ment has made a major contribution through title VI of the Higher Education Act, originally known as the National Defense Education Act. These programs have a splendid track record, and in our opinion merit the continued recognition and support of the Congress.

Valuable as they are, however, they are also highly specialized and therefore limited in the number of people they can serve and in the kinds of institutions where they can be housed. To meet the growing economic, political, and cultural needs of our citizens for communicative skills in the use of foreign languages, programs of study in languages and cultures need to be made accessible to students of all ages in as many communities as possible. Incentives need to be found to encourage schools, colleges, and universities to invest their own resources into setting up programs in a variety of languages.

Incentives need to be found to encourage students, both in high school and in postsecondary education, to make the kind of commitment necessary for success, and above all, ways need to be found to insure an adequate supply of skilled teachers to meet anticipated needs and to retrain, refresh, and reequip experienced teachers to meet a growing demand.

Like the study of science, language study requires a considerable investment of time and effort. Like science teachers, teachers of foreign languages can easily grow rusty in their skills and have a legitimate need for refresher training at regular intervals.

As part of our own effort to build language competence in the Nation, leaders of our profession have recently embarked on a major effort to reach consensus on precise definitions of the stages of achievement in language study, ranging from novice level to survival skills, to the level of proficiency necessary for performing one's job.

The achievement of consensus in these definitions will not only help us become more accountable to our public, it will also enable us to shift the basis of educational measurement in our field from credit hours, that is, seat time, to proficiency. In other words, we will be able to certify what our students can do with a language, not merely how much time they have spent in the classroom. We are working on this, and the imminent, we hope, achievement of these definitions will, we think, usher in a quiet revolution in the teaching, study, and appreciation of foreign languages in the United States.

We believe that this particular change is in the national interest of the United States and that the kind of support and vision offered by such bills as S. 530 and H.R. 1310 will help us in accomplishing this goal.

I can assure the committee that our profession in turn is eager to make its contribution to helping the Nation prepare for the 21st century.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Brod follows:]

STATEMENT PRESENTED TO THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, ARTS & HUMANITIES

U.S. SENATE

March 9, 1983

Presented by:

Richard Brod

Director, Foreign Language
Programs/Modern Language
Association

Secretary-Treasurer, Joint
National Committee for
Languages

For Further Information Contact:

J. David Edwards, Director

Tele: 202/483-7200

THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, AND MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE,

FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO REPRESENT THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION
AND THE JOINT NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR LANGUAGES IN ADDRESSING
THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF SECOND LANGUAGES TO OUR EDUCATIONAL
SYSTEM AND OUR NATION. THE JOINT NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR
LANGUAGES IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT REPRESENTS TWENTY-FIVE OF THIS
NATION'S MAJOR LANGUAGE ASSOCIATIONS. JNCL REPRESENTS THE
INTERESTS OF OVER 200,000 PROFESSIONALS WITH EXPERTISE IN ALL
AREAS OF THE LANGUAGE FIELD INCLUDING THE LESS COMMONLY TAUGHT

LANGUAGES, THE CLASSICS, TRANSLATION, ENGLISH AS A SECOND
LANGUAGE AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION. WE ALSO REPRESENT A NUMBER
OF ASSOCIATIONS CONCERNED WITH THE RELATIONSHIP OF LANGUAGES
TO TECHNOLOGY, SUCH AS THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
LEARNING LABORATORIES AND THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SELF-
INSTRUCTIONAL LANGUAGE PROGRAMS. WE WISH TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY
TO EXPRESS OUR SINCERE CONCERN THAT LEGISLATION SUCH AS S. 530

IS NECESSARY AND TO STATE AGAIN OUR FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF IN
LANGUAGE STUDY AS ESSENTIAL TO THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND
INTELLECTUAL SECURITY OF OUR NATION.

SINCE 1979, WHEN THE PERKINS COMMISSION DECLARED THE

STATE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDY IN THE UNITED STATES "SCANDALOUS",

THERE HAS BEEN A TENUOUS REVIVAL IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDY.

BUT THIS REVIVAL IS, AT THIS POINT, VERY SLIGHT AND VERY
FRAGILE. IN ORDER TO CONTINUE TO ADDRESS OUR NATIONAL LANGUAGE
INADEQUACIES, THERE MUST BE NATIONAL SUPPORT AND LEADERSHIP.
AT THE LOW POINT A FEW YEARS AGO, ONLY FIFTEEN PERCENT
OF ALL UNITED STATES STUDENTS, FROM 7TH GRADE THROUGH
GRADUATE SCHOOL, WERE ENROLLED IN THE STUDY OF A FOREIGN
LANGUAGE. THAT FIGURE ITSELF WAS PROBABLY MISLEADINGLY
OPTIMISTIC, SINCE ONLY THREE PERCENT OF THESE STUDENTS

PURSUED A FOREIGN LANGUAGE BEYOND THE SECOND YEAR OF STUDY.

ONLY EIGHT PERCENT OF THE COLLEGES OF THIS COUNTRY REQUIRED
A FOREIGN LANGUAGE FOR ADMISSION. EVEN IN THOSE AREAS
WHERE THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF INCREASED ENROLLMENTS, THE
FIGURES WERE APPROXIMATELY 3,000 STUDENTS IN ARABIC,
10,000 IN CHINESE AND 11,000 STUDENTS IN JAPANESE, OUT OF
A COLLEGE ENROLLMENT OF ALMOST 10 MILLION. THE MODERN
LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION IS CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF COMPILING
THE DATA FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS, AND WE ANTICIPATE THAT

WE WILL SEE AN INCREASED DEMAND FOR LANGUAGE STUDY ALTHOUGH
THE NUMBERS WILL STILL BE HIGHLY INADEQUATE IN TERMS OF OUR
NATIONAL NEEDS. IT IS NOTEWORTHY, AS WELL, THAT THE
INCREASED DEMAND IS LARGELY IN THESE APTLY NAMED "LESS
COMMONLY TAUGHT OR CRITICAL LANGUAGES" SUCH AS ARABIC,
CHINESE AND JAPANESE.

THE SLIGHT INCREASE IN THE RECENT DEMAND FOR FOREIGN

LANGUAGES HAS BEEN THE RESULT OF A NUMBER OF FACTORS: THE
REPORT OF THE PERKINS COMMISSION (WE ANTICIPATE THAT THE
CURRENT NATIONAL COMMISSION ON EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION

WILL CONTINUE THIS MOMENTUM WITH ITS FINDINGS WHEN ITS
REPORT COMES OUT THIS MONTH AS WELL); THE PUBLICITY
GENERATED BY ARTICLES IN BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS, READER'S

DIGEST, HARPERS AND SO FORTH; AND SOME NEW AND CREATIVE

APPROACHES BY THE PROFESSION ITSELF SUCH AS COMPUTER ASSISTED

INSTRUCTION.

WHILE THE SITUATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES IS, IN MANY
RESPECTS, ANALOGOUS TO THE SITUATION IN MATH AND SCIENCE,

THERE ARE ALSO PROBLEMS THAT ARE UNIQUE TO LANGUAGE TEACHING.
IN SPITE OF THE CRITICAL NEED FOR THESE FIELDS, WE HAVE ALL
SUFFERED DECLINES IN ENROLLMENTS AND AN EASING OF REQUIREMENTS.
HOWEVER, THE LANGUAGE PROFESSION HAS NOT EXPERIENCED THE

SEVERE TEACHER SHORTAGES OF MATH AND SCIENCE EXCEPT WITH

REGARD TO THE CLASSICS, THE LESS COMMONLY TAUGHT LANGUAGES

AND DUAL LANGUAGE ABILITIES. IN OTHER LANGUAGES, WE ARE EXPERIENCING "EMERGING SHORTAGES" AS THE RESULT OF INCREASING

DEMAND AND REIMPLEMENTATION OF REQUIREMENTS.

IN A RECENT

NON-SCIENTIFIC SURVEY BY JNCL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE SUPERVISORS

IN TWELVE STATES, ELEVEN SPOKE OF "EMERGING" AND "SPOT"

SHORTAGES. THESE SHORTAGES WILL BE EXACERBATED AS REQUIREMENTS

ARE RE-INSTITUTED. FOR EXAMPLE, LAST YEAR SEVENTY COLLEGES

AND UNIVERSITIES RE-INSTITUTED OR STRENGTHENED LANGUAGE

REQUIREMENTS. AMONG THESE WERE SOME FAIRLY LARGE STATE UNIVERSITIES, SUCH AS THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON AND UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT. THESE INCREASED OR STRENGTHENED ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS WILL PUT CONSIDERABLE

PRESSURE ON SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO FIND TEACHERS AND INCREASE

COURSE OFFERINGS.

ANOTHER SLIGHT DISSIMILARITY FROM OTHER TEACHING

PROFESSIONS IS THE VITAL NEED FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE
TEACHERS TO HAVE PERIODIC RE-TRAINING IN BOTH SKILLS AND
METHODS. IDEALLY, SUCH SKILL RE-TRAINING COULD BE DONE
THROUGH AN OPPORTUNITY TO FUNCTION IN THE LANGUAGE IN
ANOTHER COUNTRY, BUT IN MOST INSTANCES, IT MEANS WEEK-END
OR WEEK LONG IMMERSION WORKSHOPS OR SUMMER INSTITUTES.

METHODICALLY, AS THE DEMAND FOR COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS,
SCIENTIFIC AND BUSINESS TERMINOLOGY AND PRACTICAL
APPLICATIONS HAVE INCREASED, IT HAS MEANT THAT TEACHERS
MUST KEEP UP WITH NEW METHODS AND HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO

DEVELOP CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE APPROACHES.

THUS FAR, I HAVE FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON THE NEED FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS, THE REALITY IS THAT WE MUST ENCOURAGE INCREASED LANGUAGE STUDY FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT INTEND TO

PURSUE CAREERS IN EDUCATION AS WELL. FOR EQUALLY IMPORTANT INTELLECTUAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC REASONS, WE MUST PROVIDE LANGUAGE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR FUTURE BUSINESSMEN, DIPLOMATS, SOLDIERS, SOCIAL WORKERS AND OTHERS.

IN AN EDUCATIONAL SENSE, IT IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT THAT WE ENCOURAGE LANGUAGE STUDY IN ELEMENTARY AND

SECONDARY SCHOOLS AS WELL AS IN POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS.
EXCLUDING THE OBVIOUS ACQUISITION OF CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC
KNOWLEDGE, ONE GOOD REASON IS THAT IT IS SIMPLY EASIER TO
LEARN LANGUAGES AT A YOUNGER AGE AND THAT THOSE WHO LEARN
LANGUAGES EARLY ARE MOST LIKELY TO CONTINUE WITH THE
LANGUAGE AND HAVE AN EASIER TIME LEARNING OTHERS.
THERE IS CURRENT DATA TO INDICATE THAT SAT SCORES, BOTH

SECONDLY,