world knowledge & languages increase life opportunities kimoanh nguyen-lam executive director...
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World Knowledge & Languages Increase Life
Opportunities
KimOanh Nguyen-LamExecutive Director
CSU Consortium-
Strategic Language Initiative
U.S. Economy
American companies lose an estimated $2 billion a year
30 % of U.S. companies cannot expand internationally
International sales continue to exceed domestic sales.
Source: Education for Global Leadership: The Importance of International Studies andForeign Language Education for U.S. Economic and National Security – A CED Publication
U.S. Business Future U.S. manufacturing jobs: 1/5 exports U.S. business earning growth: 58 % from overseas markets (ex:Coca-cola
– 70% of profits from non-U.S. markets) U.S.-Asia trade: $800 Billion+ (outpacing U.S.-Europe)
Multi-national companies: 5.4 million U.S. workers U.S.-based multinational corporations: 21.8 million U.S. workers
Global mergers: more foreign parent companies in U.S. (DaimlerChrysler AG, Bertelsmann, and BP Amoco)
Future careers in business, government, health care, and law enforcement require global knowledge skills.
CA Economy
• International Trade Opportunities• Exports are 1/4 of CA’s $1.5 trillion economy• Over 1 million high-paying jobs in CA related to foreign
marketsFigure 1: California's Top Export Markets, 2002 - 2006
0
5
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EU Mexico Canada Japan China South Korea
Trading Partner
Exp
orts (
in U
S$ B
illion
s)
2002
2004
2006
U.S. and the World
EU Citizens: 56% bilingual 28 % trilingual 11% multilingual
U.S. Citizens: 9% bilingual Source: Building a Fluent Workforce –by Janet Hulstrand – International Educator – Sept/Oct 08
U.S. and the World
Average # of languages spoken by business executives
European countries: 3.9 Latin America and Asia: 2.5 U.S.: 1.5
U.S. students are “strong technically” but “shortchanged” in cross-cultural experience and “linguistically deprived.” (RAND Corporation survey)
Source: Education for Global Leadership: The Importance of International Studies andForeign Language Education for U.S. Economic and National Security – A CED Publication
Benefits of foreign language study
Mental agility
Higher cognitive function
Higher SAT scores
Higher Education
Ratio of Introductory to Advanced Enrollments in 4-year institutions, for Top 12 Languages in CA, 2006
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
United States
California
Vietnamese
Portuguese
Russian
Arabic
Korean
ASL
German
Italian
Chinese
Japanese
French
Spanish
Introductory Advanced
Despite having the greatest number of students in higher education in the country, California
only enrolls 8.5% of these in foreign language. The majority of these are at the introductory level.
Time to Proficiency in Selected Languages:
Total average 300 hrs foreign language study
The Language Edge
California’s Multicultural Society
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2000 2008 2015 2025 2050
WHITE HISPANIC ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER BLACK AMERICAN INDIAN MULTIRACE
California’s population distribution by ethnicity:
Tim Scerba, CEO, Mexico and COO, Latin America
“The ability to speak multiple languages provides an edge in today’s competitive markets…
… Being multilingual and multicultural— is a powerful combination in today’s global market.”