Building Strategic Language Ability Programs

This book explores the consensus that has emerged that the American education system must more aggressively embrace the concept of global education for a broader population of students. The products of American education generally remain woefully unprepared to engage in a rapidly changing socio-economic and political environment that demands global skills. This book examines the most needed of these skills, which is the ability to effectively engage in languages other than English. Since its inception in 2000, the Department of Defense Language Flagship initiative has provided important funding to the American higher education system to re-tool its approaches to language education. At the core of the Flagship concept is the assumption that the development of global skills (including advanced language competency) must be mainstreamed into American education. As this book discusses, any approach to achieving language competency must ultimately begin as early as pre-school, middle, and high school.