Language Instruction in Elementary and Secondary Schools
- The share of LOTE-enrolled elementary and secondary students in individual states ranged from 8.5% in New Mexico to 51.2% in New Jersey (Indicator I-11a). The share for the nation as a whole was 19.7%.
- In academic year 2014–2015, almost 70% of K–12 LOTE enrollments were in Spanish (Indicator I-11b). The next largest share was in French (12%). All other languages were substantially less likely to have been studied.
- Among high school students specifically, the share graduating in 2013 with LOTE credits was 89%, up from 84% in 2000 (Indicator I-11c). Over 70% of these graduates had earned their credits in Spanish—a 10-percentage-point increase from 2000.
- While most students who graduated high school in 2013 had earned at least some credits in a LOTE, only a small proportion had taken advanced courses (Indicator I-11d). The taking of such courses, however, was much more common among 2013 graduates than it was among students graduating in the early 1980s.
- In academic year 2007–2008, 25% of elementary schools taught LOTE, a decline of six percentage points from 1996–1997 (Indicator-11e).
- Over the two decades for which data are available, private elementary schools were substantially more likely than public schools to expose their students to LOTE, and the disparity increased over time. In 2007–2008, 51% of private elementary schools offered LOTE, a share 36 percentage points higher than for public schools, while 20 years earlier the gap was 17 points.
- American secondary schools were more likely than elementary schools to offer LOTE instruction (Indicator I-11f). In 2007–2008, 79% of secondary schools had LOTE classes. Middle schools, however, were not as likely as high schools to provide students LOTE learning opportunities, and the difference in shares for 2007–2008 (33 percentage points) was the largest recorded and a reversal of a trend toward greater parity.
- The share of secondary schools offering courses in LOTE fell from 1996–1997 to 2007–2008. The change was attributable to a statistically significant drop in the proportion of middle schools offering LOTE courses, from 75% to 58%.
- Public and private secondary schools differed little with respect to the share offering LOTE courses (not pictured).
I-11a: Share of K–12 Students Enrolled in LOTE* Courses, by State, Academic Year 2014–2015
* “LOTE” stands for languages other than English.
Source: American Councils for International Education, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Center for Applied Linguistics, and Modern Language Association, The National K–16 Foreign Language Enrollment Report 2014–15 (Washington, DC: American Councils for International Education, 2016), https://www.americancouncils.org/sites/default/files/FLE-report.pdf. Data presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
* “LOTE” stands for languages other than English.
Source: American Councils for International Education, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Center for Applied Linguistics, and Modern Language Association, The National K–16 Foreign Language Enrollment Report 2014–15 (Washington, DC: American Councils for International Education, 2016), https://www.americancouncils.org/sites/default/files/FLE-report.pdf. Data presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
* 2013 values are measurably different (p < .05) from those for 2000 and 2005, but not 2009.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), High School Longitudinal Study of 2009; National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) High School Transcript Study of 2000 (HSTS); NAEP HSTS 2005; and NAEP HSTS 2009. Estimates were prepared by Elise Christopher (NCES) and Bruce Daniel (Sanametrix, Inc.) at the request of the Humanities Indicators. The Indicators thank them for their generous assistance. Data presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
* 2013 values are measurably different (p < .05) from those for 1982 and 2004. (Significance testing was not performed for other years.)
Source: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2013 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 2013), 52. Also: U.S. Department of Education (DOE), National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Education Longitudinal Study of 2002; and DOE, NCES, High School Longitudinal Study of 2009. Estimates for 2004 and 2013 were prepared by Elise Christopher (NCES) and Bruce Daniel (Sanametrix, Inc.) at the request of the Humanities Indicators. The Indicators thank them for their generous assistance. Data presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
* Change from academic year 1996–1997 is statistically significant at the 5% level.
Source: Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), Foreign Language Teaching in U.S. Schools: Results of a National Survey (Washington, DC: CAL, 2010), 22 fig. 1. Data presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
* Change from academic year 1996–1997 is statistically significant at the 5% level.
Source: Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), Foreign Language Teaching in U.S. Schools: Results of a National Survey (Washington, DC: CAL, 2010), 23 fig. 2. Data presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
