Foreign language may be dropped from master’s program

The School of Education could eliminate the foreign language major in the master’s of arts in teaching program. Enrollment in the program has been low recently.

Enrollment in the program has been between two and five students for the past five years. But, in 2005-06, the program had 10 students. UNC does not currently have an undergraduate program in foreign language in the School of Education.

The decision is not final, but the program could be eliminated by 2010-2011.

“We don’t have enough information yet,” said Jill Fitzgerald, interim dean of the School of Education. “We will look at it more in the spring.”

The school lost its primary faculty member, Audrey Heining-Boynton, who taught foreign language education, in June when she retired. The school has hired an instructor to teach the classes for the 2009-2010 school year.

The school is not sure if it is in its best interest to hire another teacher solely for the purpose of foreign language education. There are more important areas of education that have garnered more interest, Fitzgerald said. Policy and English as a second language have higher demands, she said.

But one student is trying to keep the foreign language program alive at UNC.

Adrian McLaurin, a Latin and English major, is trying to get support for the program by starting a foreign language teachers’ student group on campus.

“We need to prove to the School of Education that there is significant interest in a program such as this and that they should continue to devote funds to it,” McLaurin said in an e-mail to the Spanish majors’ listserv.

Some local teachers emphasize the importance of teaching foreign languages at the grade school and middle school levels.

Kathy Rhodes, a French teacher at East Chapel Hill High School, has 80 Advanced Placement French students this year and has graduated many students who went on to major in foreign languages in college.

“A vast majority of AP students are the ones who had French in elementary school and stuck with it,” she said. “I think it’s really important that they start early, get the foundation and then build on it.”

Three elementary schools that send students to East Chapel Hill have very strong foreign language programs, Rhodes said. These schools are Ephesus Road Elementary, Glenwood Elementary and Estes Hill Elementary.

Fitzgerald said she would like to see the program stay and is working with the next dean of education, Bill McDiarmid, to find a solution where some faculty members would teach more classes to keep the program.

“I truly value foreign languages,” Fitzgerald said. “We would like to have a person cover multiple areas in their teaching loads to continue the program.”



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