Four related articles and an editorial appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer's series "Overcoming our language barriers."
John J. Castellani, President of the Business Roundtable, write in his article "Speaking the language of globalization:
"....The business community has long called for stronger math and science
programs and the need to double the number of science, technology,
engineering and math graduates with bachelor's degrees by 2015. But as
a 2006 report by the Committee for Economic Development notes,
businesses require "employees with knowledge of foreign languages and
cultures to market products to customers around the globe and to work
effectively with foreign employees and partners in other countries."
It's
time for business leaders and concerned community members to sound a
new clarion call that will wake up policymakers and educators to the
importance of teaching foreign languages to our children.
Mitch Leventhal and Susan Bacon write in their article "Benefits of language study can be subtle:"
We know, for example, that children studying a second language are
better able to solve problems from multiple points of view, and to
discover alternate solutions. They exhibit superior first-language
development, greater cognitive flexibility, cultural awareness, concept
formation and creativity. Students with second language ability tend to
perform at a higher level on English reading and mathematics
achievement tests.
For those who believe that these benefits are
limited to children of higher socioeconomic background, it is important
to know that children from all backgrounds who are allowed to continue
their first language while learning a second language have been proven
to develop distinctive and improved perceptual strategies and more
advanced processing in certain verbal tasks and abstract thinking. It
just makes plain sense to educate our children in more than one
language and to start at an early age.
Bret Lovejoy, Executive Director of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, writes in his article "Grant is great chance for whole community:"
...But, as research has proven, the most important element of a successful
language program is "time on task" - in other words, students taking
foreign languages need more time to study the language during school
and must have opportunities to use the language in settings outside of
school. Foreign language offerings must, therefore, begin in the early
grades and continue in unbroken sequences - kindergarten through 12th
grade - and then be articulated with postsecondary courses. This is the
only way we will produce students with actual proficiency in languages
with the ability to communicate with and understand others using the
language....
Robert A. McDonald, vice chairman for global operations of Proctor & Gamble, writes in his article "Language is the frabric that clothes our spirit:"
...Our mission has been and always will be to touch and improve lives,
and to do that we must have a deep understanding of the needs and wants
of individuals regardless of their culture, race or origins. For us,
the consumer is boss, and to be successful we must be able to literally
and figuratively be able to speak their language.
Our ability to
learn languages other than our mother tongue is one of our greatest
gifts because of the insights and understanding it reveals. It is a
skill that has always been highly valued by the world, and none more so
than today, as we do business and expand our personal horizons beyond
our own shores....
The Enquirer editorial "Join in the global conversation:"
....But despite the difficulty - and a tradition of Americans believing
foreigners should interact with them in English - it's time for the
nation to catch up to the rest of the world.
Doing it will take
more than limited federal grants. Full fluency requires long-term,
well-coordinated language study that starts in primary grades and
carries into high school and college (where, currently, only 8 percent
of students study a foreign language).
Beyond school, American
children need foreign language exposure at home, via computer
instruction, books and materials, and opportunities to interact with
native speakers.
Raising state requirements is a critical step -
albeit complicated by pressures to raise reading and math performance -
as is offering alternative certification paths to strong potential
teachers who lack traditional training.
Schools will respond to
higher state requirements and increased parental demand for foreign
language offerings, but there's a critical role for American businesses
as well. Offering targeted financial support for teacher recruitment
and training, curriculum and testing development, and language
enrichment programs would be a great way to help grow a bilingual and
culturally sensitive workforce.
It's no longer enough to be at
the global table. Foreign language skills will enable Americans to take
part in the conversations taking place.