Advocacy

New nation-wide advocacy program for world languages coming soon! Check back for information on "Lead With Languages" in Fall, 2014. In the meantime, check out the first Public Service Announcement for the new campaign. 


Looking for 21st century skills for our students? Don’t forget world languages!
Article by Nicole Naditz, NBCT
Bella Vista High School
Advocacy Chair, California Language Teachers’ Association Feb. 21, 2010
World Languages are a 21s Century Skill article
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Correlation Statements and Research

NEW!!! Study published in Forbes shows American businesses need workers skilled in world languages

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Research Page this page includes correlation statements organized in three categories:
  • How does language learning support academic achievement?
  • How does language learning provide cognitive benefits to students?
  • How does language learning affect attitudes and beliefs about language learning and about other cultures?
Bingualism delays onset of dementia
British study finds language education improves test scores (November, 2006)
Found in Translation -Sacramento Bee
Rationale For Foreign Lang Education
importance of langs powerpoint.ppt
Issue Brief: Foreign Language Skills
Language Training and Skills
Is Bilingualism Valued in the U.S. Labor Market?
Learn a Foreign Language blog
Foreign Languages: An Essential Core Experience
Survey data regarding multilingualism and jobs Page from Champs Elysées, Inc., with numerous survey results regarding the benefits of language proficiency for jobs and careers.

Did you know? 25 statements for quick advocacy announcements
These first statements all come from the CED's report in 2006:

  1. According to the Committee for Economic Development, America’s continued role as a global leader will depend on our students’ abilities to interact with the world community both inside and outside our borders.
  2. According to the Committee for Economic Development, many American students lack sufficient knowledge about other world regions, languages and cultures and as a result are likely to be unprepared to compete and lead in a global work environment.
  3. According to the Committee for Economic Development, seventy-seven percent of the public believes that high school programs in the United States are not adequately preparing students to understand current international affairs.” 
  4. The Committee for Economic Development said in 2006 that, "Compared to their counterparts from universities in other parts of the world, U.S. students are ‘strong technically’ but ‘shortchanged’ in cross-cultural experience and linguistically deprived.”

    Other statements (not from the CED report):
  5. In 2011, Bloomberg ranked world languages other than English in terms of US business demand for employees with skills in other languages. The number 1 in-demand language was Mandarin Chinese. In descending order after that were: French (no. 2) and Arabic (no. 3), with Spanish ranking fourth.  Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, German, Italian and Korean round out the top 10 languages needed by American businesses.
  6. More than one-third of businesses want people specifically for their language skills.
  7. Multilingual individuals can expect to earn between 2 and 20% more at their jobs than their monolingual colleagues, depending on the industry.
  8. There is a large (and largely unmet) demand for multilingual employees in journalism, computer games design industry, engineering, marketing and medicine.
  9. People who speak two or more languages are four times less likely to suffer cognitive impairments.
  10. Once you've learned one language, it is even easier to learn another one: research shows that bilinguals find it easier to learn a third language than monolinguals do to learn a second language.
  11. According to a 2012 statement by the Council on Foreign Relations, whose members include noted author Fareed Zakaria, "Americans who speak English alone will increasingly face a disadvantage in competing for some of the best jobs in business."
  12. A survey of American businesses operating oversees conducted by the Modern Language Association found that many companies give preference to candidates with foreign language skills when hiring new management personnel, provided other business experience and abilities are equal.
  13. Four out of five new jobs in the United States are created as a result of foreign trade, according to the National Council of State Supervisors of Foreign Language. 
  14. Each year, 200,000 Americans lose out on jobs with business because they don’t know another language, according to Edward Trimnell, author of Why you need a foreign language and how to learn one.
  15. World language study increases SAT scores in English/Language Arts and Math. The more years you study the same language, the greater the increase in those test scores.
  16. Recent research indicates that individuals who are bilingual or multilingual reduce their risk of dementia.
  17. Knowledge of world languages has correlated to increased problem-solving capabilities in children.
  18. Knowledge of world languages has been shown to increase mental flexibility in children.
  19. In his book, Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization, Yong Zhao  says that  “American companies lose an estimated 2 billion dollars a year due to inadequate cross-cultural guidance for their employees in multicultural situations.”  and “…nearly 30 percent of the companies believed they had failed to exploit fully their international business opportunities due to insufficient personnel with international skills.”  
  20. Author Tony Wagner states that “The skillfulness of individuals working with networks of people across boundaries and from different cultures has become an essential prerequisite for a growing number of multinational corporations.”
  21. "Success today depends on the awareness, understanding, and ability to navigate various customs and cultural differences, economic and political climates, work force conditions and expectations, unions and laws, customers, and competition—in essence, a global mindset." Excerpt from a fall 2007 article in Thunderbird Magazine titled, “Is a Global Mindset in Your DNA?”
  22. According to a recent National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) survey (cited in the 2008 Global Competencies Task Force Report from the University of Wisconsin-Madison), “employers pointed out that they hire for core skill sets including [...] intercultural communication skills and an ability to listen and effectively engage others."
  23. A recent University of Wisconsin–Madison report on “Global Talent” (Appendix H) that identified a general pattern in the fields most closely associated with a rising demand for global talent, including language proficiency. These fields included various forms of engineering, information technology, chemistry and biology, and management.”
  24. And, in a forward-thinking statement made in 1996 (pre-dating all of the recent attention being paid to the imperative to enhance our country’s linguistic and cultural capacity), the American Association of School Administrators said, “Knowledge of foreign languages is one of the most important skills that students will need to develop in order to prosper in this century.”
  25. According to a 2012 statement by the Council on Foreign Relations, whose members include noted author Fareed Zakaria, "Americans who speak English alone will increasingly face a disadvantage in competing for some of the best jobs in business."
And, here's a new infographic from Kaplan:

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