[EDLING:235] US: Speaking the language of globalization

[Francis M. Hult]

The Enquirer (Cincinnati)

Speaking the language of globalization

Throughout most of the 20th century, the United States had the best-educated 
workforce in the world - but this is simply no longer the case. As the 
developing world's workforce grows younger and better educated, the U.S. 
workforce is becoming smaller and older, more diverse but less well-educated. 
It's well known that American students are falling behind their counterparts in 
other countries, especially in math and science. Little known is the alarming 
fact that the number of American students studying a foreign language has 
declined sharply.

Though educators have long understood the value of learning a foreign language, 
for most of us, studying one in school was an "extra." Taking Spanish, French, 
or German was a pleasant diversion from English and math, and we thought we 
might use what we learned one day when we traveled.

Times - and the world - have changed. Globalization has blurred our borders and 
expanded our horizons. In today's global economy, foreign language skills have 
become vital to our children's future as members of the workforce and to our 
nation's future success in the world.

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