Innovation in Language Learning

The state of multilingualism in the America is abysmal. With less than 18% of Americans speaking a foreign language other than English, it is no wonder the “Ignorant American” label has stuck. America’s multi-linguals are typically immigrants having just arrived in the country, who speak English as a second language. Abroad, Americans are seen as lazy, resting on the English language’s status as the global lingua franca. This however does not mean, contrary to international public opinion, that Americans don’t want to, or are incapable of learning foreign languages.

Americans desire to learn about foreign cultures and languages, is well documented and backed by statistics. While most American high school students do not have a foreign language requirement, they take foreign language courses as electives. This points to the fact that American students understand the value of learning foreign languages. Adults agree in overwhelming numbers that learning foreign languages gets less attention than it deserves in school.  The US government has taken note of this deficiency and is spending unprecedented amounts of money to encourage the learning of foreign languages. Even the American business community has begun to realize the disadvantage it is at when negotiating internationally.

In this paper we examine how the educational system has failed Americans in the field of foreign language study, how new technologies blended with traditional learning methods are critical to solving the problem, and how entrepreneurial companies are going to lead the language revolution in the United States.