What does it take to produce global citizens?
Bernd Debusmann published an article today examining the extreme lack of foreign language and international training among Americans.
Debusmann points out that this isn't a new trend, and despite the surge of American citizens enrolling in Arabic language classes post 9/11, about half the number of American college students enroll in foreign language classes today as compared to 1965.
The book was entitled "The Tongue-Tied American: Confronting the Foreign Language Crisis" and its author found that a deficit of language skills threatened U.S. business and national security. That was in 1980. The words "globalization" and "jihad" had not yet become household terms.
Fast forward to the present and the latest report on foreign languages and international education by the research council of the National Academies: "A pervasive lack of knowledge about foreign cultures and foreign languages threatens the security of the United States as well as its ability to compete in the foreign market place."
So has nothing changed since the late Paul Simon, then a congressman, later a senator, warned about the consequences of a tongue-tied America? Judging from a wealth of statistics, there has been much effort but little progress.
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A Serious Problem
Knowledge about other languages and cultures is essential for producing global citizens. The severe lack of this type of knowledge among Americans is a serious issue. Many American schools have tried to address the problem by expanding their basic language programs. Many of these programs, however, do not promote long term language study which leads to fluency in the language. Americans need to have a more in depth understanding of other languages and cultures so that they may become more active global citizens.
It is natural for people to
It is natural for people to be apprehensive about the unknown. Throughout history, fabrications and assumptions have contributed to this fear. Some contemporary examples include: women who join the workforce will neglect their children; Latinos illegally cross into US territories and steal jobs from American citizens; black people are violent and sell illicit drugs; people of Middle Eastern descent want to “terrorize” innocent civilians and destroy democracy; and that homosexuals are radical and perverted, even sexually predatory. An anecdote from a friend, a story from the media, or propaganda from a politician can compel an individual to believe a certain group is threatening. These misconceptions are prevalent, and they lead people to misdirect their resentment towards others who may not actually instigate harm. Oftentimes, it is a lack of understanding between two groups that leads them to engage in hateful and violent behavior.
As national security, the global economy, and the environment become increasingly important to Americans, we must reach out to other cultures and learn effective ways of communicating our needs and concerns. Through education, we can work across cultural differences. However, through fear and ignorance, we will find ourselves completing a self-fulfilling prophesy of destruction.
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