This story is featured in the spring edition of OU Daily's magazine. The magazine can be found on racks around campus and online at the end of February.
Faculty, administration and students of OU’s language studies department and programs weighed in on the national decline of collegiate language programs and their value to students’ education.
Total college and university enrollments in languages other than English dropped by 16.6% between fall 2016 and fall 2021, according to a 2023 report from the Modern Language Association. Between 2016 and 2021, total college and university enrollments fell by 8%, half the amount that language enrollments fell.
In August 2023, West Virginia University, the state’s largest public university, faced intense scrutiny after university leaders recommended dissolving its department of world languages, literatures and linguistics and cutting 7% of its faculty. The proposal was part of a larger package of cuts to academic programs that West Virginia University said is needed to close a $45 million annual budget deficit.
After extensive pushback from scholars and the community, West Virginia University did not completely dissolve the department but eliminated bachelor’s programs in Chinese studies, French, German studies, Russian studies and Spanish, as well as master’s programs in linguistics and TESOL certification, or teaching English as a second language to non-native speakers. The university retained some faculty members to continue instruction in Spanish and Chinese.
According to the OU Fact Book, as of fall 2022, there are 171 undergraduate students majoring in the modern languages, literatures and linguistics department, an 18% decline from 2021. Compared to pre-pandemic numbers in 2019, enrollment has dropped 33%.
“In the wake of the pandemic, enrollments in languages have gone way down, and at the upper levels, we've probably lost nationally about a third of enrollment in the past five years,” Joseph Sullivan, assistant chair of modern languages, literatures and linguistics, said. “We're doing, actually, a lot better than most of our peer institutions. We've seen the decreases too, but they haven't been as severe here.”
According to a Modern Language Association report, despite decline in enrollment, OU’s Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Linguistics was profiled as one of the most successful departments nationwide.
According to the report, OU saw enrollment drops consistent with nationwide declines, but some languages, such as Italian, dipped less than 5%. The report attributed OU’s success to administrative support, collaborative efforts overseas and the department’s success with internships, scholarships and capstone projects.
“We're actually fairly optimistic that we're gonna maintain (our success) and hopefully grow in the next five years,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said increasing retention in language studies begins by encouraging students at the start of their language education.
In recent years, universities have transitioned to be more career-oriented, focusing on providing programs and career services to help students find job success after graduation.
In November, the OU Board of Regents approved several academic program modifications aimed at addressing workforce needs across the state. Over the past year, OU has poured funding and resources into the Career Center in order to better serve students.
An Emilio Amero mural in the stairwell of Kaufman Hall on Feb. 12.
Sullivan estimated 80% of students start a language to fulfill a degree requirement. He said most OU degrees require three semesters of a language, so instructors try to emphasize in that time the personal and professional benefits of a foreign language.
“From day one, we start talking to our students about thinking about staying past the requirements of the language,” Sullivan said. “Especially in that third semester, we really try to get (students) for a little bit longer and tell them about all the opportunities (they) can have with another language.”
Sullivan said study abroad programs encourage students to continue with language studies and allow them unique opportunities to get engaged.
“Going to a country where you won't be able to speak the language just opens up your mind so much more. So it would be nice to see some of the priority … being put more into exchanges that send students to countries where they can practice their foreign language,” Sullivan said.
However, he said many students who want to study abroad are unable to because of the cost.
OU has several study abroad programs, including international study centers in Italy and Mexico, faculty-led programs, partner university programs and partner provider programs. There are various department-specific scholarships as well as university scholarships, national scholarships and financial aid to fund travel and living fees.
Looking to the future, Sullivan said he hopes the department can grow its scholarship funding and help students experience the opportunities studying abroad can provide.
Nian Liu, chair of OU’s Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, said languages help students understand and form cultural connections.
Liu, a cognitive linguist, said every language retells the same event differently because of the language structure, so there are multiple ways to describe the same event. These various descriptions can be related to the language’s culture of origin.
“The example I always give to my students is about the kinship terms in Chinese,” Liu said. “(In) English, … there's this word ‘uncle.’ There's no direct translation into Chinese because we have to specify this as father’s side or mother’s side, and are they older than your father or younger than your father, uncle by blood or uncle by marriage. So this just shows how important the societal relationship or family relationship is to Chinese people.”
She said understanding how language reflects the values and beliefs of a culture can broaden students’ perspectives and help them become more open-minded.
Justin Cobb, a fifth-year senior majoring in Chinese and world language education, said learning languages changes the way people think.
The Education Abroad office in Farzaneh Hall on Feb. 12.
“Our brain gets hardwired differently when we speak a different language,” Cobb said. “We view the world differently, our personalities are different, measurably. Having our brain being wired with more than one pathway of language, that allows us to be sharper into our old age.”
According to a 2023 study in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, bilingualism improves memory later in life and protects against dementia and cognitive decline in older individuals. Studying hundreds of older adult patients, researchers found those who reported speaking two languages daily from a young age scored higher on tests of learning, memory and language than patients who spoke only one language.
Cobb is studying abroad through the partner university exchange program with OU at La Universidad de Alcalá, just outside of Madrid, Spain. He said studying abroad has completely immersed him in Spanish culture and allowed him to improve his Spanish in a way he couldn’t if he hadn’t lived in Madrid.
“The social part of it too, is that we live in a world that's so globalized, and if you look at the University of Oklahoma, how many international students do we have?” Cobb said. “They’re from all over the world. We have so many people from so many different backgrounds that if you don't speak a second language, or you don't attempt to, you're closing yourself off, and you don't have the opportunity to meet new people, to see different perspectives.”
Dane Poolaw, a Kiowa language instructor with the OU Department of Native American Studies, said language can help students feel connected to their heritage. Poolaw said, especially in Oklahoma, many people have ancestral ties to local tribes.
“It's so important when they do take these classes, it does actually help our tribes back at home because they're actually contributing to reversing tribal language loss within our communities,” Poolaw said.
According to the Administration for Native Americans, there are 245 distinct Indigenous languages in the United States, but 65 are already extinct and 75 are nearing that point.
OU is one of the few universities in the nation that offers a comprehensive range of Indigenous language courses. Courses offered include Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Kiowa and Potawatomi.
Poolaw said learning and understanding Indigenous languages also help with intertribal relations.
“When you're dealing with tribal members, they're more open to seeing somebody else's point of view, they're more open to probably trying new things,” Poolaw said. “It really helps in relationships, speaking in somebody else's language. Oftentimes, they're happy that you've made the attempt.”
Liu said learning languages has instrumental benefits for students and there are various personal elements that can enrich a student’s education.
“Some people might think that language learning is learning the grammar of this language, … but for us, language and literature education is more than that. It’s about intercultural awareness and how you can become a global citizen,” Liu said. “You're not just learning a language, you're learning the culture behind it, you're getting to know the people. You're going to get a shared perspective of how they view this world.”
OU Daily's spring magazine:
This story was edited by Ismael Lele, Peggy Dodd and Karoline Leonard. Sophie Hemker, Avery Avery, Grace Rhodes and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
