Foreign language departments at Wisconsin colleges and universities are facing an uncertain future after the Trump administration cut several funding sources the programs have relied on for more than 60 years.
In March, the U.S. Department of Education dismantled its Office of International and Foreign Language Education, which administered several major grant programs for language learning and international study. And at the start of the school year, the Trump administration cancelled foreign language and area studies (FLAS), leaving more than 50 students in Wisconsin without the financial support they were relying on for their studies.
鈥淲e are now operating in an environment where we need to consider how we will keep our commitment to foreign language instruction and area studies going on our campus and across the United States,鈥 said Frances Vavrus, dean of the International Division at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The loss of funding and support is especially significant for less commonly taught languages, which in Wisconsin include languages like Norwegian, Hmong, and Ojibwe that are significant to heritage, immigrant, and tribal populations in the state.
Around the state, language educators emphasize that second-language learning is vital to the Wisconsin Idea, pointing to the more than half a million people in the state who speak a language other than English at home.
鈥淭he state of Wisconsin has always been and continues to be a very diverse state,鈥 Vavrus said. 鈥淥ur primary languages other than English are Hmong, Spanish, and German. So, we have many speakers of languages other than English, or they are bilingual or multilingual speakers, and I think it鈥檚 important for us to serve those residents.鈥
Kaishan Kong, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, has seen firsthand the power of language study to bolster community.
鈥淥ur students are active and engaged participants in community services such as translation and interpretation in different settings like court, schools, and healthcare facilities,鈥 she said.
Kong teaches classes in Chinese language and culture. She believes these are vital to helping students develop deep knowledge of other countries and the people who live there, in addition to the more than 17,000 Wisconsin residents who speak Mandarin, Cantonese, or another Chinese dialect.
For Kong, it鈥檚 important that language and study abroad programs continue to help students develop critical thinking skills and empathy鈥攁nd to stay competitive in the global marketplace.
鈥淭he world develops regardless of whether we participate or not,鈥 Kong said. 鈥淲e should prepare and engage our students to dive into engaging this global development. When students go beyond bubbles, they will see that the world is more complex than what they learn from the textbook.鈥
Wisconsin Public Radio (10/16/25) By Richelle Wilson