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When she was exploring colleges, Lulu Maachi was looking for campus opportunities that could prepare her for a career in Japan. That’s one of the reasons she decided to attend Syracuse University.

Maachi, a junior information studies and technology major in the School of Information Studies, has pursued a minor in Japanese studies since her first year at SU. But Maachi said the resources available in SU’s Japanese studies program haven’t met her expectations.

“The professors are really great. They really want you to learn something out of the classes and really want to help you succeed,” Maachi said. “But the way that the curriculum was designed, the minor structure, it feels very superficial.”

Despite the efforts of dedicated instructors, faculty and students said the university hasn’t provided enough support for its foreign language programs, some of which experience low enrollment and cannot yet offer a full four-year curriculum.

María Emma Ticio Quesada, chair of SU’s Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, said the department has made efforts to increase enrollment in language classes.

“Some of the programs receive limited funding from the university and have lower enrollments, which combined prevents them from developing further,” Ticio said in an email.

SU’s Japanese program offers six language classes every year, from introductory to advanced level classes. The minor requires three intermediate- to advanced-level language classes, as well as three content-based classes offered from other departments.

“We really need more personnel to expand the courses, as we are all teaching at the maximum,” said Tomoko Walter, coordinator of SU’s Japanese studies minor.

Similar U.S. colleges have been providing more advanced language instructions than SU. Cornell University provides a four-year curriculum in Japanese language under its Asian studies program. The University of Washington and Georgetown University provide a bachelor’s degree major in Japanese language and related studies.

Walter, who has taught Japanese at SU for over two decades, said enrollment in advanced-level classes remains low, given the complexity of the language and limitations on when classes can be offered.

The Japanese program tried to open a 400-level language course for fall 2020 but canceled it after a single-digit enrollment.

“It is a stupid requirement on the student numbers,” Maachi said. “Because when you’re talking about higher-level language classes, it requires a smaller class or even one-on-one experience after you reach a certain level of proficiency.”

Maachi said it’s disappointing that SU’s program hasn’t met her expectations, especially since she turned down offers from other universities to attend SU.

Karin Ruhlandt, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said the school works hard to offer breadth and depth in its language and literature classes, which are “crucial components” in preparing students to succeed.

“Understanding that virtually every department or program would appreciate more funding, the fact is that we value all of our departments and consistently strive to enhance their academic mission,” Ruhlandt said in a statement.

Nicholas Theisen, a part-time instructor who teaches Japanese literature courses, said that SU students have shown interest in additional courses about Japanese language and culture. But staffing limitations have prevented them from materializing, he said.

In some cases, SU has applied “Band-Aid fixes” to staffing shortages in its language programs rather than prioritize permanent solutions, he said.

“I’m filling in for someone else who has now been gone for two years,” Theisen said. “I don’t know if he’s coming back. You can’t build a program based upon someone like me, who literally doesn’t know if I’m gonna be teaching from one semester to the next.”

The Japanese program was able to establish a minor after it hired a tenured faculty member a few years ago, Walter siad. But the faculty member left his position last year, and the program has not been able to fill the position.

The Japanese program currently has three instructors teaching the language and one teaching literature. Three of those four instructors hold a part-time title, according to the program’s website.

Both Walter and Theisen said it would be ideal to have specialized scholars teach concentrated courses in the Japanese program. But given staffing shortages, the program can only offer limited content-based classes at a broad and generalized level.

“The problem is that I can’t be the everything-teacher,” Theisen said. “I have to teach premodern Japanese literature, from roughly the seventh century to now, whereas in a French department, there would be seven people teaching that range.”

Walter hopes the department can fill the tenured position in the near future so it can expand the program and provide more choices and resources to SU students.

Language studies serve a crucial role in promoting intercultural understanding, inclusiveness and diversity, Ticio said. Many programs at SU require students to take foreign language classes to graduate.

Theisen said the gaps in some of SU’s language programs also reflect poorly on its commitment to inclusivity and diversity. While international students choose to attend SU for a variety of reasons, its limited investment in language programs sends a clear message to the international student body that their languages and cultures are not valued, he said.

“I’ll say whoever comes in and decides to take the class, we will do the best we can to support them,” Walter said. “It is my personal hope that we can expand the program to a major in the near future.”

Published on April 25, 2021 at 10:31 pm

Contact Francis: btang05@syr.edu | @francis_towne