Language Advocacy for the 21st Century

Bill RiversJoint National Committee for Languages

SWCOLT 2014April 25, 2014

Overview

• Why become an advocate?– Language matters! But how do we tell that story?

To whom?• Advocacy at the national level: JNCL-NCLIS• What you can do

Language Matters

• We know this• But we need to tell the story• Why, exactly, does language matter?• To whom & how do we tell the story?

Why Language Matters

• Fundamental 21st century skill, with consequences for– National security– Economic growth and jobs– Social justice

• (unbelievable) Cognitive & educational benefits of language instruction

• Increasingly, part of STEM• Global Talent Gap

Policy Challenges: Why we need to tell the story

• Cuts in US Department of Education & lack of policy focus at the national level

• This reinforces the myth that “nobody cares” – BUT• Public policy attitudes are remarkably supportive (Rivers et al,

2013)• K-12 investment in FL: Utah, Delaware, Texas, Kentucky,

Tennessee, DC, NYC, Los Angeles, and many more states & districts

• Anecdotal evidence of growth – teacher shortages in K-12 in French, German, Spanish, other Ls (but no data on programs and growth since mid-aughts)

• Language = Jobs! (more on this in a moment)

The impact of world language instruction• Achievement:

– Dual language immersion can reverse literacy achievement gaps, regardless of SES of immersion students: NC, OR

• Cognition:– Easier to learn additional languages (Rivers & Golonka, 2009, for an overview),

regardless of when/how 2nd language acquired– Better financial decisions (Boaz et al., 2012)– Delays onset of dementia (Alladi et al., 2013)– Caveats:

• Must USE the language• Higher proficiency = more effect

• http://www.languagepolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/K-12-dual-language-one-page-report-Final.pdf

FL & STEM• FL is already part of STEM!– FL Research and Development in the US Gov’t comes

almost exclusively from STEM accounts (DARPA, IARPA, NSF, NIH, DDRE)

– FL work is highly technologized – teaching, translation, interpreting

– The language industry is vital to the US STEM industry, leveraging $1.5 trillion in trade

• White House Office of Science & Technology Policy requested a position paper from JNCL-NCLIS (May 2013)

• languagepolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/LSTEM.pdf

Global Talent: Requirements• US hi-tech industry faces a Global Talent Gap• Survey of US and Global Fortune 100 companies and their language

suppliers (now underway, JNCL-NCLIS and GALA) shows:– Language competency at a variety of levels for a wide range of jobs– Language proficiency entails cultural sophistication and intercultural ability– Global skills = (Language, Culture, Professional Skills)

• GLOBAL SKILLS ENTAIL ADDITIONAL PROFESSSIONAL DOMAINS

– critical tool for interactions with customers, employers, peers, social communities, and governments.

– Companies need workers who can engage comfortably within and between cultures and languages, • using language skills to amplify and extend their job performance.

– Language is no longer a “soft” skill;• intertwined with the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)

Federal FL Programs• Department of Education

– FLAP: Still unfunded– Title VI/Fulbright-Hays: $2m increase in FY14; $4m increase in FY15

request • Department of Defense

– NSEP/Flagship: Level funded• StarTalk: 10% cut in 2014• State Department exchange and language programs

– President’s budget has$17m (3%) increase• Uncertainty in FY15 appropriations

Current Legislation• Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, aka “NCLB”)

– Senate version replaces FLAP with block grants for “well-rounded education”

– House Republican version has no FL funding support– House Democratic version keeps FLAP intact and incorporates the

Foreign Language Education Partnership Act• Foreign Language Education Partnership Act

– Introduced by Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ-12); 9 co-sponsors– Would create funding for sequences of K-12 FL education

• Bilteracy Education Seal and Teaching Act (BEST Act)– Introduced by Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA-26); 13 co-sponsors– Grant funding for states to develop bilteracy diplomas and improve FL

teaching

JNCL-NCLIS Legislative Priorities & Actions

• 2013-2014: 70+ offices visited on a recurring basis• Staff briefings

– August 2013– September 2013– April 2, 2014

• Fund FLAP!• Increase funding for Title VI/F-H by 10m• Maintain funding for

– StarTalk– Defense Language Program– State Department exchanges and language programs

• Maintain FLAP in ESEA

Growing JNCL-NCLIS forA Stronger Voice

• New logo!• New website: www.languagepolicy.org • Membership growth:

– July 2012: 63 members– March 2014: 91members

• Partnership with Globalization and Localization Association– PR– Advocacy

• Partnership with ACTFL:– CapWiz– State Teams

• Languages for All• Member Services: SCOLA

New Initiatives• GALA Global Talent Program

– Gap Analysis– Demand signal for education

• Languages for All– Anglophone Academies (UK, Australia, US); Summit, Sept. 30th 2013 @ UMD– Accessible language programming to high levels of skill is feasible, But requires significant work– 2014:

• Organizing committee (American Councils, ACTFL, JNCL-NCLIS, GALA, CASL, CAL)• Secretariat & fund-raising• PR campaign

• Partnership for Languages in the US (PLUS): can models of successful high level language programming be disseminated?– 45 IHEs met in Austin, Nov 2013 – Deans, Chairs, Directors, VPs– Organizing committee– Hosting (3 universities bidding to host)

What you can do (1)

• Be the best program you can!– Student and parental enthusiasm & support

• Support your organizations’ advocacy efforts– CSCTFL: Phyllis Farrar, pfarrar@ksde.org

• Local and state level:– Let us know if something is afoot – good or bad – before

happens– State organization, regional, ACTFL, AAT, and JNCL-NCLIS

• Respond to action alerts (ACTFL & JNCL-NCLIS)– http://capwiz.com/actfl/home/

Advocacy how-to in one slide!

• Be yourself & tell your story• Handouts:

– One page!– Point of contact for follow-up

– 10th grade reading level – elected officials need the gist of things, fast.• Elected officials – their concerns

– Jobs at home– Quality of education– Reputation of state/region– And WL effects these in a positive way!

• Be 5 minutes early!• Dress for success – we take our work and their time seriously• Get their contact info (usually staff) and send

– Thank you note– Your handouts

Contact

• Bill Rivers, wrivers@languagepolicy.org• Rachel Hanson, rhanson@languagepolicy.org

References• On financial decision making: Boaz Keysar, Sauyri L. Haykawa, & Sun Gyu An. 2012. “The

Foreign-Language Effect: Thinking in a Foreign Tongue Reduces Decision Biases,” Psychological Science, 23, 6, 661-668.

• On third language acquisition: See Rivers and Golonka, 2009, and the reference cited there. Rivers, W., and E. Golonka. 2009. “Third Language Acquisition – A Qualitative Investigation of Factors Influencing Program Development,” in R. D. Brecht, L. A. Verbitskaja, M. D. Lekic and W. P. Rivers, (eds). Mnemosynon: Studies on Language and Culture in the Russophone World. Presented to Dan E. Davidson by his students and colleagues/Мнемозинон: язык и культура в мире руссофонии. Сборник статей к юбилею Дэна Дэвидсона от его учеников и коллег. Moscow: Azbukovnik, 415-31.

• On closing the achievement gap: Collier, V., & W. Smith. 2011. English Learners in North Carolina. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Department of Education. http://esl.ncwiseowl.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_4502383/File/NC_ELL_Study_Yr2_Final%20Report_Jul27_2011.pdf

• On policy attitudes: Rivers, W., Robinson, J. P., Brecht, R, and Harwood, P. 2013. “Language Votes: Attitudes toward Foreign Language Policies,” Foreign Language Annals, 46(3), 329-338.