Minority Recruitment

NCES Statistics on Foreign Language Degrees

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

Title IV: An institution that has a written agreement with the Secretary of Education that allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV federal student financial assistance programs (other than the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) and the National Early Intervention Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) programs.

Degrees awarded to African-American students in Foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics and linguistics, by gender and degree level: United States, academic year 2005-06
Degrees conferred in foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics by Title IV institutions, by degree level, gender, and race/ethnicity: 2005-2006
Bachelor's degrees conferred by degree-granting institutions, by sex, racial/ethnic group, and major field of study: 2003-04
Master's degrees conferred by degree-granting institutions, by sex, racial/ethnic group, and major field of study: 2003-04
Doctor's degrees conferred by degree-granting institutions, by sex, racial/ethnic group, and major field of study: 2003-04
Degrees conferred in foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics by Title IV institutions, by degree level, gender, and race/ethnicity: 2004-2005
Degrees conferred in German, French and Spanish 1949-2004
Fall enrollment in degree-granting institutions, by race/ethnicity of student and by state or jurisdiction: 2003
Instructional Faculty and Staff in degree-granting institutions by race and academic department 1998-2003

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Causes of Low African-American Enrollment

Click here for causes of low African-American Enrollment in Foreign Language Programs.

Minority Recruitment in World Languages

AAL Study on the Strategies for the Retention of African-American Students in World Languages (presented at ACTFL)

According to Lange (1991), Departments of World Languages and Literature must take part in the recruitment of persons of color for preparation as teachers of language. In order that persons of color be fairly and appropriately represented as teachers and administrators in the public schools, DWLLs need to take bold and immediate action in cooperation with the education department or college. If we wish to improve education in this country, we must provide appropriate role models for all students, including students of color. Those role models must come from within the populations of persons of color: African-American, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American. A cooperative plan among departments of education, DWLLs, and the community, which needs to begin immediately , could be composed of the following elements:

Develop a clear commitment to recruit and maintain students of color in programs preparing language teachers.
Locate such students in the secondary schools who may be interested in teaching language.
Work with local businesses and foundations to find incentives by which students could continue their education through scholarships, fellowships, work opportunities, and grants.
Create a monitoring and counseling system to observe and support students' progress both while in school and in the college or university setting. Majors in languages might be willing to volunteer time to help in this endeavor.
Nurture these students jointly within the department of the major and in the department of education.
Incorporate staff development activities on the inclusion of persons of color in the department within regularly helped departmental meetings.
Place students of color in integrated schools for their clinical experiences program.
Publicize the licensure of these individuals in minority communities and to school principals.
Work out arrangements with schools for the placement of certified persons of color.
Arrange placement of students within other two- and four-year colleges and universities. (Lange, 1991)

Minorities in World Languages

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