US bid to boost foreign study

Thirty-four higher education organisations in America have called for more emphasis on teaching foreign languages, politics and culture in universities.

The groups, which issued a 28-page plan for addressing the problem, also want the government to underwrite more fellowships for Americans to study abroad.

"Just as the federal government maintains military reserves to be called upon when needed, it must invest in an educational infrastructure that steadily trains a sufficient number and diversity of American students," David Ward, president of the American Council on Education, testified before Congress. "International expertise cannot be produced quickly. It must be cultivated and sustained."

Investigations by separate congressional committees have identified a critical shortage of government personnel with foreign-language skills or knowledge of international cultures, which they say have hindered intelligence and diplomatic efforts. One federal agency has said it needs at least 30,000 more employees fluent in a total of 80 languages.

The ACE and the other groups that have signed on to the report say President George W. Bush's proposed 4 per cent increase for foreign language and international cultural studies is too small. Total government funding for such programmes is now $100 million (£68 million).

"Developing the international expertise the nation will need in the 21st century requires educational reform and sustained financing," said Dr Ward, a British-born, US-educated geographer.

The report adds: "Chronic underfunding of these programmes over the past several decades is one of the reasons the nation faces shortfalls in expertise today."

Fewer than 8 per cent of American university students are enrolled in a foreign-language class, and fewer than 1 per cent study abroad.

But attitudes about this among the broader public have changed dramatically since September 11. In one poll, 93 per cent of Americans surveyed agreed that knowledge about international issues is important, and 75 per cent favoured requiring university students to learn foreign languages.

The higher education groups called for a "national agenda on international education" and also urged that foreign language instruction be stepped up at primary and secondary-school level.