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ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES

April 12, 2015


Dr. Linda Hanson
University President
Hamline University
1536 Hewitt Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55104
Subject: Feasibility Study
Dear Dr. Hanson:
On March 15, 2015, I requested and was granted permission to conduct research on the
feasibility of expanding foreign language curriculum at Hamline University. Since then, I have
performed the required research of this assignment, and the results are available for your review
below.
As a student who has studied foreign language over the course of the last six years, I found this
research to be enlightening. Though foreign language has consistently been a subject I enjoy
learning, determining the interest of other students undoubtedly influences whether
implementation of new programs would be a worthwhile investment. Students were nearly
evenly divided in their opinions of whether they would like to take a new foreign language at a
university level, and many implied, as well, that they would be interested in pursuing their
foreign language education to a higher level. Ultimately, however, the majority of students
indicated they would not want to pursue foreign language education at a university level for a
variety of reasons. While additional research is needed regarding costs of program
implementation, I would not recommend adding more foreign language courses to Hamline
Universitys curriculum at this time.
I sincerely thank you for the opportunity to perform this project. I have learned a great deal about
my fellow students and a topic I am passionate about in my research process, and I hope that you
find my results to be conclusive and informative.
Sincerely,

Carrie Ommen
ENG 1800 Student
Enclosure: Feasibility Report

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES

Adding More Foreign Language Courses at Hamline University:


A Feasibility Study
Carrie Ommen
April 12, 2015
Hamline University

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES

Abstract
At Hamline University, there are currently only four foreign languages available to study:
French, German, Spanish, and Chinese. Of these four programs, only Spanish extends beyond an
intermediate level, and the French program will be phased out within the next few years. This
paper focuses on the feasibility of adding more foreign language programs to the university
curriculum and is based largely on student interest in implication of such programs. The report
demonstrates results from student surveys and library research, which indicate that there is not
sufficient student interest to add more foreign language courses. It concludes that research in
areas pertaining to cost would be a beneficial extension, but ultimately, students are not
interested in implementation of new foreign language programs.

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES


Table of Contents
Cover.....................................................................................................1
Abstract.................................................................................................2
Table of Contents..................................................................................3
Introduction........................................................................................4-5
Reseach Methods..................................................................................6
Criteria......................................................................................6
Results
Figure 1....................................................................................7
Figure 2....................................................................................8
Figure 3....................................................................................9
Conclusion..........................................................................................11
Recommendations...............................................................................12
References...........................................................................................13
Appendix A: Survey................................................................14

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES

Introduction
Hamline University has four foreign language course offerings during spring semester
2015 including Spanish, Chinese, German, and French. With the gradual process of phasing out
the French program, the number offered will soon shrink down to three, and only Spanish
courses reach beyond an intermediate level (Hamline University 2015).
A number of majors at the university require proficiency in a language other than
English, including international business, foreign language majors and minors, and
concentrations within global studies (Hamline University 2015); however, the majority of
foreign language programs available at Hamline either barely allow students to meet proficiency
requirements or require additional classes that are not offered at the university. Lacking programs
create difficulty for students who must pursue foreign language studies for their major or minor,
as well as for students who wish to take foreign language courses to meet diversity requirement
L in the Hamline Plan curriculum. While students also have the option to fulfill such
requirements through Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities (ACTC) programs, I can say from
experience that cross-registration can be difficult to navigate and an extensive petition process
for credit from other universities is often required, as well.
Hamline has well-established goals in creating students who can enter the world upon
graduation with tools to create a diverse and collaborative community of learners. Graduates
must be dedicated to the development of knowledge, values, and skills for successful lives of
leadership, scholarship, and service. (Hamline University 2014). A great way to expand upon
these ideals would be to add more foreign language studies courses, given that each language has
its own cultural and grammatical isms, opportunities to learn and lead on a global scale, and a
unique insight into potential lifelong learning (Barber et al. 2007; Phillips 2007).
For this reason, I have been researching the feasibility of adding more foreign language
course offerings at Hamline, both in adding to existing programs and in adding new programs.
My research has involved exploring costs of hiring additional faculty for the courses, both fulland part-time; benefits to university students who studied foreign languages and appeal to
current and potential students with offerings of less commonly instructed languages have been

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES

addressed, as well. Other integral aspects of my research noted in my report include the interest
of students, how far they would pursue foreign language programs if implemented, and what
types of courses they would like to see added to curriculum.
After going through the research process, I recognize that more exploration is needed to
address financial matters of new program implementation; however, based on my completed
research, I would not recommend adding more foreign language courses at Hamline University
at this time. The majority of students indicated they would not be interested in taking foreign
language courses, and many of those who did show interest specified that there are a number of
conflicts preventing them from pursuing foreign language education at a university level. While
implementation of new programs would be consistent with Hamline Universitys goals for
students, lacking interest and availability have made the ultimate determination that adding more
foreign language courses is not feasible due to reasons of cost and lacking student availability
and interest.
In the following sections, I will discuss my research process, which includes primary
research gathered from a student survey as well as secondary research conducted regarding costs
of hiring new staff, types of programs that have interested students on a larger scale, and
integration potential at Hamline University. I will then review the results of the student survey in
graphical representation and address results from secondary research based on criteria points
outlined in my research process. Finally, I will present my conclusions and recommendations
based on my research findings.

Research Methods
To determine the feasibility of adding more foreign language courses at Hamline
University, I took the following steps in my research process:

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES

I searched Hamline University foreign language course offerings for spring

semester of 2015 and identified the highest level offered within each subject.
I created a survey of 13 questions to determine student attitudes toward new and

existing foreign language programs at the university.


I administered the survey to students in both sections of Dr. Krista Sorias

Professional Writing and Rhetoric classes on March 27, 2015.


I analyzed data obtained from student responses to the survey and extrapolated

them to create representative graphs.


I searched Hamline University academic databases and the Bureau of Labor and

Statistics (BLS) website to acquire information on the benefits of foreign


language courses to students and average salaries of both full- and part-time
university faculty who would teach new courses.
Criteria
In evaluating whether more foreign languages would be a feasible addition to curriculum,
I used the following criteria:

Do students show interest in pursuing a foreign language within existing programs?


Is there student interest in adding more programs to existing ones?
Are students available to take advantage of new programs, should they be implemented?
Does student interest concentrate on a specific language program that would have a wide

base of appeal?
Would the base of appeal for a given language balance with costs associated with
implementation of a new program?

Results
To aid in determining whether additional offerings would be of interest to students, I
administered a survey to my professors two professional writing courses. The survey
supplements my research regarding potential costs of new programs. Figure 1 illustrates the
responses of the 33 students when answering the question of whether they would be interested in

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES

taking a new foreign language at a university level. Of the respondents, 18 would not be
interested in taking foreign language courses, while 14 would be interested. From this data, I
interpret that this project would not be feasible, given that the majority of students said they
would not be interested despite close proximity of the data.

Figure 1. Responses to question: Would you like to study a new foreign language at a university
level?

Figure 2 represents student responses to the question: How far would you pursue a
foreign language education if given the option of more classes? Only 32 of the 33 students who
took my survey answered this question, but of the 32, 11 would only continue the studies to an
introductory level; 9 would pursue the studies to an intermediate level; and 12 would study to an
advanced level. From this, it can be interpreted that adding more foreign language courses could
be feasible, provided there is a range of levels offered to suit students individual preferences.

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES

Figure 2. Responses to question: How far would you pursue foreign language education if given
the option of more classes?

Figure 3 demonstrates student responses to the question: What factors would prevent you from
taking a foreign language? Given that such a large number of students responded that they would
not be interested in taking a foreign language course at a university level, I felt it important to
further understand why students would not pursue a new foreign language course. It should be
noted, as well, that students were allowed to choose multiple reasons as response for this
question. The overwhelming reason, cited by 23 of the 33 respondents, was reason of being too
busy, with class conflict coming in second with 16 students. These were followed by reasons of
being too difficult (9 responses), intimidating (2 responses), and uninteresting (7 responses).
Because of these replies, I would say that adding more foreign language courses would not be
feasible at Hamline University.

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES

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Figure 3. Responses to question: What factors would prevent you from taking a foreign
language?
While the numbers regarding student interest in taking new foreign language courses
were close, the majority of students still said that they would not be interested in taking new
courses. This is particularly important to note with the reasons preventing students from taking
foreign language courses because the two paired together can determine whether the costs of new
program implementation would be evenly balanced with the potential student engagement.
Students responses to potential course offerings were extremely varied, as well, which would
make it difficult to implement a widely popular new program. In short, despite nearly even
numbers and an interest in pursuing foreign language courses to varied levels, students simply do
not show enough interest or time commitment to integrate new foreign language curriculum.
While on a country-wide scale, a majority of citizens recognize needs for enhanced
foreign language programs (Modern Language Association 2006; Rivers, Robinson, Harwood, &
Brecht 2013), there are a number of reasons why implementation and expansion can be
extremely difficult. The first of those variables which directly affect students is cost. According
to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, (2014) the average yearly salary of a full-time university

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES

11

foreign language educator reaches $67,910; the statistics demonstrate, as well, that the Twin
Cities region is the highest paying region in Minnesota, and the state as a whole is in the second
highest paying bracket in the Midwest region. In other words, if the university were to
implement new or expand upon existing programs, there would be the expectation of aboveaverage pay for incoming faculty, whether they be full- or part-time, and it would likely be
students tuition paying for the difference.
The next issue would be that of student interest and availability. As determined in my
primary research, the majority of students lacked interest in taking foreign language courses at a
university level, and the top reasons cited for this cited class conflict and lacking time
availability from being generally too busy. Both of these top factors are in conflict with
necessary steps for effective foreign language learning as cited by Ricardo-Osorio (2008) and
Chang, Wall, Tare, Golonka, and Vatz (2014). Foreign language courses require significant
amounts of time and dedication to effectively learn, which are not available to Hamline
University students according to survey responses, and students who dont have availability and
interest are less likely to succeed and allow for long-term foreign language program expansion
(Thompson Jr. et al. 2014).

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES

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Conclusions
Based upon my research, adding more foreign language courses at Hamline University is
not a feasible for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the majority of students do not show
interest in pursuing a new foreign language at a university level, whether that is within current
programs or in new ones. Though there was not extensive research in the area of costs, lacking
student interest and availability would not rationalize the expenditure for new foreign language
staff, program implementation, or other necessary investments to allow for more course
offerings. Finally, data collected determining potential programs was too inconsistent to
extrapolate into definitive programs that would garner a wide base of student support.

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES

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Recommendations
Further analysis of introducing new foreign language programs would be needed to fully
determine whether new foreign language curriculum can be added at Hamline University, but
from my results, I would say that adding programs would not be feasible. Though a number of
students would likely support implementation of new programs, there is not sufficient appeal to
students on a mass level, nor is there enough student availability to sustain the programs
development.

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES

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References
Barber, B. R., Cassell, M., Leslie, I., Ward, D. E., . . . & Ingebritsen, C. (2007).
Internationalizing the undergraduate curriculum. PS: Political Science and Politics,
40(1), 105-120).
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2014). Occupational employment and wages, May 2014: foreign
language and literature teachers, postsecondary. Retrieved from
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes251124.htm.
Chang, C. B., Wall, D., Tare, M., Golonka, E., Vatz, K. (2014). Relationships of attitudes toward
homework and time spent on homework to course outcomes: The case of foreign
language learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 106(4), 1049-1065.
Hamline University. (2015). Mission and history. Retrieved from
http://www.hamline.edu/about/mission.html.
Hamline University. (2015). Course listings: spring 2015. Retrieved from
https://piperline.hamline.edu/pls/prod/hamschedule.P_TermLevlPage.
Modern Language Association. (2006). Foreign languages and higher education: New
structures for a changed world. MLA Ad Hoc Committee on Foreign Languages,
2-9.
Phillips, J. K. (2007). Foreign language education: whose definition? Modern Languages
Journal, 91(2), 266-268.
Ricardo-Osorio, J. G. (2008). A study of foreign language learning outcomes assessment in U.S.
undergraduate education. Foreign Language Annals, 41(4), 590-610.
Rivers, W. P., Robinson, J. P., Harwood, P. G., & Brecht, R. D. (2013). Language votes: attitudes
toward foreign language policies. Foreign Language Annals, 46(3), 329-338.
Thompson Jr., R. J., Walther, I, Tufts, C., Lee, K. C., Paredes, L., Fellin, L., . . . Schlosberg, L.
(2014). Development and assessment of the effectiveness of an undergraduate general
education foreign language requirement. Foreign Language Annals, 47(4) 653-668.

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES

Appendix A: Survey

Feasibility Survey: Foreign Language


Program Expansion
The purpose of this survey is to determine student need or desire for
expansion of foreign language programs at Hamline University. You have
been chosen for this survey due to your participation in Dr. Krista Soria's
spring 2015 Professional Writing and Rhetoric course. Confidentiality is
guaranteed for all answers submitted, and I thank you in advance for your
participation.
What is your gender?
o
Male
o

Female

Other

What is your class standing?


o
First Year
o

Second Year

Third Year

Fourth Year

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ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES


o

16

Other

Have you ever taken a foreign language course at Hamline University?


o
Yes
o

No

Does your major require you to study a foreign language?


o
Yes
o

No

Would you like to study abroad, even if your major does not require it?
o
Yes
o

No

If you were to study abroad, would you prefer to speak the native
language?
o
Yes
o

No

Would you like to study a new language on a university level?


o
Yes
o

No

Have you taken a foreign language previously that you would like to
continue but have not been able to due to restrictions at the university
level?
o
Yes
o

No

If you were to take foreign language classes at Hamline, what level of


classes would you like offered?
o
Introductory

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES


o

Intermediate

Advanced

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How far would you pursue foreign language education if given the
option of more classes?
o
Introductory Classes
o

Intermediate Classes

Advanced Classes

What types of foreign language programs would you like to see added
at Hamline University?
Check all that apply.
o
More Advanced Chinese
o

More Advanced Spanish

More Advanced German

More Advanced French

Japanese

Portuguese

American Sign Language (ASL)

Italian

Latin

Greek

Hebrew

Arabic

Hmong

What types of supplemental programs would encourage your continued


involvement in foreign language courses?

ADDITIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES


For example: conversation circles, language tutors, language-related clubs or
organizations

What factors would prevent you from taking a foreign language?


Check all that apply.
o
Too Busy
o

Lacking Interest

Class Conflict

Too Difficult

Intimidating Experience

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