Over the past few years, the General Education Requirements have seen some various changes as far as foreign Languages are concerned. Since 2013, there has been a great amount of effort to reduce the General Education requirements.  The drive to reduce the amount of General Education requirements has had a heavy impact on the Language programs offered by The University of Guam.

According to Associate Professor of Mathematics, Zoltan Szekely PhD, “In November of 2013, the General Education Review Committee, or GERC, then chaired by Psychology Professor Michael Elhart PhD, voted on an initiative he had drafted.”

Elhert dubbed his proposal, “Latte Stone Education.” Szekely, who was a committee member at the time claims, “It called for the removal of the two semesters of foreign languages requirements in the General Education curriculum. When we voted, only four of the seven committee members were present. Of those 4, I am the only one who opposed it. Then, Elhart pushed it through the faculty senate.” The move by Elhert with regards to the GE curriculum has caused many in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences to speak out against it.

Professor of Japanese, Toyoko Kang PhD is among those voices.  Kang says, “The initiatives that reduce the language requirements ignore the studies proving the benefits of learning other languages and being multilingual. Being multilingual increases one’s cognitive abilities.”

Since then, the Faulty Senate and GERC have once again changed the General Education Requirements. On October 20, 2016, a new initiative was passed called, “Uniquely UOG.” Framed by Assistant Professor of Secondary Education Michelle Santos. The newly passed curriculum would align the General Education Requirements of the University of Guam to be like that of some universities in the mainland.

“Uniquely UOG,” as it is called, includes 1 semester to study a language other than English, but there are those who believe that one semester is not enough to provide a well-rounded education. Other sight that the move to follow the mainland trends ignores some aspects that are unique to Guam.

Professor of Social Work, Gerhard J. Schwab PhD says, “Calls to reduce language requirements not only ignore the benefits of multilingualism, it narrows the scope of one’s learning, and is a step away from globalism. It ignores Guam’s Place in Micronesia, its proximity to Asia, and a good portion of our economy is based on tourism from Asia.”

According to Szekely, “The new General Education curriculum would be evaluated and analyzed three years after it is first implemented.”