The U.S. Foreign Language Deficit

Strategies for Maintaining a Competitive Edge in a Globalized World

Kathleen Stein-Smith

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9783319341583
• eBook ISBN:
  9783319341590
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

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.

Part I
The Extent and Impact of the U.S. Foreign Language Deficit

© The Author(s) 2016

Kathleen Stein-SmithThe U.S. Foreign Language Deficit10.1007/978-3-319-34159-0_1

Begin Abstract

1. The Current Status of Languages in the United States

Kathleen Stein-Smith¹

(1)

Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, New Jersey, USA

Abstract

According to a Gallup poll, only 25% of Americans possess the ability to conduct a conversation in a language other than English. According to the Modern Language Association (MLA), only 8.1% of U.S. college and university students are enrolled in a course in a language other than English, and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) reports that only 18.5% of K-12 students study a foreign language. The United States has no official language.

Keywords

Lingua franca Foreign language deficitMonolingualismOfficial languageCelebritiesLoan words

End Abstract

According to a Gallup poll, only 25% of Americans possess the ability to conduct a conversation in a language other than English. When immigrants, their children, and other heritage language speakers are subtracted, that leaves 10% of Americans with foreign language skills.

According to the Modern Language Association (MLA), only 8.1% of United States college and university students are enrolled in a course in a language other than English, and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) reports that only 18.5% of K-12 students study a foreign language.

On the other hand, a recent Eurobarometer survey reported that 56% of the respondents reported that they felt comfortable holding a conversation in another language, 28% felt comfortable conversing in two other languages, and 11% were able to hold a conversation in two or more additional languages.

The reasons for this U.S. and—to some extent—global anglophone foreign language deficit have been attributed to a variety of causes, ranging from the rise of English as a global lingua franca to American parochialism.

Determining the reason(s) for the lack of interest and/or achievement in foreign languages is important in developing an effective response and in successfully addressing this foreign language deficit, and multiple reasons may require a multifaceted strategic social marketing campaign, targeting distinct subsets of potential foreign language learners.

However, the reality is that many—possibly even most—Americans do not even give foreign languages more than a passing thought on a typical day, and if they do, it is typically the fleeting thought that speakers of other languages should be learning and speaking English. Reflecting this, fewer than half of the 50 states have a foreign language requirement for high school graduation.

Confident in the seemingly global reach of English and historically focused on local, regional, and national events, Americans are quietly—and effectively—being left behind and marginalized in an increasingly interconnected and globalized world. Global mobility is growing at an increasingly rapid pace, including students and professionals, and today’s global talent is seemingly effortlessly multilingual, with a repertory of linguistic and cultural knowledge and skills, typically including global languages such as French and English, international languages such as Spanish, and locally and regionally important languages such as Portuguese, German, Russian, Chinese, and so on.

On the other hand, even a relatively internationally minded American is likely to lack more than a superficial knowledge of one additional language, typically Spanish, and Global/International Studies undergraduate major programs are unlikely to require a foreign language beyond the intermediate level, which does not generally represent business proficiency, when there is a foreign language requirement at all.

The importance of foreign language skills is sometimes less than noticeable to many of us in our daily routine, which typically may not include the need to use another language, and it is important to remember that most Americans, even in an interconnected, globalized world where travel is relatively within reach financially for many, still do not have a passport.

However, employers are looking for those with foreign language skills. In fact, the gap between demand and supply of foreign language skills is growing, and the reasons for this include the increasing importance of exports, especially of services, as part of the continuing economic recovery; a burgeoning languages services sector; widespread government need for foreign language skills; and the search for global talent with foreign language knowledge and intercultural skills by multinational corporations. Despite this increasing importance of foreign language skill in the workplace, there has not been an equivalent resurgence of foreign language learning among current and prospective workers.

Our safety and security also depend on foreign language knowledge. Whether the discussion revolves around the need for foreign language skills in government agencies at the federal, state, and local level—in social services agencies, courts, hospitals, law enforcement, the military, the diplomatic service, and so on, or whether it is a question of the ability of a monolingual English-speaking American to develop a broader understanding of global issues without being able to understand and read about other worldviews expressed in other languages, foreign languages are essential to our individual safety and security, and to that of our society. At the same time, there is a worsening shortage of qualified foreign language teachers, resulting in part from the precipitous decline in foreign language majors in the 1970s and 80s.

On another level, our personal, individual quality of life is enhanced by knowledge of other languages and cultures, and diminished by the lack thereof. Americans are relatively less likely to be able to appreciate literature, film, and vocal music in the original; to be less likely to able to connect with locals during travel; and in conversation, the monolingual American is less likely to be aware of the current issues, history, and cultural figures of another culture than a comparable international.

To add to the factors militating against American monolingualism, neuroscience tells us that bilingualism, the frequent use of more than one language, helps us to make more rational decisions and to stave off dementia, and educational research tells us that knowledge of another language is an asset both to bilingual students mastering English and to English-speaking Americans learning a foreign language.

While this lack of intercultural literacy may seem at first only disheartening, it is actually a cause for serious concern for all of us, putting our national and economic security at risk, adding a career disadvantage, rather than an asset, to our resume or curriculum vitae (CV), and making it more difficult for us to be globally fluent.

And no global lingua franca lasts forever. Latin, Spanish, and French have played this role for a time, and history tells us that English is likely to be supplanted at some future date, or perhaps to evolve into a simplified global English, sometimes referred to as “Globish.” This uncertain future of English in a globalized world is yet another reason for all of us to be concerned about the lack of foreign language skills in the U.S.

The U.S. foreign language deficit, deeply rooted in our history and culture, has worsened over recent decades, at a time when globalization has made the need to address it all the more urgent.

An example of the worsening of deficit is the decline in the percentage of postsecondary students enrolled in a course in a language other than English—from 16% in 1960, to 8.1%, according to the most recent MLA Enrollment Survey available. The absolute numbers may not have decreased, but the percentage of educated Americans likely to have some foreign language knowledge has decreased by 50% in the last 50 years, just as postcolonialism has given way to globalization, and increased interconnectedness has increased the need for foreign language skills.

It is important that we take action—as individuals among our family, friends, and communities; as professionals within the workplace and within our professional associations; as educators within our schools, school districts, and institutions of higher learning; as public intellectuals by speaking out for foreign languages; as citizens by voting, advocating, and being candidates for public office; and as strategists by planning a multifaceted strategic social marketing campaign for foreign languages.

The time is now—to work together to bring about the urgently needed resurgence of foreign languages—for ourselves, our careers, and our society, but most importantly, for our future and for that of our children.

Languages in the United States

Many people believe that English is the official language of the U.S., but it is not. The U.S. has no de jure official language, but English is the de facto language for government, business, and social use. In fact, a widely circulated urban legend, the Muhlenberg Legend, has it that German had barely missed by one vote in the House of Representatives becoming the official language of the U.S..

Many languages co-exist in the U.S., with different languages more predominant at different periods in history. French, English, and Spanish in the U.S. are part of a postcolonial legacy of the First French Colonial Empire, the British Empire, and the Spanish Empire. Other languages, at times including the three postcolonial languages, have been brought to the U.S. by groups of immigrants over the centuries and into the current era. According to the U.S. Census, more Americans listed German ancestry than any other: over 46 million individuals in 2014. However, although German is the third most widely studied language in the U.S., with just under 400,000 K-12 public school students enrolled, according to the ACTFL Enrollment Survey, relatively few Americans speak German today, with just over 1 million Americans over the age of five listed in the Census report Language Use in the United States.

According to Language Use in the United States, according to responses to the U.S. Census 2011 American Community Survey, over 60 million, or one in five Americans over the age of five, speak a language other than English in the home. In fact, 350 languages are spoken within the U.S.

Other than English, Spanish is by far the most widely spoken language in the U.S., with just over 37.5 million listed as speaking Spanish in the home. In descending order, Chinese, French, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, and German round out the list of languages, each with more than 1 million speakers listed.

When considered in terms of states, in 2014 Slate published several very illustrative maps based on the Census. The first, entitled “Most Commonly Spoken Languages Other than English,” highlighted the predictable prevalence of Spanish, with only few states—Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Louisiana (French); North Dakota (German); Hawaii (Tagalog); and Alaska (Yupik)—showing a language other than Spanish ranking second. However, the second map, entitled “Most Commonly Spoken Language Other than English or Spanish,” presented a much more varied picture, with German the most prevalent in 16 states; French the most widely spoken in 11 states and French Creole in a 12th state; Vietnamese in four states; Tagalog in three states; Korean, Italian, and Navajo in two states; and Dakota, Hmong, Russian, Chinese, Portuguese, Yupik, Arabic, and Polish in one state each.

Comparing the most frequently spoken languages in the U.S. (Spanish, Chinese, French, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, and German) with the foreign languages most studied in K-12 public schools (Spanish, French, German, Latin, Japanese, Chinese, and Russian), the match is not complete. If college and university foreign language enrollments are examined, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Latin, Arabic, Russian are the leaders; again, foreign language study does not entirely reflect the languages spoken in the U.S. (Note: American Sign Language, replacing German at number 3, has not been included in this listing).

In addition, the most widely spoken languages in the world are Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi, Arabic, Bengali, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, German, and French. Again, the comparison of languages spoken and languages studied does not reveal a complete match between the foreign languages studied and those spoken.

Foreign Languages in the Media—Film, Fiction, and Bilingual Celebrities

One of the most high-profile foreign language news stories in recent years was the popularity of the Pope’s translator, Monsignor Mark Miles, and the attention he received from the media and the general public as he translated from Spanish to English during the Pope’s 2015 visit to the U.S.

The use of foreign languages in the media, both fictional and reality-based, can raise awareness among students and young people as to the usefulness and desirability of foreign language skills, and can even be used as part of the curriculum and/or teaching methodology.

While representations of languages in the media can be used to reinforce foreign language skills like vocabulary and listening comprehension, foreign language media is especially useful in terms of seeing the world through another perspective, or lens, and in a direct or indirect manner.

For example, viewing the evening news in another language illustrates the relative importance of specific news stories in the local news market. For example, stories that lead the U.S. news may follow stories of larger local importance in a news broadcast from another part of the world, or in U.S-based news in another language, which will typically include features about the U.S., as well as about other parts of the world where the language of the broadcast is the predominant language, about local personalities and celebrities in a specific linguistic group, or about sport that is followed by a particular linguistic group in the U.S.

Popular broadcast programs and feature films teach about the target culture in an indirect manner, by representation of social situations, family relationships, and so on, rather than narrative description. Talk shows, soap operas, and general entertainment can complement news and feature films in terms of both cultural knowledge and language skills.

The best-known example of a U.S.-based bilingual TV series is the classic ¿Que Pasa, U.S.A.?, a PBS sitcom set in Miami in the 1970s, describing the lives of a Cuban-American family, with language(s) playing a significant role. Stand and Deliver and American Family are examples of a movie and TV series that incorporate Spanish language words and phrases, as do Dora the Explorer and Spy Kids among media intended primarily for children.

Another series where language plays a central role is the recent series Destination: Francophonie, a documentary series featuring parts of the world where the French language is an official, predominant, or influential language. TV5Monde even provides relevant episode- and topic-related instructional materials for educational use. The bilingual scenes in Bon Cop, Bad Cop and Louis Cyr, both Canadian films, clearly illustrate Canadian French-English bilingualism, as does Justin Trudeau parle le bilingue couramment!!! a widely viewed YouTube video of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier in his political career.

While these and other media can be used to complement instruction, several series have been developed specifically to convey curriculum, most notably French in Action and Destinos, for French and Spanish, respectively, produced by PBS in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Originally broadcast, and subsequently available on VHS and DVD, they are freely available online. A variety of support materials are available for both, with a sequel series of Destinos and an update of French in Action available.

The 2004 film, Year of the Yao, is among the most interesting, depicting the role of Yao Ming’s personal assistant and translator during the basketball star’s first year in the NBA.

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Frontmatter
• 1. The Extent and Impact of the U.S. Foreign Language Deficit
• 2. Foreign Language Learning
• 3. The Campaign for Foreign Languages
• Backmatter