New focus on Arabic.

• Position: Education - American foreign language learning increases - Brief Article

With much of its military, intelligence, and diplomatic energy focused oil the Mideast, the U.S. needs more Arabic speakers, and it is getting them. Scores of colleges have added or expanded Arabic course offerings, and a new study shows more students studying Arabic. The Modern Language Association survey of 780 colleges in 2002 found that 1.4 million students were studying at least one foreign language, more than in any year since 1972. The survey found that 10,596 students were studying Arabic, nearly double the number in 1998. Still, fewer than 1 percent of all students enrolled in a foreign language course...