As we begin 2019, we thought it important to check in with a few education partners to see what new initiatives they might have in store for this school year. Among the most exciting initiatives we’ve learned about is Lead with Languages powered by ACTFL.
Lead with Languages aims to raise awareness of the importance of language learning in a global economy. In a globalized world, those who can move seamlessly across cultural and linguistic boundaries will have many more opportunities. Lead with Languages offers ten reasons to learn a language with a clear effort to connect this campaign to career readiness. Between 2010 and 2015 the number of US job postings geared toward bilingual candidates more than doubled.
ACTFL gives students the resources to explore stories of professionals actively using their language skills in different career sectors. Those of us working in international education have always seen the need for bilingualism, but to have a national campaign actively promoting it is a new and validating twist.
In the end, perhaps the best reason to learn another language is that you will have 60 million American friends residing in the US who speak a language other than English at home. Meaning that they are all in the process of learning a language too!
Support your students with international programs that facilitate language-learning in Spain, France, Germany and more.
Read more blog posts about the impact of study abroad here.