News

Obscure languages get boost

Thanks to a new University of Wisconsin grant, education in major languages like Spanish or French will soon have to compete with less commonly taught languages like Japanese or Hindi.

UW and the National Councils of Less Commonly Taught Languages received a grant of $345,000 to train foreign-language teachers, according to a release Friday. The award will aid continuing efforts to provide students with better tools to compete in a global environment.

In addition, the grant, approved by the U.S. Department of Education, will give the UW Language Institute and the Councils the ability to launch a nationwide online project, the National Online Less Commonly Taught Languages Teacher Training Initiative.

The initiative comes after a strategic plan started by President George W. Bush in January to encourage education in languages other than English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

According to UW Dean of International Studies Gilles Bousquet, the initiative is the first nationwide and UW's language departments hope other universities will also join in.

"There is a very strong collaboration here between languages and international studies that helped launch this program," Bousquet said. "Hopefully other colleges will realize this pressing issue and follow in our footsteps."

The initiative will be led by UW African Languages professor Antonia Schleicher and French and Italian Languages professor Sally Sieloff Magnan.

Bousquet said that in today's global marketplace, the demand for languages from all countries is abundant, while the educational opportunities are not.

Colleges across the country do not have the diversity of language classes that UW offers, Bousquet said, and even if they have a program for less common languages, there are still problems.

Since many native speakers have no formal training in American education, Bousquet added, the learning process can be more difficult for students and teachers alike.

Magnan said the online training initiative aims to provide teachers from all backgrounds with a seamless learning experience.

"These courses can serve in places where there isn't help for teachers," Magnan said. "Postsecondary lecturers, teachers and TA's will now be able to interact with each other and learn about teaching in the education system."

The program comes at the ideal time, according to Bousquet, who said in today's changing world the role of language will be critical.

"The Departments of Defense and State indicate that our country will need more speakers at higher levels," Bousquet said.

The online initiative will be accessible at no charge to postsecondary teachers through partnering language organizations and, on a larger scale, by selling the license to the program.

"Lecturers often don't want to take classes on campus with students, and that's where the online program comes in," Magnan said.