Program Background
Senators Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) have worked together to introduce a Resolution to designate 2005 as the Year of Languages in the United States. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages has worked with the Senators in seeking sponsors for the Resolution and to bring it to the Senate floor for a vote. We anticipate this resolution will pass sometime in the spring of 2004. In addition, ACTFL will be pursuing a similar Resolution in the House of Representatives and a Proclamation from the President of the United States to promote the Year of Languages.
The Year of Languages in the United States will parallel events and celebrations that have already taken place in other parts of the world. The year 2001 was designated the Year of Languages in Europe and since that time, Europeans have been celebrating one week of language promotion every year. The year 2006 has been designated the Year of Languages in China and Chinese citizens are reportedly excited about the opportunity to learn additional languages to prepare for the Olympics that will be held in Beijing in 2008.
The United States has a history of multilingualism. Since the founding of the nation, other cultures and other languages have played an integral part in the development of our democracy. In fact, the democracy in the United States could not have been founded without the multilingual capacity of citizens such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, as well as many others who served as ambassadors to France and helped to solidify the funding necessary for the War of Independence. Jefferson himself was fluent in French and could communicate and read in several additional languages.
For more than two hundred years, Americans have continued this tradition of valuing other cultures as successive waves of immigrants settled in the United States seeking democracy and freedom from oppression in their homelands. While coming to the United States, immigrants of all nationalities and races have experienced the importance of becoming Americans and learning English, while at the same time they maintain a cultural tie to many other parts of the world through an appreciation for their deep cultural roots. Through local and regional festivals, artistic performances, heritage language learning opportunities, as well as through many ethnic customs and foods that are shared across our diverse cultures in the United States, Americans continue to celebrate their diversity in many different ways.
At the same time that we recognize the importance of appreciating one another in our nation, it is increasingly clear that Americans need to be prepared to the highest level to understand the world and to live in a world where mutual respect and understanding prevail. Recent events in our history point to the devastating effects of not knowing or understanding other languages and cultures.
American parents whose children will enter the work force in the twenty-first century are increasingly aware of the importance of global travel and of the access to knowledge that technology will provide across cultures and across languages. They are also aware of the challenges and opportunities involved in living and raising children in a diverse nation and world. Parents throughout the United States, regardless of their socio-economic status, are clamoring to have languages added to the early curriculum. At the same time, schools and colleges are finding it difficult to create new programs due to ever-present budget realities. New and innovative approaches to having children learn languages need to emerge in both public and private schools, as well as in the proprietary language schools.
Americans of all ages are studying languages. From preschools through high schools and postsecondary institutions to elder hostels, adolescents and adults of all ages are requesting that language courses be part of the curriculum and offerings in schools and adult education programs.
This year of celebration of languages will serve also as a look to the future for American youth who will be entering the work force at a time when international understanding, cross-cultural awareness and linguistic capacity are increasingly important for their success as Americans and as citizens of the broader world. It is not easy to negotiate contracts, enter into business relationships, start friendships or deal with adversarial encounters if one does not understand the languages and the cultures of the rest of the world.
Our nation values linguistic and cultural diversity, international education and learning languages. It is time to celebrate our historic and important ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity and future.
Celebration of the Year of Languages will provide many opportunities for Americans to understand the language learning process. Americans will be able to attend national and international events devoted to the importance of other cultures and other languages. Also, at the same time as Americans are looking outward at ways to acquire new languages, they will be celebrating the indigenous languages that have formed an important part of the American fabric. The Year of Languages will help us to identify speakers of our indigenous languages and the rich cultural heritage and traditions that they bring to the founding of the United States.
The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in collaboration with the United States Department of Education, the United States Congress and the United States Department of State is encouraging all language organizations, business groups and international economic councils, chambers of commerce in the United States, United States embassies abroad, foreign consulates and embassies in the United States and international governments to join with us to form an exciting array of activities that will provide Americans with a new and fresh perspective on the value of learning other languages.
We anticipate that the Year of Languages will be the launch pad for many future activities that will take place on an annual basis in the United States. We encourage international exchanges to be highlighted and expanded. Student and adult exchanges will be encouraged, as well as virtual exchanges of students, scholars and professionals. We will support an ongoing list of activities through a web site devoted to the Year of Languages that will be hosted by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and other collaborating organizations.
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