Southern Utah State College students are showing a new interest in learning a foreign language.
"During the early 1970s we experienced a slump in foreign language interest at Southern Utah State . . . and nationally," said Leon Chidester, professor of Spanish."Now, we offer five fall-quarter sections of Spanish 101, and we have to turn some students away temporarily. The number of interested students is definitely up."
SUSC's enrollment has doubled since the early '70s, but the enrollment in languages is up by four or five times, said Jim Harrison, professor of German.
Both Chidester and Harrison think the interest in foreign language training will continue to increase.
"It's pretty obvious that more language training will be a trend of the future. I certainly look for more interest," Harrison said.
"Student interest in foreign languages seems to run in 15- to 20-year cycles," Chidester theorized. "I think we have just entered an `up' trend.
"Here at SUSC, we will probably have a slow but steady growth in our program to meet the interest and demand for language training."
The two professors said reasons for the interest include growth in international business activity, a more affluent population that can now afford foreign travel, world events, and newer methods of teaching languages.
"I think the events in eastern Europe will stimulate an increased demand for learning German, and I think that the constant news flow from Latin America has stimulated interest in Spanish," Chidester said.
"Federal and state legislation encouraging and/or requiring language training is also a factor."
Harrison agreed. "Requirements for two years of language training for entrance at the University of Utah and an increased emphasis on foreign languages in Utah high schools have impacted enrollment here," he said.
In his role as director of humanities at SUSC, Harrison said he would like to see more students studying foreign languages for reasons other than financial advantage.
"The study of French, German or Spanish opens a real window into the history of European culture. It is an excellent way to help us understand a cultural heritage. I would like to see more emphasis on that motivation for language study," Harrison said.
"Unless a student is going on to graduate school, we usually encourage him or her to complete teacher education certification or a major which complements the language major," Harrison explains.
SUSC currently has a language faculty of six instructors.