Foreign languages more foreign to U.S. students

CINCINNATI (AP) — American students are falling far behind their international counterparts in learning second languages, creating economic disadvantages for U.S. businesses and raising national security concerns.

Virtually all European and Asian elementary students study a second language, but 97 percent of Ohio and Kentucky students do not because their schools don’t offer it.

American companies lose an estimated $2 billion each year because of employees’ inadequate language skills and poor cultural competence, according to the Committee for Economic Development in Washington, D.C.

“It’s always been a good thing to know more about the world and to speak another language, but now it’s become an issue of our economic security, our national security and our public diplomacy,” says committee President Charles Kolb. “Speaking a second language gives our young people an edge in terms of the competition we’re facing around the globe. Believe me, you win kudos if you’re negotiating in another country and you’re fluent in that language.”