Russian Language Study in 1975: a Status Report. CAL-ERIC/CLL
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 123 889 .FL 007 652 . AUTHOR . Conrad, Joseph L., TITLE Russian Language Study in 1975:SA Status Report. CAL-ERIC/GLL Series= on Languages and Linguistics, No. INSTITUTION ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics, Arlington, Va.; Modern Language Association of America,. New York, N.Y. PUB DATE Apr 76. NOTE 82p. AVAILABLE FROM Publications Dept., Modern Language Association, 62 Fifth Avenue, Nei/ York, Nett York 10011 ($3.50) EDRS- PRICE MF-$0.83 HC7$4.61 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *College Language Prograas; College Majors; Computer. AssistedIrstruction; Enroilaent T4ends; Graduate . Study; Higher Education; Instructional Materials; Intensive Language Courses; *Language Enrollment; . anguage'instruction; Language Programs; *Russian; cc" Sec. Educattion; Study Abroad; Teacher Education; teaching. -thods ABSTRACT The papers included i +his collec ion attempt to provide a comprehensive overview of the s ation onfzonting he Russian'language-teaching profession and a pi of the status of iheteaching of.Russian in the U.S. today. The pap- are: (1) "Treads. in Enrollments in Russian in U:S..Colleges'and Secondary. by Richard I. Brod (trends in foreign lang 'enrollments, 1960'-72; trends in Russian enrollments; and college Ptssian enrollments, 1974-75); (2)"The Teaching of Russian in (. American Secondgry Schools, 1974!75," bGerard L. Ervin (the national enrollment picture; a close-up of Ohio, 1974-75--teachers, enroliment,.materials and teacher workshops; and some possible .courses of action toward reversing the trend4.;(3) "Russian Instructiork-First- and Second -Year College Level," by Donald K. Jarvis (professional su and preparaionz widely used techniques--beginning texts and second-year texts; and innovative iprograms and techniques - -CAI -CBI, speech delay, individualized nstruction, decoding courses, Lipson technique) ; (4) "Intensive Russian Language Programs;" by Robert Lager; (5) "Computer-Assisted Instruction in Russian," by George KalbOuss; 6) "Junior, Senior=, /. and Graduate-Level Programs, Including Russian Literature," by Maurice 3. Levin (advanced undergraduate programs-=small college major, university major; graduate programs; and proficiency); and (y) "Russian Language Programs in the USSR for American Students," by Joseph L. Conrad. A summary and conclusions are also provided. (Author /EM) Dc,curnents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpUblished materials not available from other sources. ERIC,makes every effort to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available Via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDIU.." is not responsibli for the quality of the original document. Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original. (1.114111(1(ILL-, 2 Series On Languages& Linguisiies ell . 29 'Russian 'Language Study in 1975: A Stitus Report U S OEPARTMENTOF HEALTH EOUCATION &WELFARE .."... NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT' HAS SEEN REPRO. DUCED EXACTLY' AS RECEIVED PROM 6 THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN. ATING sT POINTS OF vrEw OR OPINIONS . STATED 00 HOT NECESSARILY REPRE SENT OPFsC.AL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDvCATON POSITION OR POLICY 7, , I IBM_ ), Modern Language As'sociion of Arrxerica and ERIC Clgaringhouse on Languages n 'nguistics 2 . RUSSIAN LANGUAGE STUDY IN 1975 : A .STATUS REPORT Joseph L. Conrad, Editor University of Kansas 1 S. CAL:ERIC/CLLSeries on Languages' and Linguistics Numtier 29 Modern Language As'Sociat of America 62 Fifth A4nue, New York, New York 10011 and ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics Center for Applied Linguistics , 1611,Nbrth Kent Street Arlington, Virginia 22209 April 1976 3 1 A .1 CONTENTS . TABLES V PREFACE vi TRENDS IN ENROLLMENTS IN RUSSIAN IN U.S. COLLEGES. AND PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS RICHARD I. BROD 1. 1 Trends in Eoreign'Language Enr011ments, 1960-72 1 Trends in Russian Enrollments i 3 College Russiam Enrollments, 1974-75 7 Notes 11 THE TEACHING OF RUSSIAN IN AMERICAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS, 1974-75 'GERARD L. ERVIN Introduction: The National Enrollment Picture 12 A Close-Up of One State:. Ohio, 1974 -75 16 Teachers 16 Enrollment's 16 Materials 18 Teacher Workshops 19 Toward Reversing the Trend: Some Possible Courses of Action - 20 ConcluSion 25 Notes .26 RUSSIAN INSTRUCTION: FIRST- AND SECOND-YEAR COLLEGE LEVEL DONALD K, JARVIS 28 Introduction 28 erofqssional Support and Preparation 28 .. i ii Wrdely ded Techniques. 31 Beginning Texts 32 Second-Year Texts 1 33 Innovative Programs and Techniques 36 .CAI-CBI 36 Speech belay 36 Individualized Instruction t 37 Decoding Courses 37 Lipsen Technique 38 Needs 38 Notes 40 .INTENSIVE RUSSIAN LANGOAGE PROGRAMS ROBERT LAGER 44 Notes , 51 COMPUTER-ASSISTED INSTRUCTION IN RUSSIAN AGEORGE KiLBOUSS 52 Notes 56 JUNIOR -, SENIOR-, AND GRADUATE-LEVEL PROGRAMS, INCLUDING RUSSIAN LITERATURE mAukrciI. LEVI?! 57 Advanced Undergraduate Programs 57 The 4rna11 College Major S8 The.Univeity Major 59 Graduate Programs 6Q Proficiency 63 RUSSIAN LANGUAGE PROGRAMS IN THE USSR FOR AMERICAN STUDENTS JOSEPH L. CONRAD 65 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 75, 5 iv sl V 14'. TABLES r , Enrollments in Russian, Fall 1972 and Fall1974 8 Representative Institution*s with Significant Gains or Losses in Russian Enrollments, 197.2 -74 (MLA Survey) Registration Trends in the Five Leading Nbilern Languages, 1960-74 (All Institutions) 9 Earned Degrees in Modern Foreign Languages: 1958-59, 1963-64, 1968-69; and 1971-72, iithGrowth Factors for :. the Periods 1958-69 and 1958-72 10 . Summary of Public High School Enrollments in Foreign Languages with .Percentages of Total Public Secondary School (PSS) Enrollment, Grades 9-1-2: 1890-1968 13 Changing Russian Language Enrollments, 1965-70 14 'Y '1"; Secondary Russian Programs by State '15 Evaluations of Five Most Commonly Cited Texts -18 Suggested Workshops for Secondary School Ru5sian Teachers 1§- First Year Russian Texts and Enrollments 34 Second Year Russian Texts and Enrollments- 35, . 1975 U.S. Summer Study ) 50 0/ -U.S. Institutions Granting Graduate Degiees in Russian or Slavic (1973-74) 61. t A O / v PREFACE Prior to the launching of othe .first sputnik (l952), Russian language instruction' was an insigficant element in American foreign larfguage education. Now, alMost. twenty years later, Russian is taught in many"secondary schgols and commonly offered in colleges and universities. Despite its vastly improved position, Russian, along t;i:th othel' modern foreign languages; finds its placeinthe curriculum threa7ened. During'elleeuphoric decade of the sixties, Russian enrollments rose dramatically at all Levels- of _instruction..Curriculum development in Rustian'flourished, providing a multitude of basit texts and supplemeritary -materials, and. various teaching alternatives were explored. In the mid - seventies, the Rassian language--teaching profession, having bene'f'ited immensely from the experience of the recent past, confronts some very hard realities. The contributions includedinthe present publitation attempt to provide a comprehen§,ive overview of these realities and a picture of .the status of the ,t-eadfring of ihissianinthe 11.§'.- tocia. The work ha4 be conzissioned.by the Big -Cle*nghouse onLanguages and Linguist es, lOcated at th'e Center -for Applied Linguistics. V J,L.C. L 7 vi TRENDS IN ENROLLMEN;S.IN RUSSIAN IN U.S. COLLEGES AND PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS Richard I. Bfod, ModeYn Language Association of America Trends in Foreign Language Enrollments, 1960-74 . - For foreign languages, as for other traditional fields of study, the decade'of the 1960epresented a golden age of enrollments, expansion, and employment for the teaching profession. As overall strident enrollments rose, - -more rapidly in the first half of the decade,.more slowly id the second--language enrollments also climbed, demonstrating the continuing importance of language study within the traditiopal liberal arts curriculum. In 1960, modern language enrollments in secondary schools were equal to 21.7 percent of total enrollment; by 1968 the percentage had risen to 27.7 (only, to drop back again by 1970 to 26:4).1 At the college level, the ratio peaked earlier, rising from 17.0 percent in 1960 to 17.8 percent. in 1963 (it then dropped back to 15.5 percent in 1968 and fell to 9.9 percent by 1974).2 -Given the continuing expansion of the student population, the declining ratios were not immediately accompanied by losses in 'absolute enrollment figures, but those losses appeared eventually: at the college level, a.decline of 0.5 percent between 1968 and 1970, and 9.2 percent between 1970, .and. 1972; in the schools, a slight, but ominous drop of 0.1 perceAt between 1968 vid 1970.3 In retrospect, ehe declining ratios appear to have been early warnings of the hisses that ultimately occurred as a result of a shrinkage of the totaLl enrollment base and a gradual dislodging of .language study from its entrenched (and privileged) position id the liberal, arts curriculum. AV least three trends seem to have played S role, in this developffient: (1) a dissipation of the enthusiasm for language study that had been inspired by the first sputnik (1957), %Or tEtpassage of the National Defense Education Act (1958), mid other . external events; (2) a contraction of the liberal arts-B.A. segment of higher education, accompanied by expansion of the professional- vocational segment (particularly noticeable in the growth charts of the