| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Contact: Beth Day |
| March 15, 2001 | (202)224-6404 |
Washington, D.C. - Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) introduced a bill today that would make changes in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act encouraging the teaching of a second language to students, particularly in schools with a high population of disadvantaged students.
The Foreign Language Acquisition and Proficiency Improvement Act of 2001 will also provide schools with incentives to initiate foreign language programs that promote technology and other innovative instruction techniques to make the teaching of foreign language more effective. According to the Center for Applied Linguistics, the early study of a second language offers many benefits for students including academic achievement, positive attitudes toward diversity, flexibility in thinking and a sensitivity to language. The results of a recent survey show a rising awareness and increase in the teaching of foreign languages. Cochran said, "The evidence shows that children who learn foreign languages score higher in all academic subjects than those who speak only English." Last year, Senator Cochran as Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services held hearings to examine the relationship between foreign language preparedness and national security. At the hearings, witnesses testified that there is a continuing need for highly proficient speakers of many languages for surveillance, reconnaissance, negotiations and other defense and intelligence gathering activities. They also testified that early foreign language instruction is the best predictor of foreign language proficiency in college. In addition to the need for foreign language skills in the arena of national security, a USA Today survey found that top executives cited foreign language skills twice as great as any other skill in demand. Cochran said, "The evidence of need is great, and yet there is a lack of sufficient foreign language training at the K-12 level. I hope that we will give greater attention to this program when we make funding decisions."
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