Colleges See 16% Increase in Study of Sign Language

Did you know that USA Today newspaper write the article about sign language that sign language is number 4, most studied foreign language? While the number of college students studying Spanish, French and German increased only modestly from 2006 to 2009, enrollment in American Sign Language — the fourth most-popular language — surged more than 16 percent, according to a new report from the Modern Language Association.

After long debate about whether American Sign Language is a real language — and whether it qualifies as a foreign language — a few universities now offer a major or minor in it, and many more accept sign language for their foreign-language requirement.

More than 90,000 students enrolled in sign-language classes last year, compared with only 4,304 in 1995.

Many colleges have long waiting lists of students trying to get into introductory A.S.L. classes, a substantial share of them turning to sign language because of their previous difficulties learning European languages.

Here is the graphic chart from Modern Language Association.

Is American Sign Language considering as a foreign language? Hmm. you decide…

For more information about the article, you can read the USA Today newspaper website.