The ISU foreign languages and literatures department joins universities across the nation in an increased demand for foreign language study.

Current nationwide trends show a heightened interest in languages of southwest Asia, including Arabic and Farsi, as well as more conventional languages. Experts believe this is due in part to the events of Sept. 11.

“There is an increased demand,” said Madeleine Henry, associate professor and chairwoman of foreign languages and literatures.

The inquiries for multilingual employment also have risen, she said.

“We get a stream of requests for translating and interpreting in a variety of languages,” Henry said.

The trend present at Iowa State mirrors nationwide patterns. Princeton University’s Arabic 101 class has nearly doubled in size from last year when it averaged 10 to 15 students.

Last fall, however, 27 students enrolled, said Kathleen Fischer, program manager of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton.

Princeton officials are planning to add more Middle East courses, and Princeton instructors are teaching development courses for high school teachers in New Jersey, she said.

“I know that everyone has experienced an increase, but I couldn’t hazard to guess what will happen next,” Fischer said.

ISU students are showing interest in Arabic courses as well, Henry said.

“I would like Arabic to be the next language Iowa State offers and for which it develops an academic curriculum,” she said.

A more comprehensive curriculum in Chinese has been in demand for some time, Henry said, but current financial issues provide a challenge.

“The budget cuts have made it very difficult for us to meet the demand, and we are constantly looking for ways to become more efficient at this,” she said.

Jean-Pierre Taoutel, temporary instructor of foreign languages and literatures, said there are advantages and drawbacks to the increased interest in Arabic.

“For the short term, people will associate Arabic mostly with the war on terrorism,” said Taoutel, who said she has worked as an Amnesty International Arabic interpreter for refugees in France. “But in the long term, I think it’s a way of understanding and being exposed to Arab culture.”

The interest shown in southwest Asian languages holds true for foreign-language study as a whole, Henry said.

“Generally, our department has seen a slow and steady rise in interest and numbers of students wanting to study our languages,” she said.

Henry predicts the most important foreign languages of the next 30 years will be: Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Russian, Hindi, and Farsi.

The study of foreign languages is especially important in light of current world affairs following Sept. 11, she said.

“It is important to study other languages because our world is in some ways shaped by the concepts our languages give us and the value that are contained in the words in different languages,” Henry said.

Language study beyond the classroom, such as studying abroad, is essential, she said.

“It is also important to learn the history, the values, the culture and the political systems of the people who speak the language,” Henry said.

Henry believes the events of Sept. 11 illustrate the need for foreign language study because of the concepts and values that are associated with words in the different languages.

“Global citizenship for an educated person ought to include fluency in a second language plus competence in a third,” she said.