1957: Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, and there’s concern of the U.S.’ shortage of Russian speakers to monitor Soviet activity

1958: Congress authorizes funding to strengthen education in foreign language

2023: A new report shows the study of languages other than English experienced an unprecedented drop of 16.6% since 2016

“This creates greater risks for national security,” explains a professor:
https://theconversation.com/fewer-u-s-college-students-are-studying-a-foreign-language-and-that-spells-trouble-for-national-security-198135

@academicchatter #academicchatter #HigherEd #ForeignPolicy