Nestled among the trees and lakes of Northern Minnesota lie over a dozen learning communities of global scope and national significance. These are the language villages of Concordia College where each year more than 11,000 young people attend summer camps and school year sessions immersed in a foreign culture and language for the benefit of their personal education and also'often unrecognized'the future of United States diplomacy and security.
When my seventh-grade German class visited Concordia's Waldsee village one winter weekend, we were required to properly identify and ask for food and drink at meals in the 'local' vernacular. If you could not muster a German 'Please pass the Wiener schnitzel,' you were likely to walk away hungrig.
Today, the diners at the international table are shifting positions as 'Old Europe' and the Cold War players of our parents' generation are consuming and, hence, growing less. Further, those requesting the butter are more likely to ask in Arabic, Hindi or Chinese. Unfortunately, our government and education system have been slow to adequately respond to the growing language barriers with up-and-coming world powers and dangerous global factions.
One language essential to our nation's future is Arabic, spoken by more than 200 million people in the Middle East and North Africa. Crucial for intelligence gathering and other security purposes, Arabic education has seen dramatic amplification since 9/11 but requires a broader base and a younger audience.
In 2004, students could learn Arabic at approximately 70 elementary and secondary schools across the United States, according to the Center for Applied Linguistics. Most of these schools are private Islamic institutions, not public schools. High school students should be given the opportunity to study Arabic, in order to increase cultural awareness and make college coursework more accessible.
Looming across the Pacific, perhaps the greatest threat to American hegemony in the future, China continues to grow in every measurable way. With four times the population of the United States'1.3 billion people'China is the second largest energy consumer and third largest importer of oil, behind the United States and Japan.
Economically, China is now the world's fourth-largest economy and is growing twice as fast as the United States. An example of American commercial migration, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz told CNBC last year his company is likely to have more cafes in China than in the United States by 2008.
China is also home to the largest army on the planet'2.5 million strong'and the fourth-largest defense budget, which is increasing by more than 10 percent each year. Whether China will surpass the United States, it is certain to continue to rise in prominence and influence, making Mandarin Chinese'the world's most spoken language'critical for the future of international relations and business.
Nevertheless, Chinese education in the United States lacks interest, support and, most importantly, instructors. According to The Washington Post, although 200 million Chinese students study English, there are only approximately 2,000 teachers of Chinese in the United States. This is woefully inadequate, and our government is finally taking action.
Last week, President Bush'often lacking in the linguistic arts on a personal level'announced an administration-wide program coordinated through the Departments of State, Defense and Education, along with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, to promote and fund education in languages critical to U.S. security'Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Persian, Hindi and certain Central Asian languages. For $114 million in the next fiscal year, the National Security Language Initiative will create and expand language-learning opportunities from kindergarten through the university level and into the workforce. It will also establish the National Language Service Corps for Americans who speak critical languages.
While promising, the initiative is typical of American solutions: throw more money at the problem. It is American students who must re-evaluate the languages we study and give them greater priority in our curricula'my German skills have not much improved since middle school. Too many of us study exotic languages more likely to come in handy on vacation than in the service of our country or future employers.
A Newsweek headline last year captured the essence of our changing linguistic needs: 'The future doesn't speak French.' Accordingly, Concordia now operates a Chinese Village and in July will launch an Arabic Village called The Oasis.
Yet, language education cannot be as secluded as an 'oasis' in the Minnesota woods'the stakes are too high. Our generation cannot walk away hungry.
Does anyone know how to say, in Chinese, 'Pass the future, please'?
