Teaching Spanish in the United States: A Mixed Blessing

The past four decades have seen a dramatic increase in enrollment in all levels of Spanish classes in the US, a response to the growing perception of Spanish not as a foreign language but as the second domestic language. The effect of this growth on college & university Spanish departments is explored. The increase in students has not resulted in a simple expansion of traditional programs. Emphasis has gradually shifted from Iberian to Latin American culture, & from literature to language instruction, the latter fostering a view of the Spanish department as service organization rather than academic unit. Other trends unrelated to the growth in enrollment include greater attention to women authors & the integration of textbooks with multimedia resources. B. Blankenship