Foreign Language

Earlier this week we looked at myths and evidence about educating English language learners. Helping these children to obtain proficiency in both English and their native language must be a critical goal for PK-3 education. But what about the 90 percent of children who already speak English--are we missing out on a critical opportunity to teach them a second language in the PK-3 years?

In our increasingly global economy, developing a workforce that is conversant in other languages and cultures will be increasingly important for our national economic competitiveness. Our government also needs a greater supply of proficient speakers of a variety of other languages to ensure our national security.

Yet only 9 percent of American adults are proficient in more than one language--compared to 53 percent of Europeans. And only a small percentage of multi-lingual Americans are proficient in Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, and other languages that will be in increasing demand in the years ahead.