24, no. 3 (Spring 1993): 5-5
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Highlights of the MLA's 1987–89 Survey: Characteristics of Foreign
Language Curricula
LATE IN 1988 the MLA launched a comprehensive baseline survey of a stratified random sample of foreign language programs. The two-part survey questionnaire, which covered the 1987–88 and 1988–89 academic years, included a series of questions about various aspects of the undergraduate curriculum.
Characteristics of Introductory Courses
- The vast majority of sampled programs reported that at least some features of their multisection introductory courses are administered in a uniform manner; only 7% reported that introductory sections in a single language are run entirely independently.
- Texts and learning objectives are commonly defined in almost all programs in which features of the introductory language course are uniformly administered. Similar syllabi are used in 4 out of 5 programs and similar examinations in 3 out of 5.
- Second-year language classes tend to meet less frequently than first-year classes; the averages are 3 and 4 times per week respectively. Over three-quarters of the responding programs said that their first- and second-year classes are an hour long.
- The first-year language classes offered by the programs in the sample enroll an average of 23 students, with half of the programs reporting average class sizes of 20 to 26. Second-year language classes tend to be smaller; half of the programs in the sample report that their classes enroll between 15 and 22 students on average.
- On average, first- and second-year language classes are larger in programs with large numbers of full-time tenure-track faculty members and in public than in private institutions.
- Grammar and oral communication receive the most attention in first- and second-year classes. Over half of the respondents report that they do not read literary texts in their first-year classes, but 80% report using them in second-year classes. Literary texts receive varying amounts of attention; 10% to 15% of class time in first-year classes and 10% to 25% of class time in the second year.
- The most frequently used mechanism for placing incoming students with previous language training in appropriate introductory language classes is a standardized test. Fifty-seven percent of the responding programs report using them.
Staffing Introductory Language Sections
- In two-year programs, just over half of all introductory language sections, on average, are taught by tenured faculty members; most of the remainder are generally staffed by part-time faculty members.
- Tenured and junior faculty members generally teach close to two-thirds of the introductory language sections in programs granting a bachelor's degree only. In doctorate-granting programs, in contrast, these groups staff an average of 25% of the introductory language sections, while teaching assistants staff 55%, on average.
Availability of Intensive Courses and Immersion Experiences
- Forty-four percent of the respondents said their foreign language programs offered “courses organized as intensive learning experiences.” The most common pattern for intensive courses is a 14-to-16-week course that meets 5 to 6 times a week for 1 to 2 hours.
- As institutional size and number of full-time tenure-track faculty members increases, so does the percentage of programs offering intensive courses. In addition, programs in doctorate-granting institutions are more likely to offer intensive courses than those in baccalaureate institutions are.
- Of the programs in the sample, 66% said their campuses offered “opportunities for intensive learning or immersion experiences outside the classroom.” Immersion opportunities are infrequently provided by two-year programs but are available in the majority of four-year programs. Seventy-five percent of survey respondents make study abroad available to their students; 20% to 30% of the responding programs offer language tables in dining halls, summer language institutes, and/or residential language houses.
Types of Courses Offered
- When asked whether their foreign language unit offered courses in linguistics, 38% of the respondents said yes. When linguistics courses are offered elsewhere in the institution, as they are in 18% of the sampled programs, they are rarely offered by another language program; most frequently they are offered by the English department.
- Advanced language courses, culture amd civilization courses, and literature courses in the target language are offered by 75% to 80% of the sampled programs, while literature-in-translation courses are offered by 59%. Courses for bilingual speakers are offered by just under a fifth of the programs, and self-paced language courses are offered by just one in ten.
© 1993 by the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages. All Rights Reserved.
ADFL Bulletin 24, no. 3 (Spring 1993): 5-5 |
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