Tennessee Elementary School Teacher Tamara Boyer guides her second-grade class through a Russian language lesson: Image Credit – Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal
Thanks to Mark Overmann at the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange for the summary of this important legislation:
Reps. Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Paul Tonko (D-NY) introduced last Friday the Excellence and Innovation in Language Learning Act (HR 6036), a bill that would authorize $400 million in funding for FY 2011 for the teaching of foreign languages to K-12 students. The sponsoring Representatives hope that the bill will become part of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or “No Child Left Behind,” in the Department of Education. Tonko spoke abouthis intention to introduce this bill two weeks ago at a policy briefing on language learning in the global age: “The next generation must not follow the globe, but shape it,” Tonko said, noting that foreign language instruction for young Americans is imperative to “U.S. national security and global leadership challenges.”
Full text of the bill is here.
The Asia Society also organized a special briefing for Members of Congress on the importance of learning languages. A summary of that briefing is here.
The supporters of the legislation note the national security and economic reasons for increased language proficiency among Americans. That’s all true, to be sure. Being able to read novels, establish friendships, listen to songs, watch movies and understand jokes – all in other languages – also has an inherent value to an educated citizenry, right?