The Foreign Service Journal, October 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2015 15 AFSA Scholarship AFSA.org/scholar American Foreign Service Protective Association afspa.org/FESB afspa.org/dental Clements Worldwide Clements.com Embassy Risk Management Embassyrisk.com The Hirshorn Company Hirshorn.com/USFS McGrath Real Estate Services McGrathRealEstate.com WJD Management wjdpm.com Afghanistan and Iraq to Somalia and Nigeria, and even Mexico and the Philip- pines. —Maria C. Livingston, Associate Editor Decline in Foreign Language Study Reported S ince 1958, the Modern Language Association of America has con- ducted regular surveys of enrollment in foreign language studies at U.S. higher education institutions. Enrollment has typically fluctuated over the years. But in the most recent survey, MLA reported the first decline in 20 years. According to the 2015 report, “Aggregated results for enrollments in all languages show a decrease of 6.7 percent from the 2009 survey, thus ending a steady rise since 1980.” The study was based on data as of fall 2013 gathered from 2,616 institutions. Spanish and French remain the two most-studied foreign languages, with Spanish exceeding that of all other languages combined. Yet Spanish enroll- ments nonetheless fell for the first time ever, declining 8 percent over the survey period, reports ICEF Monitor, a market intelligence resource for the interna- tional education industry. Some languages did experience significant growth—Chinese, Arabic, Korean and American Sign Language all accounted for a larger percentage of total language enrollments than ever before. Despite the 6.7 percent drop overall in enrollments, many sectors in many institutions experienced stability and, indeed, growth in enrollment. Interest- ingly, the largest growth was in programs of advanced undergraduate or graduate study. Thus, while there may be fewer students taking courses in languages other than English overall, the ones who are enrolled are often going farther, and presumably gaining greater proficiency, than ever before. Those thriving foreign language pro- grams need to be studied as models of effective teaching, MLA notes. To view the full report, visit www.bit. ly/1Up8qKH. —Brittany DeLong, Assistant Editor New Film Showcases the Foreign Service “A merica’s Diplomats,” a new film that explores the role of diplo- macy in shaping American history, will air on PBS in early 2016. From the nation’s first diplomat, Benjamin Franklin, through Consular Officer Fiorello LaGuardia to diplomats who have lost their lives in the service of their nation, the one-hour documentary places their compelling stories in the context of major events in American his- tory, and shows the work and challenges of the Foreign Service today. The film is narrated by Kathleen Turner, a Foreign Service “brat.” The Foreign Policy Association, a nonpartisan educational organization, in conjunction with AFSA members Ambassadors Bill Harrop and Ed Marks, other active-duty and retired diplomats and the Delavan Foundation have pro- duced the film. A premiere showing in Washington for AFSA members and others in the Foreign Service community is planned for the first week of November as a fund- raiser for the Diplomacy Center Founda- tion. Stay tuned for further details. n —Susan B. Maitra, Managing Editor