Report: Foreign Language Study in US at Highest Level Since 1960 (1/2)

The survey by the Modern Language Association of America finds that the study of Arabic has increased a whopping 127 percent, and the number of schools offering Arabic study has doubled since the last nationwide survey in 2002.

Spanish continues to be the most studied language at US higher education institutions, but interest in Asian languages is growing with Chinese up more than 50 percent.

The Modern Language Association has been tracking language enrollment for half a century. The group's executive director, Rosemary Feal, says the number of enrollments is now at an historic high. She says the increase reflects a growing recognition on the part of students and government that languages play a role in an ever smaller world.

"First of all, we think that they know that they are going to be better prepared in their careers and in their lives as citizens. And we also know that there is a lot more support for language study today, support in the form of federal dollars, support also in the form of technology."

参考译文：

美国现代语言协会做了一项调查发现，自上次在2002年做的全国调查以来，对阿拉伯语的研究增加了高达127 ％ ，而且开设阿拉伯语研究项目的学校增加了一倍。

西班牙语仍然是美国的高等教育机构中研究得最多的语言，但对亚洲语言的兴趣也在增长，其中汉语研究增长50 ％以上。

现代语言协会对于语言类专业研究人数的调查进行了半个世纪。该协会的执行董事，罗斯玛丽•菲尔说，专业招生的人数正处于一个历史新高。她说，这种增加的现象反映了政府和学生方面日益认识到语言在一个不断缩小的世界所发挥的作用。

"首先，我们认为，他们知道作为公民，在自己的事业和生活中都要作更好的准备。而且我们也知道，如今对语言学习方面有更多的支持，比如政府的资助，还有技术的支持" 。