Language Database

April 3, 2018

AAS Announces Launch of New Language Database

Is the teaching of Asian languages on your campus under threat? The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is pleased to announce the launch of the AAS Language Database. We hope this database will not only help preserve access to Asian languages, but will help expand the language offerings of colleges and universities nationally (and even internationally), by providing students with access to top-notch, pedagogically informed language teachers.

The AAS Language Database is the result of an AAS initiative to promote the instruction of Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs). The database provides an inventory of institutions offering Asian Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs), with attention given to distance learning options. Users can search the database by language, by state, by institution or by distance learning options.

Have fun searching the database! Find out which campuses offer Asian LCTLs so you can take advantage of these opportunities. Many of the institutions listed are in the initial phases of developing synchronous distance language instruction and have provided contact information for anyone interested in learning about their various technological requirements and fee structures. Institutions offering Asian LCTLs can use the submission form on the website to add, change, or delete language course information.

AAS is grateful to the Henry Luce Foundation for providing funding for the initial survey and creation of this database. Begun in September 2017, the database and website currently contains information on 27 Asian LCTLs. We would also like to thank the University of Wisconsin-Madison for its support in helping to make this database a reality and for its willingness to continue to update this information. As you will see when you explore the database, Felecia Lucht and Emily Jorgenson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison spent hours researching these various institutions and designing such an easily searched website. As we face the challenges of preserving language instruction, we hope this database will provide an exciting way forward.