer U.S. College Students Are Studying a Foreign Language − and That Spells Trouble for National Security
In 1958, following the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik, the National Defense Education Act authorized funding to strengthen U.S. education in language instruction, in addition to math and science. More than six decades later, a new Modern Language Association report is raising concerns about America’s foreign language capabilities anew. Having fewer U.S. college students who learn a foreign language creates greater risks for national security.
When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, on Oct. 4, 1957, it did more than spark fears about America’s ability to compete technologically. It also raised concerns that the U.S. had a shortage of Russian speakers capable of monitoring Soviet scientific and military activities.
In 1958, the National Defense Education Act authorized funding to strengthen U.S. education in language instruction, in addition to math and science.
More than six decades later, a new Modern Language Association report is raising concerns about America’s foreign language capabilities anew. The report shows that the study of languages other than English at the university level experienced an unprecedented drop of 16.6% between 2016 and 2021.
The second-largest drop – of 12.6% – took place between 1970 and 1972.
This decline continues a trend that began in 2009. Even though we live in an increasingly globalized world, the number of college students taking languages is rapidly falling.
As a professor of Spanish and Portuguese who researches trends in language education, I know that having fewer U.S. college students who learn a foreign language creates greater risks for national security.
Foreign Language Census
Every few years since 1958, the MLA has conducted a census of enrollments in college-level language courses in the U.S. Their data shows that enrollments in languages other than English spiked after the National Defense Education Act became law.
Between 1958 and 1970, these enrollments nearly tripled, from about 430,000 to almost 1.2 million. The bulk of students studied French, German or Spanish. However, enrollments in Russian doubled in the first three years alone – jumping from roughly 16,000 in 1958 to over 32,700 in 1961. Enrollments in less commonly taught languages such as Chinese, Japanese and Arabic also rose steeply.
After 1970, the enrollments in language study began to fall. Arabic was an exception. Although very few U.S. students studied Arabic to begin with – just 364 in 1958, increasing to 1,324 in 1970 – the 1973 oil crisis accelerated the trend, and enrollments passed 3,000 in 1977 before plateauing.
Role of Geopolitics
College enrollments in Russian and Arabic courses illustrate how language study can be directly affected by – and have implications for – political events.
