Language skills key in global economy

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Having recently returned from an international trip, I was struck by the reaction to presidential candidate Barack Obama's comments that American parents should encourage their children to study foreign languages. According to ABC News, Obama's comments “…prompted outrage from some…groups who argued his remarks were an endorsement of the idea that Americans should be forced to learn Spanish. “As the blogger Digby put it, “Have we really dumbed ourselves down so much in this country that presidential candidates have to apologize for saying that children should learn things?”

Most of the reaction misses the mark completely. No one advocates forcing Americans to learn Spanish. And consider this from Rasmussen Reports: “A national telephone survey conducted last month by Rasmussen Reports found that US voters overwhelmingly disagree with the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.” The poll found that 83% of Americans place a higher priority on encouraging immigrants to speak English as their primary language while 13% say it is more important for Americans to learn other languages.

But here is what Obama said: “We should be emphasizing foreign languages in our schools from an early age.” Nowhere did he say that it's less important that immigrants learn English. In fact, I expect he would agree, as I do, with the 83%—I think it's more important for immigrants to learn English than it is for Americans to learn another language. But that's not to say it's unimportant that Americans make the effort.

Americans—including frequent travelers—often point out that English speakers needn't learn other languages because people in other countries speak English. That's true to a point, and English tends to be the international language of business. Further, it's unlikely in this era of globalization that a language barrier would stand in the way of a sale. I had to go back to the period between the world wars to find an example where language differences did hinder a transaction; the May 5, 1920, New York Times article “Refuses to Conduct Business in French” quotes a Hamburg functionary replying, in German, to a French official: “I can express only profound astonishment that you presumed to write to me in French…I cannot tolerate the fact that…you did not address in German your requests and solicitations.”

Such an attitude is unlikely to be given voice today. But it is true that most companies find it advantageous to employ people fluent in the languages their customers speak. And colleges advise students that mastering a foreign language is an important step in preparing for business careers. The University of Pittsburgh, for instance, offers foreign-language courses geared toward undergraduate business students.

It's not just businesses that value language proficiency. The US House Armed Services Oversight and Investigations subcommittee heard last month that military personnel need more language skills—and that those skills are best learned in elementary school.

There may be reasons why it's not practical to initiate widespread foreign-language education in elementary schools—not least of which might be a lack of competent teachers. But the concept is one that candidates and voters of all parties should be able to support—for the benefit of business and the security of the country.