Help Wanted: Proficiency in Foreign Language Highly Desirable

In preparation for a talk I had to give about twenty-first-century workplace skills, I reviewed current job descriptions posted on a couple of well-known job-search Web sites, looking for trends and other employability indicators. One of the major factors that jumped out was the number of job listings that mentioned required or preferred proficiency in a foreign language.

This makes sense. Most companies are doing business across the globe, and employees who are able to speak more than one language are a growing necessity. From local and national government agencies looking for speakers of Spanish and Arabic to corporations seeking people who speak Japanese or Mandarin, today's job descriptions are another indicator that the global economy is steaming ahead.

What's the takeaway? The United States is one of just a few countries whose citizens are generally monolingual. Just as we must build up the technological, basic, and higher-order thinking skills of our workers, we must also build up their foreign language capacity.

How do we do this? One major change that should be seriously considered is teaching foreign language earlier than in the high school grades. (Current brain research seems to indicate that the young brain learns language faster, thus making the case for learning a foreign language in elementary school.) Other issues include new approaches to foreign language instruction, including a well-articulated curriculum framework, effective uses of technology, proven teaching strategies, and strong policies to elevate the importance of language.

A great example of how a language program has been constructed based on current knowledge of learning theory is the Portland Public Schools's Japanese Magnet Program [1], in Portland, Oregon, a nationally recognized program that, coincidentally, advocates a language-immersion approach.

This second video excerpt, from the John Stanford International School [2], in Seattle, Washington, contains several interesting observations about language acquisition. One that grabbed my attention is that many educators naturally gravitate to integrating language instruction into social studies, culture, and art. It surprised me to find, however, that research now shows that integrating foreign language instruction into math and science makes the learning of a foreign language easier! Watch the segment and find out why!