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Spanish courses up in enrollment whileADDISON DIETZDaily Texan StaffWhile enrollment in undergraduate Spanish courses at the University is on the rise, the number of students taking traditionally popular languages has dropped.I his is part of a national trend/' saidMadelin Sutherland-Meier, chairwoman of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Spanish enrollment all over the country is increasing.A 1990 report released by the ModernLanguage Association showed that studentstaking Spanish accounted for nearly half of the 1.2 million students studying foreign languages in American colleges.At the University, 52 percent of credit hoursearned in foreign languages in 1993 were inSpanish, according to a statistics released by the Office of Institutional Studies. This year, undergraduate enrollment in Spanish courses rose to 4,502 students, up by almost 200 students from last fall.Sutherland-Meier said the popularity of Spanish may be due to the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement last year.T think for people in business, increased trade with Latin America is going to mean more people are interested in taking Spanish, she said.A recent survey conducted by the consultingfirm KPMG Peat Marwick showed that of 936 top corporate executives interviewed, 40 percent said they planned to hire graduates fluent in Spanish.Barbara Euresti, director of placement at the Liberal Arts Career Center, said that recruitersare increasingly looking for Spanish skills in prospective employees.I would say it's our most frequentlyrequested language. she said. It's alwaysbeen this way, but it certainly is increasing and1 think part of it has to do with NAFTA and ourincreasing diversity in this state and others.Nicole Schuller, a government junior, saidshe plans to switch from German to Spanish,partly because she is more familiar with the language.I think it s just a more useful language around here because we are so close to Mexico, she said.Sutherland-Meier said the Department of Spanish is doing what it can to accommodate the increasing number of students.Please see Language, page 2other languages slump
Newspaper Details
Austin Daily Texan
Austin, Texas, US
Tue, Nov 01, 1994
Page 1
Full Page
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University O.
MI, USA 29 Nov 2018
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