08 November 2006
U.S. Students Increasingly Choosing To Learn Foreign Languages
Schools’ interest in offering Asian and Arabic languages is growing
Washington — On a recent Monday in a suburb of Washington, 17 teenagers finished their regular school day, practiced sports or participated in other after-school activities and then, at dinnertime, headed back into the classroom for a two-hour course in the Arabic language.
This is the first year the Arlington, Virginia, public school system has offered classes in Arabic and Chinese to students; several evening sessions are filled to capacity.
Americans need to do more work on foreign languages, education experts agree. They compare the United States unfavorably to China, which has a policy of teaching English to students during elementary grades, or to Australia, where one-fourth of students study an Asian language.
Even though the United States might be behind, there are several efforts to teach languages to more students and at younger ages, said Vivian Stuart of the Asia Society in New York.
The United States is beginning to “wake up and realize how important being multilingual will be to our future success,” said Marty Abbott, education director for the Virginia-based American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. The Geneva-based International Baccalaureate Organization, which offers an international diploma program popular at U.S. secondary schools, is growing fastest in U.S. elementary schools. Participating schools agree to a foreign language requirement for each student, said Jeffrey Beard, director of the organization.
This matters because young children learn languages faster than adults do. “You can’t take an adult going to the Middle East to fight a war and [teach him languages],” Abbott said. “It has to start early in our schools.”
In addition to more U.S. students studying languages other than English, there is a shift in which languages they are learning. Beard said that of the 60 languages available through his organization, Spanish remains popular in the United States, but Middle Eastern and Asian languages — Japanese, Chinese, Persian and Arabic — are growing in demand.
The College Board, a New York organization that tests secondary school students in advanced-placement subjects, was “incredulous” at the strong demand for an advanced-placement course in Chinese, said Tom Matts, director of world languages for the board. After 50 years of offering four advanced-placement languages — Spanish, French, German and Latin — the board surveyed schools about other possibilities. Chinese was requested at 10 times the rate of other languages, which Matts attributes to China’s growing economic clout.
In spring 2007, the College Board will offer advanced placement tests in Chinese and Japanese.
PRESIDENT PROPOSES NATIONAL SECURITY LANGUAGE INITIATIVE
President Bush in January announced the National Security Language Initiative, an effort by government agencies to increase the number of Americans learning Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic and languages in the Iranian/Indic/Turkic families. The president requested $114 million in fiscal year 2007 to pay for this effort. (See “President Introduces Foreign Language Initiative.”)
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said that studying these languages, “expands young people’s opportunities, enriches their lives, and demonstrates our respect for other cultures.”
In 2007, the State Department will more than triple the number of students chosen for new Fulbright awards that allow six months study of a language abroad prior to the students’ participation in a previously established yearlong program. The department also is ramping up the number of teachers it brings from other countries to teach in American schools, from 200 in 2005 to 400 in 2007.
Oregon schools boast a grades K-16 “pipeline” in which Chinese is offered for each year of schooling, and the Defense Department will initiate two additional such programs in 2007, one for Arabic language study.
In October, the Education Department announced $12.9 million in grants to local education agencies for foreign language teaching. Cynthia Ryan, of the Foreign Language Assistance Program, said such grants will total $21 million in 2006. The department has requested $23 million for 2007.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence plans to offer language “summer camps” in 2007 for 400 secondary school students and 400 teachers at sites in five states.
The U.S. business community, long interested in improving students’ math and science knowledge, increasingly is focused on language skills. Goldman Sachs Foundation gives prizes to schools doing an excellent job teaching world cultures and languages.
United Parcel Service of America Chief Executive Michael Eskew said the ability to converse in foreign languages is one of the three top qualities he looks for in hiring employees. The Web site for UPS, based in Atlanta, is in 22 languages.
“Foreign language skills are essential to our business and will be even more so in the years ahead,” Eskew said.
Young Americans know they need foreign language skills, Abbott said, citing a Roper survey in which ages 18-24 showed the most support of any age group for foreign-language education.
That bodes well for Arlington’s Arabic and Chinese classes. “If we sustain enrollment, we want to offer higher levels,” said Mary Ann Ullrich, the county’s foreign-language supervisor.
At their recent meeting, the teens worked on Arabic handwriting, went over vocabulary, recited numbers and the alphabet, and peppered their professor with questions — “Does ‘sa’eed’ mean ‘happy’ and ‘gentleman?’” “How do you pronounce Iraq in Arabic?” “Is Mauritania a big country?”
“They are very enthusiastic,” said teacher Ahmed Osman. These students are a little loud, but they are learning quickly.
More information about the Fulbright program and International Education Week are on State Department’s Web site. Also see Education.
