Explore Fifty-Five Years of Language Study
Want to know how language study has changed over the past five decades? Dive into fifty-five years of language enrollment history with the MLA’s comprehensive Language Enrollment Database, 1959–2013. Easily navigate twenty-three surveys of student enrollment in languages other than English at American colleges and universities. Select survey year(s), and search up to 8 of the 417 languages at a time—including American Sign Language and less commonly taught languages (LCTLs). Refine your search by geographic area and institution type, and customize data organization three different ways.
This authoritative database provides insight into trends in foreign language study across the United States and within institutions. Discover which languages are on the rise, which are in decline, and at which academic level they are most commonly studied (two-year, four-year, or graduate programs). Want more information? Check out the MLA report Enrollments in Languages Other Than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education, Fall 2013 to understand the context and state of American foreign language teaching and study. The report includes sections titled “Trends in Language Enrollment,” “Distribution of Enrollments by Institution or Program Type,” “Ratio of Introductory to Advanced Undergraduate Enrollments,” and “Language Name Variations.” In addition, you can download the complete data set for all surveys and conduct your own research.
