I disagree with Adam Seston's claim in his article ""Language credits an unnecessary hassle"" that UW-Madison's foreign language requirements are too extreme. However, I agree with the theme regarding the need for change in UW-Madison's language program. Our language program has a problem: It discourages students from studying less commonly taught languages.
The retro-credit system encourages students to continue languages they started in high school, instead of trying a new language. Some students, such as myself, arrive at SOAR with every intention of enrolling in a less commonly taught language.
However, SOAR advisors encourage incoming freshmen to take their high school language instead, because they can receive up to 16 free credits. By giving out credits, students who planned to start a new language often choose not to.
If a student does venture into a less commonly taught language, they run into another problem: UW-Madison allows native speakers to take introductory language classes. This is popular among students whose first language isn't English because these courses are easy A's, but it often means non-native speakers will struggle and drop out.
If the U.S. government wants Americans to study less commonly taught languages, universities such as UW-Madison need to re-examine their language programs and fix these problems so students receive the support needed to study these languages.
Brenda Lazerus
UW-Madison sophomore
political science
