The decline in students pursuing foreign language studies is raising concerns among employers and job seekers alike, as it impacts the availability of candidates with essential language skills in the job market.
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Key Takeaways:
- Students increasingly view language degrees as less beneficial for future earnings compared to STEM or business fields.
- Interest in language studies varies globally, with regions like Poland seeing a rise in less common languages.
- Online learning and AI tools are reducing the appeal of traditional university language degrees.
A Reddit community is actively discussing a noticeable trend: the decline in language learning. This conversation highlights concerns about the decreasing interest in acquiring new languages and its potential impact on global communication and cultural exchange.
Shift in Language Learning Trends
The choice to study languages in university is changing, influenced by how students see the value of these courses compared to other fields.
Across various discussions, a clear shift is seen in how students view language degrees. Many now see college more as a financial investment than a place for personal growth. Since language degrees don’t always lead directly to a clear career path, like STEM or business fields, their popularity is decreasing.
Students are starting to view college less as a coming of age experience and more as an investment into future earnings. Language related degrees don’t have as clear a career path as Stem or business, so it makes sense to me to see this decline.
Yet, this trend isn’t the same everywhere. For example, in Poland, interest in language studies, especially in less common European languages and oriental languages, is booming. In fact, there are more students studying Dutch in just one Polish city than in the entire Netherlands.
Language studies are booming, especially oriental and smaller European languages (Scandinavia, Dutch), also Spanish. There are more student of Dutch on a university level in, Wrocław (250 people a year) than in whole Netherlands (about 200). Japanese and Chinese studies are always the most sought after. English and German studies are probably less popular than before, but only because the former level was very high and nowadays some people don’t see a need for separate English degree. Every other language grows strongly.
The economic perspective of education significantly influences this shift. Degrees not directly leading to a job or financial gain are often seen as less valuable. This is particularly true for language degrees, where simply knowing a language isn’t enough. Professional roles like interpreters require specific qualifications in addition to language skills. Thus, language knowledge is increasingly seen as an added bonus to other main skills, not a standalone qualification.
Well the marketization/economicization of education (and literally everything in life) kinda enforces this. Degrees which cannot be immediately traded for capital value are no longer seen as necessary
The ease of learning languages online and the development of AI translation tools are also changing attitudes. With so many resources available for free or cheap, some question the need for formal language education. The convenience of online learning and the potential of AI translators make traditional language courses seem less necessary.
People looking at college less, people more easily learning things like language online these days for cheap or free, perhaps also people seeing innovations in AI/instant translators and thinking outside of a hobby there’s less of a point to learning other languages as well?
Lastly, it’s argued that language degrees at university level don’t offer as many opportunities as other degrees. Many believe it’s better to learn a language on your own while studying something else at university that might have broader career prospects.
All in all, the decline in university-level language studies is a complex issue. It’s shaped by economic views, global trends, technological advancements, and evolving perceptions of the value of language skills in today’s world.
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