American college students recorded 1,182,562 course enrollments in languages other than English in the Modern Language Association’s fall 2021 census, down 16.6% from fall 2016 — the steepest drop in the survey’s history. This page ranks foreign language enrollment in US universities language by language, tracks which languages are gaining students, and adds 2025 learner data that points to the next national count.
Foreign Language Enrollment in US Universities: Key Numbers
- Spanish leads with 584,453 course enrollments, 49.4% of the fall 2021 national total (MLA).
- Course enrollments in languages other than English fell 16.6% between fall 2016 and fall 2021 (MLA).
- Korean rose 38.3% over the same period, the only top-15 language with a double-digit gain (MLA).
- US colleges awarded 165,489 humanities bachelor’s degrees in 2024, the fewest since 1991 (American Academy of Arts and Sciences).
- Spanish was the most-studied language in the US on Duolingo in 2025; Chinese ranked second among the country’s fastest-growing courses (Duolingo).
Spanish still outnumbers the next fourteen languages combined, but its share dropped below 50% for the first time since 1990. The wider picture is one of contraction: only three of the fifteen most-taught languages gained students, and degree completions have fallen faster in languages than in any other humanities field.
Foreign Language Enrollment in US Universities by Language
The MLA has counted course enrollments at US colleges since 1958. Its fall 2021 report, the 26th in the series, covers 2,455 institutions — a 92.2% response rate. These are course enrollments, not head counts, so one student can appear in more than one language. Fieldwork for the next census began in fall 2024 and remained unpublished as of mid-2026, leaving this the current per-language ranking.
Course Enrollments by Language, Fall 2021
| Rank | Language | Course Enrollments | Change vs. 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spanish | 584,453 | −18.0% |
| 2 | French | 135,088 | −23.1% |
| 3 | American Sign Language | 107,899 | +0.8% |
| 4 | Japanese | 65,661 | −4.6% |
| 5 | German | 53,543 | −33.6% |
| 6 | Chinese/Mandarin | 46,492 | −14.3% |
| 7 | Italian | 45,182 | −20.4% |
| 8 | Arabic | 22,918 | −27.4% |
| 9 | Latin | 19,472 | −21.5% |
| 10 | Korean | 19,270 | +38.3% |
| 11 | Russian | 17,598 | −13.5% |
| 12 | Ancient Greek | 11,433 | −13.8% |
| 13 | Biblical Hebrew | 10,442 | +9.1% |
| 14 | Portuguese | 7,684 | −21.8% |
| 15 | Modern Hebrew | 4,125 | −26.0% |
Source: Modern Language Association, Enrollments in Languages Other Than English, fall 2021.
Japanese overtook German for fourth place. The MLA notes that in 1974 all five of the most-studied languages were European; today only three are. Below the top 15, students took courses in 228 more languages, and enrollments in those less commonly taught languages slipped just 6.8% — far less than the 16.6% drop across all languages. For a sense of how classroom demand lines up against global speaker totals, see the most common languages in the world.
Spanish’s Share of Total Enrollments
The decline also split by institution type. Two-year colleges lost 24.2% of their language enrollments, against 14.7% at four-year schools. Since community colleges enroll many first-generation and lower-income students, language study is thinning out fastest where access already runs short.
Which Foreign Languages Are Growing at US Universities?
Three of the top fifteen languages gained enrollments between 2016 and 2021: Korean, Biblical Hebrew, and American Sign Language. German lost a third of its students, the sharpest fall in the group.
| Direction | Language | Change vs. 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Growing | Korean | +38.3% |
| Growing | Biblical Hebrew | +9.1% |
| Growing | American Sign Language | +0.8% |
| Declining | German | −33.6% |
| Declining | Arabic | −27.4% |
| Declining | Modern Hebrew | −26.0% |
| Declining | French | −23.1% |
Source: Modern Language Association, Enrollments in Languages Other Than English, fall 2021.
Korean is the clearest culture-driven case in the data. Twenty-nine more institutions reported Korean enrollments than in 2016, and instructors interviewed by Inside Higher Ed tied the demand to K-pop and Korean drama. American Sign Language added 44 reporting institutions, which is how it held third place on nearly flat numbers. These worldwide learner shifts show up in the most learned languages worldwide as well.
Foreign Language Degrees at US Universities
Course enrollments tell one story; completed degrees tell a harder one. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, drawing on federal IPEDS records, reports that bachelor’s degrees in languages and literatures other than English fell 48% from 2012 to 2024 — the third-largest drop of any humanities discipline over that span.
| Discipline | Change in bachelor’s degrees, 2012–2024 |
|---|---|
| Religious studies | −59% |
| Area studies | −55% |
| Languages other than English | −48% |
| Classical studies | −43% |
| English | −43% |
| History | −41% |
| Comparative literature | −32% |
Source: American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Humanities Indicators (IPEDS data), 2024.
The whole field is shrinking around these languages. Colleges awarded 165,489 humanities bachelor’s degrees in 2024, 30% below the 2012 peak and the smallest count since 1991. The humanities’ share of all bachelor’s degrees fell from 13.1% in 2012 to 8.4% in 2024, while engineering, health sciences, and the natural sciences each grew their share.
Share of All US Bachelor’s Degrees, 2012 vs. 2024
When programs close, the smaller languages usually go first — a pattern that also runs through endangered and dying language data.
What 2025 Duolingo Data Signals for the Next Census
With the MLA’s fall 2024 results still pending, the freshest read on demand comes from consumer platforms. Duolingo measures learner activity, not university credits, and its age and motivation fields are self-reported — so these rankings track interest rather than classroom enrollment.
| Duolingo 2025 signal | Result |
|---|---|
| Most-studied language in the US | Spanish |
| Second fastest-growing US course | Chinese |
| Japanese global rank | #4, passing German |
| Korean global rank | #6, passing Italian |
Source: Duolingo 2025 Language Report (learner activity, October 2024–September 2025).
The global reshuffle — Japanese past German, Korean past Italian — mirrors the order already visible in university classrooms. Duolingo also reports English ranking high among US learners, a demand it links to the country’s large immigrant population; that side of the market shows up in English language usage figures and across the wider language learning app market.
FAQ
Which foreign language has the highest enrollment in US universities?
Spanish, with 584,453 course enrollments in the MLA’s fall 2021 census — 49.4% of all language enrollments nationally. It still outnumbers the next fourteen languages combined.
Which language is growing fastest at US colleges?
Korean, up 38.3% between the 2016 and 2021 MLA censuses. Duolingo’s 2025 data shows it climbing globally too, moving to sixth place and passing Italian.
How much did foreign language enrollment fall?
Course enrollments in languages other than English dropped 16.6% between fall 2016 and fall 2021, roughly a 236,000-enrollment decline. That is the largest single-census fall the MLA has recorded since 1958.
How far have foreign language degrees dropped?
Bachelor’s degrees in languages other than English fell 48% from 2012 to 2024, per the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Overall humanities degrees hit 165,489 in 2024, the fewest since 1991.
When will newer enrollment data be available?
The MLA began collecting its fall 2024 census after publishing the 2021 report in November 2023. Results had not been released as of mid-2026.
Sources
https://www.mla.org/Resources/Guidelines-and-Data/Reports-and-Professional-Guidelines/Enrollments-in-Languages-Other-Than-English-in-United-States-Institutions-of-Higher-Education
https://www.amacad.org/humanities-indicators/higher-education/bachelors-degrees-humanities
https://blog.duolingo.com/2025-duolingo-language-report/
