Foreign Language

Globally Competitive Does Not Mean Globally Competent

Stacie Nevadomski Berdan | Posted 05.22.2012

Read More: Foreign Language, Globalization, Global Education, Global Competition Education, American Education Testing, STEM Education, Education News
Stacie Nevadomski Berdan

America's schoolchildren today are regularly out-tested on math, science, history and English scores by students from around the world. But it's not our students' fault. They haven't been prepared properly by our school systems, which haven't been able to keep up with global changes.

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Foreign Tongues

Charles Kolb | Posted 05.10.2012

Read More: Foreign Language, Newt Gingrich, Lawrence Summers, Education News
Charles Kolb

What do Newt Gingrich and Larry Summers have in common? It turns out that they both share an unfortunate skepticism about the importance in American education of studying foreign languages.

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Face to Face With a New Language

The Minnesota Daily | Posted 04.26.2012

Read More: Foreign Language, French, Cognitive Development, Language, Skype, Culture, Second Language, College, College News
The Minnesota Daily

Learning about new and exciting cultures directly from the ones who live in it is one of my favorite facets of learning a new language. But taking a foreign language also offers a great opportunity to improve even in unrelated areas.

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Thinking In A Foreign Language Leads To Better Decisions: Study

Posted 04.26.2012

Read More: Sun Gyu An, Foreign Language, Video, Foreign Language Decision Making, Sun Gyu an Sayuri Hayakawa, University of Chicago, Sayuri Hayakawa, Culture News

Researchers at the University of Chicago have found that thinking in a foreign language leads to more rational decisions making, Eurekalert reported. ...

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Of Words and Woods

Nataly Kelly | Posted 05.09.2012

Read More: Endangered Languages, Foreign Language, Language, Education, Human Rights, United Nations, Language Loss, Slidepollajax, Wood Carvings, Tim Brookes, Books News
Nataly Kelly

2012-03-09-pullquote.jpgThere is something about seeing an endangered script carved into an 18"x10" piece of wood that hits a person deeply.

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Americans and Foreign Languages: Our Love-Hate Relationship

Alan Elsner | Posted 04.22.2012

Read More: Foreign Language, Education, Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, Culture News
Alan Elsner

Sorry Pimsleur. Sorry Rosetta Stone and all the others. The bad news is that it takes hard work and concerted effort for adults to learn a foreign language.

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The World Has Changed: Foreign Languages Make a Huge Difference

Stacie Nevadomski Berdan | Posted 04.02.2012

Read More: Foreign Language, Foreign-Language-in-Schools, Learning Foreign Language, Importance of Foreign Language, Teaching Foreign Languages, Learning a New Language, Education News
Stacie Nevadomski Berdan

If we want more Americans to be successful and to be able to compete in the global marketplace, we must teach them cross-cultural skills and more foreign languages earlier, not less later.

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Preparing Our Students for the Global Marketplace

Stacie Nevadomski Berdan | Posted 03.10.2012

Read More: Go Global, Study Abroad, Foreign Language, Get Ahead by Going Abroad, Globalization, Campus Counselor, Job Search, International Students, Stacie Berdan, College News
Stacie Nevadomski Berdan

I have met so many campus counselors eager to help their students in this area because they know globalization is here, but have a hard time helping students package their skills.

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Is Learning a Foreign Language Necessary for a High School Education?

Casey Miller | Posted 03.06.2012

Read More: Foreign Language, High School, Hispanic Population Growth, Americans-Learning-Foreign-Languages, High School News
Casey Miller

Learning a foreign language can be more valuable than many students realize. High school is a great time to acquire a new language, because the brain is still developing and it's completely cost-free in all public high schools.

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Are You Ready for a Global Career?

Stacie Nevadomski Berdan | Posted 12.20.2011

Read More: Get Ahead by Going Abroad, Foreign Language, Global Worker, Job Search, Go Global, Stacie Berdan, International Careers, Study Abroad, Business News
Stacie Nevadomski Berdan

With recorded unemployment at almost 10 percent -- and unrecorded estimated at 20 percent -- maybe looking for a job abroad is a good idea. But HOW d...

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Israelis Never Say Sorry

Louie Dane | Posted 12.17.2011

Read More: Foreign Language, Hebrew, Israel, High School News
Louie Dane

I learned Spanish in high school. Then when I was 15, I came to Israel for the first time. Spanish was useless on the streets of Jerusalem. All I wanted to do was be able to speak Hebrew.

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Clearing Up Common Myths About What It Means to Be Bilingual

Nataly Kelly | Posted 11.29.2011

Read More: Foreign Language, Education, Bilingual Education, Language Learning, Bilingualism, Hispanic Heritage Month, Education News
Nataly Kelly

"One can become bilingual at any time during one's life -- as a child, as an adolescent, or as an adult. There is no upper age limit for acquiring a new language and then continuing one's life with two or more languages."

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PHOTOS: A Global Guide To Rude Hand Gestures

Posted 11.27.2011

Read More: Video, Chronicle Books, Travel Tips, Slidepollajax, Foreign Language, Hand Gestures, Rude Gestures, Funny-Hand-Gestures, Gotta See This, Mime, Travel News

The following is an excerpt from "Rude Hand Gestures of the World: A Guide to Offending Without Words
." --- Evolutionary anthropologists tell u...

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Don't Kill Foreign-Language Funding

Stacie Nevadomski Berdan | Posted 11.08.2011

Read More: September 11 Children, Foreign Language Cuts, Go Global, Foreign Language, Stacie Berdan, Rebecca Weiner, Cross-Cultural Skills, Flap, Actfl, Education News
Stacie Nevadomski Berdan

How can we prepare our students for a global world without foreign language instruction? How can we make America great again while destroying the programs our children need to compete in today's global marketplace?

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5 Lessons I Learned Hosting an Exchange Student

Homa Sabet Tavangar | Posted 10.02.2011

Read More: Global Education, Exchange Students, Parenting Tips, Growing Up Global, Foreign Language, High School, Parenting, 21st Century Skills, Parents, Women, Impact, Education News
Homa Sabet Tavangar

Just short of moving abroad ourselves, hosting an exchange student proved to be an unparalleled cultural education.

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Your Foreign Language Skills Aren't Perfect? Lighten Up.

Lev Raphael | Posted 09.07.2011

Read More: Foreign Travel, Travel Abroad, Germany, Berlin, Foreign Language, Holiday Travel, Travel, Languages, Summer Holidays, Summer Travel, Travel Tips, Holiday Travel Tips, Travel News
Lev Raphael

Nobody's going to test you over there. The key thing is, can you communicate?

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Students Don't Have Perfect English? Try Mandarin

The Boston Globe | Akilah Johnson | Posted 09.04.2011

Read More: Chinese Language, Language in Schools, Boston, Mandarin, Foreign Language Education, Foreign Language, Chinese, Foreign Language in Schools, Education News

Mandarin teacher Li Wang sat in a chair small enough for a 4-year-old, her enthusiastic students sitting on the classroom carpet in a separate square....

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A Smarter Response to Eliminating Foreign Language Programs

Ron Fairchild | Posted 08.06.2011

Read More: Public Schools, Foreign Language, Teaching, Learning, Education News
Ron Fairchild

This is one strategy schools can use to make the most of the talents and skills of all of their personnel.

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Stop the Madness! Call Your Members of Congress Today

Stacie Nevadomski Berdan | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Budget Vote, Raising Global Children, Go Global, Foreign Language, Get Ahead by Going Abroad, Stacie Berdan, Bilingual Education, Flap, Education News
Stacie Nevadomski Berdan

More people in the world are bilingual than monolingual -- except in the United States. Something's wrong with this picture.

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Getting to Know You -- International Style

Stacie Nevadomski Berdan | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Foreign Language, Ola Joseph, Stacie Berdan, Global Kids, Raising Global Children, International Night, Diversity, Parenting, Education News
Stacie Nevadomski Berdan

Parents can raise more globally-aware children by introducing them to multicultural cuisines early on; cultural festivals, library and museum visits can open up the world.

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Foreign Language Courses Growing On Campuses

AP | ERIC GORSKI | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Foreign Language, Modern Language Association, Arabic, Foreign Language Cuts, Foreign Language Report, College News

A growing number of college students are studying foreign languages, a trend propelled by greater interest in Arabic, a broader palette of languages b...

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Colorado Congress Of Foreign Teachers Awards Innovation Grant To Boulder Waldorf Teacher

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Rudolf Steiner, Denver Impact, Shining Mountain Waldorf School, Foreign Language, Waldorf School, Dying Languages, Boulder, German, Denver North High School, Paula Blum, Boulder Waldorf School, Chinese, Fairview High School, German Language, Foreign Language Teachers, Denver News

The dearth of emphasis on foreign languages in American schools is no secret. The American education system's seeming lack of interest in teaching se...

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Read Scare? American Schools Teaching Chinese With Funds From China

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Public Schools, Chinese Language, Foreign Language, Teaching, Chinese Culture, China, Video, Education News

More schools nationwide are offering Chinese language courses that are approved and funded by China's government. CNNreported that, over the past fou...

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Sputnik II: Relearn the Love of Learning -- Now

Carla Seaquist | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: President Obama, Importance of Reading, Arne Duncan, Dumbing Down, College-Board-Report-US-College-Graduation-Rate, Sputnik, Sputnik Moment, PISA Test, Pop Culture, Culture, Education, Public Education Reform, College Board, Anti-Intellectualism, Foreign Language, Education Reform, Reading, Learning, Mind, PISA Testing, Education News
Carla Seaquist

Not so long ago -- in that 1959-'69 span of the U.S.-Soviet space race -- the love of learning held sway.

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New Year's Resolution: Study Chinese

Dori Jones Yang | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: New Year's Resolutions, Foreign Language, Chinese, China, Chinese Culture, Study Abroad, Education News
Dori Jones Yang

We need to stop thinking of Chinese as an "alternative" or "specialized" language. China has entered the world. Now the world needs to enter China. The change starts with you, in 2011.

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