The federal government has decided that to begin programs in teaching foreign languages to preschool students in Ohio. According to Ohio.com, "Teaching Arabic, Chinese and Spanish to children as young as preschoolers is part of a blueprint created by business, education and government leaders to boost the state's economy [...] The plan, called the "Ohio Language Roadmap for the 21st Century," lists things the state can do to better compete globally, more warmly welcome foreigners with limited English skills and strengthen state and national security."
Among the features of the plan are expanding instruction in foreign languages, hiring more foreign language teachers, creating a shopping center for foreign language materials, developing a social-networking group related to language, and offering grants and fellowships to boost knowledge of foreign languages.
Ohio, according to Wikipedia, is not among the states that have accepted English as their official language (California is, even though it has agreed to publish documents in foreign languages for minority groups). Some states, such as Louisiana and Maine, have adopted a bi or tri-lingual status that Ohio also has not adopted. Though English accounts for 93.9% of the languages spoken in Ohio (as seen here: http://www2.ignatius.edu/faculty/turner/langus.htm#Languages_Spoken_in_Ohio_ ), there are also numerous other languages spoken in the state, including primarily Arabic, Chinese, and Spanish. Thus, it is reasonable for the state to wish for a more multicultural approach to accepting speakers of foreign languages. As Robert Slater, director of the National Security Education Program in Washington, remarked, "The program will also likely strengthen state and national security by improving U.S. relations with other countries and helping new immigrants."
This stress on foreign languages clearly demonstrates the extent of globalization in our modern world. Multiculturalism has become a central tenet of many states and education programs in the US, due to high influx of immigrants and multiple generations of foreigners. However, what is the impetus for this stress on learning foreign languages? The only available conclusion is that it makes communication easier, to the extent where it apparently aids national security. This clearly points to the idea that people think differently in different languages, if it is necessary to understand a foreign language simply to provide for security. Miscommunication between an American and an Spanish person in even a simple setting could spark an unpleasant situation due to cultural differences inherent in their respective languages. Imagine a reference of an American to embarassment, which could be mistranslated to the Spanish person as 'pregnant' (which is 'embarasado' in Spanish). Obviously, the necessity of having a matching language is crucial to the understanding of foreign nationals in Ohio. In a world becoming more and more pluralistic, I wouldn't be surprised to see these programs forming all over the nation.
http://www.ohio.com/news/ap?articleID=164111&c=y
PS: As a funny sidenote, the article states that "Federal officials have put $333,333 behind the pilot program." That just seems like an odd number.
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4 comments:
I read this article too and found it very interesting. The thing that stood out to me was that they focused so much on the benefits of foreign language to the economy and national security. I personally think there is so much more importance in the direct relationships between people and cultures but I can definitely understand where they are coming from. I feel like the majority of people who live in other countries know at least one other foreign language; at least most of the foreign exchange students that would come to my high school did. The study of foreign languages doesn't seem to be emphasized as much in the United States where English is so dominant.
Do you think that implementing more programs for children and young adults to learn other languages in places like Ohio will really contribute to make the state more successful and globally competitive? I understand the need for officials and government workers to be able to communicate in other languages, but how can the focus on preschoolers and other non-adults help this success? Just curious on your opinion :)
P.S. I remember in my first year of Spanish I used the word embarazada.......quite embarassing hahha.
After I read your blog and the article itself, I appreciated your view. I also found myself asking different questions about the situation. For example, I wonder why Ohio, Oregon, and Texas were targeted for this initiative. What qualities about those states provide for a greater rate of success of this program? Is it that the infrastructures of the educational systems in these states are somehow more flexible and able to accommodate the financial and cultural requirements of instituting new language programs?
Great post and discussion! I am curious about your claim that "This clearly points to the idea that people think differently in different languages, if it is necessary to understand a foreign language simply to provide for security." Does the language and thought relation really fall out of this situation? It would be interesting to hear more about your motivation for this idea!
I really enjoyed reading your entry-- I think that it's incredibly important that we examine the impact of globalization on language.
Like Steve, I'm curious about your claim that the fact that a greater emphasis on learning foreign languages implies that speaking different languages mean we think differently-- are you referring to the misunderstandings that occur when we communicate in different languages (like in your Spanish/English example), or a fundamental difference in thought?
Also, some people argue that globalization is just an extension of imperialism. Do you think that the plan instituted in Ohio contradicts or reflects the theory of language imperialism?
P.S. $333,333 IS a bizarre number! Someone was having fun with the budget...
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