The U S Foreign Language Deficit

This volume explores why Americans are among the least likely in the world to speak another language and how this U.S. foreign language deficit negatively impacts national and economic security, business and career prospects. Stein-Smith exposes how individuals are disadvantaged through their inability to effectively navigate the global workplace and multicultural communities, how their career options are limited by the foreign language deficit, and even how their ability to enjoy travel abroad and cultural pursuits is diminished. Through exploring the impact of the U.S. foreign language deficit, the author speaks to the stakeholders and partners in the campaign for foreign languages, offering guidance on what can and should be done to address it. She examines the next steps needed to develop specific career pathways that will meet the current and future needs of government, business, and industry, and empower foreign language learners through curriculum and career preparation.

This volume explores why Americans are among the least likely in the world to speak another language and how this U.S. foreign language deficit negatively impacts national and economic security, business and career prospects. Stein-Smith exposes how individuals are disadvantaged through their inability to effectively navigate the global workplace and multicultural communities, how their career options are limited by the foreign language deficit, and even how their ability to enjoy travel abroad and cultural pursuits is diminished. Through exploring the impact of the U.S. foreign language deficit, the author speaks to the stakeholders and partners in the campaign for foreign languages, offering guidance on what can and should be done to address it. She examines the next steps needed to develop specific career pathways that will meet the current and future needs of government, business, and industry, and empower foreign language learners through curriculum and career preparation.

The emergence of newer international standards and the focus on STEM education are transforming entire educational sectors. Yet, as schools focus more attention to developing global competencies and 21st century skills in their pedagogy, it has become critical to re-engage educators and school communities with the goals of language education, multilingualism, and multiliteracy while promoting interconnectedness, empathy, and mutual comprehension among our youth. With this in mind, it is important to understand the potential of multilingual education as it can serve our societies’ new expectations, and provide the right tools for success to our younger generations. The Gift of Languages: Paradigm Shift In U.S. Foreign Language Education explores the many advantages of multilingual education and sets the stage for a new paradigm in our approach to teaching and learning languages. The book touches on the issue of foreign language deficit in the United States and the changes that need to occur in our schools to better serve our children and our linguistic communities. The book also explores the growth of dual-language education in recent years and explores the connection between both multilingual programming and solving the United States’ foreign language problem. The discussion on language education in the United States has never been neutral; moreover, it has traditionally provided substantive direction and exerted significant authority over educational policy. Yet, this debate needs to move towards viewing multilingual education as an essential approach for our society, and as something that should be prevalent among educational policymakers. The audience for this book includes educators, language teachers, school leaders, school boards, program directors, scholars, and policy makers particularly if they want to join forces in building the future of education and investing in the multilingual capital of our nation. This book is part of The Bilingual Revolution Series. Praises We are at a critical point in our nation in which we can continue to hold on to our monolingual past, or embrace a multilingual and more inclusive future. The Gift of Languages helps us prepare and understand the necessary paradigm shift to adopt and implement a multilingual curriculum and mindset in our schools and communities. Co-authored by two pioneers and experienced experts in the bi- and multilingual education space, the book is a must read for educators, policy makers, community leaders, students, and interested parents who want to make meaningful changes now. – Andrew H. Clark, Ph.D. Chair, Dept. of Modern Languages & Literatures, Fordham University The Gift of Languages should awaken all Americans, especially the policy makers, for the need to raise future generations of multilingual citizens to compete and thrive in our global community. One of our founding fathers and presidents, Thomas Jefferson, spoke to and acted upon the need for teaching languages when he founded the University of Virginia; as a nation, we have not lived up to his words and actions. Let us remind ourselves that we started out a linguistically and culturally diverse group of peoples that came together to build a strong nation over the years. Linguistic diversity is the gift that our nation needs to give itself! – Francesco L. Fratto President, The Foreign Language Association of Chairpersons and Supervisors “Mastering languages is essential for communicating with and understanding others, respecting each other, and appreciating our heritages and our roots. The Gift of Languages offers an invaluable toolbox for policy makers, educators, families and students who are already working in the field of language and those who hope to create the kind of paradigm shift that the authors advocate. The book provides cogent arguments in favor of expanded language learning at all levels, and especially argues in favor of expanding the breadth and variety of multilingual educational opportunities already spreading in public school systems from Utah to Louisiana to New York and beyond. The authors cite examples of the “Bilingual Revolution” already underway and provide the kinds of arguments and examples that resonate for educators and drive policy towards furthering the way we value language education in the United States. The book is indispensable for anyone interested in the future of foreign language education.” – Jane F. Ross, Ph.D. President and Founder, French Heritage Language Program Over 60% of people on the planet are bilingual or multilingual — which suggests that this is the norm for human beings — and multiple studies demonstrate the cognitive, social, political, and financial benefits of bilingualism. Yet in the United States, we regularly hear news stories about people being shamed, bullied, and sometimes violently harmed for speaking other languages, even when they also speak English. Accessibly written, this book offers detailed arguments for both why and how the nation should embrace and promote linguistic diversity. Options for adults are expertly addressed, yet the authors invest even greater passion and detail in promoting early educational programs in which no child is left monolingual. I can think of no better way to shift our nation’s view of itself from “English Only” to “English Plus” and create a more inclusive society. We need a roadmap, and this book clearly lays out the territory and possible trajectories as it motivates us to make the journey. – Kimberly J. Potowski, Ph.D. Professor in the Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago About the Authors Fabrice Jaumont is the author of The Bilingual Revolution: The Future of Education is in Two Languages (TBR Books, 2017), which provides inspirational vignettes and practical advice for parents and educators who want to create a dual-language program in their own school. He has also published several books and articles on philanthropy, higher education, heritage languages, cinema, and the arts. Fabrice Jaumont is Education Attaché for the Embassy of France to the United States, a Program Director for FACE Foundation in New York, and the founder of New York in French. He is also a Senior Fellow at Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme in Paris. Fabrice Jaumont holds a Ph.D. in Comparative and International Education from New York University. For more information, visit the author’s blog: fabricejaumont.net Kathleen Stein-Smith is the author of The U.S. Foreign Language Deficit: Strategies for Maintaining a Competitive Edge in a Globalized World (Palgrave-MacMillan, 2016), The U.S. Foreign Language Deficit and How It Can Be Effectively Addressed in the Globalized World: A Bibliographic Essay (Edwin Mellen Press, 2013), and The U.S. Foreign Language Deficit and Our Economic and National Security: A Bibliographic Essay on the U.S. Language Paradox. (Edwin Mellen Press, 2013). Kathleen Stein-Smith is Associate University Librarian at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Chair of the American Association of Teachers of French Commission on Advocacy, and member of the American Translators Association Education & Pedagogy Committee. She has taught foreign languages at high school and college level, taught adult learners, delivered TEDx talk on the U.S. foreign language deficit. She holds a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Union Institute & University. For more information, visit the author’s blog: kathleensteinsmith.wordpress.com

An urgent and compelling examination of the foreign language deficit facing the U.S. In an ever expanding global marketplace this is a useful book for government leaders, educators, business leaders and the U.S. public in general.

The Art of Teaching Russian offers Russian-language practitioners current research, pedagogy, and specific methodologies for teaching the Russian language and culture in the twenty-first century. With contributions from the leading professionals in the field, this collection covers the most important aspects of teaching the Russian language.

This volume challenges traditional approaches to foreign language education and proposes to redefine them in our age of international migration and globalization. Foreign language classrooms are no longer populated by monolingual students, but increasingly by multilingual students with highly diverse language backgrounds. This necessitates a new understanding of foreign language learning and teaching. The volume brings together an international group of researchers of high caliber who specialize in third language acquisition, teaching English as an additional language, and multilingual education. In addition to topical overview articles on the multilingual policies pursued in Europe, Africa, North America, and Asia, as well as several contributions dealing with theoretical issues regarding multilingualism and plurilingualism, the volume also offers cutting edge case studies from multilingual acquisition research and foreign language classroom practice. Throughout the volume, multilingualism is interpreted as a valuable resource that can facilitate language education provided it is harnessed in appropriate conditions.

Decolonizing Foreign Language Education interrogates current foreign language and second language education approaches that prioritize white, western thought. Edited by acclaimed critical theorist and linguist Donaldo Macedo, this volume includes cutting-edge work by a select group of critical language scholars working to rigorously challenge the marginalization of foreign language education and the displacement of indigenous and non-standard language varieties through the reification of colonial languages. Each chapter confronts the hold of colonialism and imperialism that inform and shape the relationship between foreign language education and literary studies by asserting that a critical approach to applied linguistics is just as important a tool for FL/ESL/EFL educators as literature or linguistic theory.