Save the Language at IU!

Foreign languages are an integral part of Indiana University's identity. At least since the 1950s, with the creation of the Summer Language Workshop, IU has pioneered in the instruction of less commonly taught languages, providing language training to more than 10,000 students in approximately 50 languages. At the center of Presidents Herman B. Wells vision for IU as a globally recognized university, foreign language instruction was instrumental in fulfilling his aspirations to "bring the world to Indiana and Indiana to the world." Still now, IU prides itself on teaching "over 70 languages—that's more than any university in the United States."

Foreign language skills are more important than ever in a globalized world largely defined by intercultural exchanges and communication. In a world where the primacy of the English language is more and more challenged by the rise of other languages (in particular Hindi, Mandarin, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Arabic), proficiency in more than one language is becoming more critical than ever in a global economy. Employers (including in health care, international relations, finance, education, IT, national security, NGOs, environment, sales, customer service, marketing, and management) are acknowledging this fact: 9 out of 10 U.S. employers rely on employees with language skills other than English, and 56% say their foreign language demand will increase in the next five years.

Yet, in order to comply with the state budget bill HEA 1001, Indiana University has voluntarily decided to eliminate, suspend or merge 245 degree programs, which implies that the teaching of up to 50 foreign languages at IU is at risk of being obliterated. Moreover, the university is eliminating the only American Sign Language interpreting program at a public university in Indiana, and has recently announced that it has placed the Indiana University Honors Program in Foreign Languages on hiatus; a program which, over its more than sixty years of existence, has sent countless high school students abroad for immersive language and cultural experiences, which, as many of you can testify, have been transformative experiences that shaped the course of many Hoosiers' lives.

This is very concerning news, indeed. But please rest assured: We, the language instructors at IU, are still here! We are not planning to go anywhere, and we will do everything in our power to defend foreign language education at IU, as well as the right of every student to learn one or several of the more than eighty languages that are currently taught at our university.

But we need your help! Please let the IU President, the Board of Trustee, and the Indiana Governor know how much you value foreign language education. Please sign and ask your friends, teachers, parents and other relatives to sign this petition to SAVE THE LANGUAGES AT IU! Also, we would be grateful if you could provide your testimony as to why you chose to study one or several languages at IU.