28, no. 3 (Spring 1997): 48-49
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Language Programs at Kutztown University
Mary Theis
BECAUSE of the many potential heritage learners in surrounding major metropolitan areas, the Foreign Language Department of Kutztown University of Pennsylvania has an abundance of students taking Spanish. Enrollments in the other foreign languages—German, French, and Russian—have dropped significantly.
Concerned about the fate of these language programs, all language sections at Kutztown University have tried to remain competitive by improving their programs and tailoring courses to the needs of our students and our state. For instance, because Pennsylvania certifies its foreign language teachers for K-12, we have proposed an additional methods course for teaching foreign languages in elementary schools and have begun to redefine the concentration in foreign languages for elementary school teachers. Students from both secondary and elementary education methods classes will help teach the bilingual classes in our professional development school at Lauer's Park in Reading and children in our on-campus early-learning center.
Kutztown University students have been able to major and minor in German, Russian, French, or Spanish and to become certified to teach these languages. To boost enrollments the German section recently followed the example of the Russian section and added an area studies major to its undergraduate degrees. The change was made to capture the heightened interest in German studies generated by Kutztown University's Pennsylvania German Festival, which celebrates the traditional way of life of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century German settlers in this area.
The department has attempted to address lower enrollments in non-Spanish courses also by offering commercial language courses in all four sections. The French section has proposed a second level for its business language course and has streamlined its offerings so that the most essential courses are consistently available. The Russian section has published Contemporary Business Russian , the textbook for its commercial Russian course, which it introduced three years ago.
Because the number of students taking Russian nationwide has decreased dramatically in the last few years, the Russian section has changed its approach in other areas. Traditionally, Spanish, French, and German have had a cornucopia of attractive textbooks and supplementary materials to choose from, and students in these languages have grown accustomed to having access to a variety of computer programs to drill and tutor them. Publishers of Russian texts and supplementary materials have finally begun to catch up. To remain on the cutting edge, the Russian section has consistently sought the best, communicatively oriented textbook and computer-assisted learning materials for its three-day-a,week offerings; its members have attended conferences, workshops, and institutes on introducing technology into the teaching of foreign languages; and the section has begun shifting the focus of some of its language courses away from literature to include more film and to employ computers. In addition, since 1990 the section has directed a month-long summer study abroad program for Russian language and culture at the Diplomatic Academy of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation in Moscow. Moscow State University (MGU) is the site of its 1997 summer study abroad program. During the same period the section has been instrumental in establishing a faculty exchange with the academy.
All language sections have had study-abroad programs, but because of low enrollments some have been temporarily suspended. The French section is developing a new study abroad program. The Spanish section has an internship program in Costa Rica for intensive work in one's field. Previously, our students studied in Spain. Because there is a demand for more Spanish courses than are offered in the catalog, the Spanish section has added new courses in civilization and literature. It has also made the requirements for graduation in Spanish more demanding and has added a separate course in applied linguistics. A combined departmental applied-linguistics course for Spanish, French, German, and Russian was required until fall 1996. The Spanish section has begun offering graduate courses toward a master's degree, as the colleges of business and education do: as part of the State System of Higher Education in Pennsylvania, Kutztown University was established with the restriction that it could grant master's degrees but not doctorates. Despite the Spanish section's efforts, however, the program still suffers from a lack of qualified BA students.
In the past, the administration has been supportive of our department's innovations and has approved most changes in course offerings. Recently, however, it has cut conversation courses with less than ten students. In 1996, at least, it did not always enforce the policy. In these times of cutbacks on state funding for education, we know that the administration is also watching with concern the lower enrollments in the less commonly taught languages. That term will soon come to mean anything but Spanish, which is hardly a foreign language for many of our students: over half of the high school students in Reading and Allentown, for instance, are Hispanic.
There is no doubt that the Spanish section could accommodate their needs too if we had more staff members, but there is considerable concern that the administration may not accommodate the needs of students of our other languages. However, it has offered to help languages suffering from low enrollment: it is ready to pay a hired consultant to come on campus, assess the situation, and make suggestions. We hope to invite the consultant this year after a workshop involving members of the department and the deans of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Education, and the College of Business to clarify our expectations.
Kutztown University
© 1997 by the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages. All Rights Reserved.
ADFL Bulletin 28, no. 3 (Spring 1997): 48-49 |
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