INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Report calls for renewed focus on improving foreign language skills and cultural expertise

The National Academies’ new report, International Education and Foreign Languages: Keys to Securing America’s Future, says that American education in foreign languages and both international and area studies have made progress over the years but lack the resources necessary to adequately address the nation’s security and competitiveness needs.

The report states that more support is needed from all levels of the U.S. education system to develop an integrated approach to improving foreign language skills and cultural expertise, beginning in the primary grades. The U.S. Department of Education should also consolidate oversight of its foreign language and international education programs, provide strategic direction, and collaborate with other federal agency activities in this area.

Universities should play key roles, partnering with federal officials to create systems of continuous improvement for the programs, the report says. The systems should help develop performance indicators, as well as engage networks of professionals in the field.

The federal programs covering this area, the Title VI and Fulbright-Hays programs, were created 50 years ago following the Soviet Union’s launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite. The surprise launch shocked the United States, led to large increases in federal spending on education and scientific research. Over the years, the programs' scope has grown to encompass undergraduate and graduate postsecondary education in foreign languages, international studies, and area studies, which focus on particular regions of the world; promote greater use of technology; create centers for foreign language training and research; and recruit minorities into international service professions.

Last year President Bush announced his National Security Language Initiative, which calls for new and expanded measures to help boost the number of Americans learning a limited number of "critical need" languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, and Farsi. The study committee said maintaining national capacity in a broad range of foreign languages would be prudent, allowing the United States to respond to new and unanticipated challenges around the world.