The World Is Your Oyster (theWIYO.com)

Repairing America's Human Rights Reputation

Kimberly — Sat, 23 May 2009 19:41:00 GMT

“Repair America’s Human Rights Reputation”—An op-ed by Dean Harold Hongju KohAugust 6, 2007

The following op-ed appeared in the Summer 2007 issue of the Yale Law Report as part of a collection of op-eds written by faculty members detailing their thoughts about the direction the next presidential administration could take. To read the full collection of op-eds, visit Yale Law Report [Online].

“Repair America’s Human Rights Reputation”
Harold Hongju Koh, Dean and Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law at Yale Law School, served as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor from 1998-2001.

The Pew Global Attitudes Project recently found, after interviewing 110,000 people in 50 countries, that the United States’ image has plummeted abroad since September 11, due in good part to a decline in America’s perceived commitment to human rights and the rule of law. Six years of defining our human rights policy almost entirely through the lens of the War on Terror have diminished our human rights reputation, given cover to abuses committed by our allies in that “war,” blunted our ability to criticize and deter gross violators elsewhere, and lowered America’s standing as the world’s human rights leader. To repair America’s damaged human rights reputation, the next Administration should take immediate steps to put America’s own human rights house in order, to renew its support of multilateral human rights efforts, to end the ongoing genocide in Darfur, and to restore its own reputation for truthtelling about human rights.

Putting the U.S. human rights house in order would entail not just closing Guantanamo as soon as possible, but also: revising the flawed 2006 Military Commissions Act to ensure availability of the writ of habeas corpus to alleged terrorist detainees; unambiguously banning the use of torture and cruel treatment by U.S. personnel and contractors anywhere in the world—with an enumerated list of forbidden practices (such as waterboarding) that can be monitored by admission of the International Committee of the Red Cross into U.S.-operated or controlled detention facilities; and ending the practice of “extraordinary rendition.”

Concrete steps to restore our human rights multilateralism would include: sending a Special Envoy to the new U.N. Human Rights Council; shifting formally to a policy of constructive engagement with the International Criminal Court; reinitiating a human rights diplomatic process with regard to Iraq following the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group Report; joining new multilateral human rights treaties, such as Convention on Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (both of which the United States recently backed away from); supporting the Community of Democracies and using that ad hoc multilateral body to support democratic transitions in particular countries, such as Cuba; and promoting “Private-Public” partnerships between governments and multinational corporations to ensure the growth of internet freedom and human rights in China (especially as the 2008 Olympics approach) as well as greater access to essential medicines and the end of “blood resources” (especially oil and diamonds) in Africa.

A third necessary and belated step would be to take firm and immediate action to end the genocide in Darfur. While proposals for intervention vary, indispensable to all are “the 4 Ps”: first, initiating a Peace Process; second, calling for immediate deployment of Peacekeepers into Darfur—with a deadline for Khartoum’s acceptance of such a force, to help achieve an enforceable ceasefire that could lead to a sustainable political settlement; third, Protecting People, both the mass of trans-border refugees and the internally displaced; and fourth, Punishing Perpetrators, by promoting four kinds of accountability: (1) new targeted sanctions (such as travel bans and assets freezes) upon individuals named in the U.N. Commission of Inquiry Report on Darfur and upon Sudanese companies owned by ruling party officials doing business abroad; (2) sanctions targeted at revenue flows from the “blood oil” sector; (3) capital market sanctions imposed upon foreign firms who deal with Khartoum; and (4) mechanisms for sharing information with the International Criminal Court to accelerate indictments against responsible Khartoum officials.

Fourth and finally, the State Department’s Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices have increasingly begun to shade or underreport the truth about human rights violations by our allies, especially those such as Egypt and Pakistan, who support us in the War on Terror. Nor has the State Department done enough to ensure that these Country Reports are made widely available in the very countries whose human rights conduct is being described.

This may seem like a long “To Do List” for the next Administration. But America’s human rights reputation defines who we are as a nation and a people. What the last six years have taught is that restoring that human rights reputation is simply too important a task to be left to politicians. Restoring our human rights reputation should be a core challenge for all thinking lawyers, educators, and law students, who are the ultimate guardians of the rule of law.

Foreign Language Education Advantages

Kimberly — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:53:00 GMT

source: AssociatedContent

Why Do We Need to Concentrate More on Foreign Language Education?

By Joshua Cook
Published Apr 27, 2007

Although national reports detail the need for Americans to be competent in other languages and cultures, only a handful of states have actually required foreign language be taught in elementary schools. Local districts are the cause for most long-standing elementary programs, like the Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES) program. In this program, courses are offered sequentially, beginning in primary grades and continuing through high school. Districts still face challenges in implementing programs like this, due to lack of support from state or federal levels; such as finding teachers adequately prepared in foreign languages.

The absence of a national curriculum and policy on foreign language studies has caused some districts to implement better policies, while others have chosen to eliminate programs altogether. While this is still largely due to budget restraints, the main problem lies in the fact that the benefits of early foreign language study isn't socially recognized or understood. Since it is commonly understood that the longer you study a foreign language, the more proficient you become, it stands to reason that the benefits become more important the longer you study another language.

The advantages to starting children learning foreign language at a young are significant. During their elementary school years, children are open to a better global understanding, so the learning of a different language and culture further that development greatly. This study of these programs also increases basic skills performance in elementary school. Connections have been found to creativity, memory, and listening skills as well.

Research studies also indicate that studying another language may give students the "edge" needed to succeed in later education levels. A study of over 17,000 students applying for college admission revealed that students who had completed a foreign language course in high school tended to have higher scores on the ACT exams in English and math regardless of their ability level. It has also been found that high school foreign language students perform significantly better on the SAT verbal exam than monolingual students. SAT verbal skills also increase successively with each half year of foreign language study.

Once we get to the colleges and universities of our country, one of the problems we face is that, like the individual school districts and communities, they tend to do their own thing. The fact still remains that a very substantial portion of basic foreign language instruction is carried out in the collegiate level. Approximately one in every five students enrolled in language studies is studying at the college level. The result is that there is a major structural challenge in the layers of language learning systems. Ideally, the transition in these foreign language courses should be smooth and well articulated. Too often, the various levels of language-learning systems march to different drummers.

The result is considerable slippage in language study between high school and collegiate levels. Most students arrive in college already having had a substantial amount of language study, which is attributed to students' desires for college admission. However, most institutions of higher education do not require foreign language study for entry. This shows remarkably little attention paid at this level to building on the foundation acquired during high school. In a comprehensive survey of college students conducted by the Department of Education, the proportion of students taking no language courses was 58.4 percent. So basically, while almost two-thirds of students arrive at college with some language instruction, more than half of take no language classes at all.

Yet another problem with our current educational system's attitudes towards foreign language education is that it is overwhelmingly focused on the lower skill levels. In both high schools and colleges, the dropout rate is about fifty percent from one year to the next in foreign language studies. A part of this is due to the fact that the system is set up to only require one to two years of study at both levels. These elementary skill levels do little, if anything, to enable students to use what they learn as a vehicle for communication.

Perhaps this problem is caused, in part, by the fact that American adults do not see a need to learn a foreign language. The commitments required to become proficient in another language, in their mind, outweighs any use they may get out of that knowledge. In some cases it is becoming more beneficial for working adults to learn a second language, usually Spanish, but until those that do the hiring actually push for more proficient language skills, the motivation will still remain low for adults.

Caruso by Lucia Dalla

Kimberly — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:03:00 GMT

Saluto! My first entry in "Favorite things from here and there", is this incredible Italian song. This song is... P A S S I O N A T E ... and lovely....see for yourself...

Caruso by Lucia Dalla

Caruso
( Lucio Dalla )

Qui dove il mare luccica,
e tira forte il vento
su una vecchia terrazza
davanti al golfo di Surriento
un uomo abbraccia una ragazza,
dopo che aveva pianto
poi si schiarisce la voce,
e ricomincia il canto.

Ti voglio bene assaje,
ma tanto tanto bene sai
è una catena ormai,
che scioglie il sangue dint' 'e 'vvene sai.

Vide le luci in mezzo al mare,
pensò alle notti là in America
ma erano solo le lampare
nella bianca scia di un'elica

sentì il dolore nella musica,
si alzò dal pianoforte
ma quando vide la luna uscire da una nuvola
gli sembrò più dolce anche la morte

guardò negli occhi la ragazza,
quelli occhi verdi come il mare
poi all'improvviso uscì una lacrima,
e lui credette di affogare

Ti voglio bene assaje,
ma tanto tanto bene sai
è una catena ormai,
che scioglie il sangue dint' 'e 'vvene sai

Potenza della lirica,
dove ogni dramma è un falso
che con un po' di trucco e con la mimica
puoi diventare un altro

ma due occhi che ti guardano
così vicini e veri
ti fan scordare le parole,
confondono i pensieri

così diventa tutto piccolo,
anche le notti là in America
ti volti e vedi la tua vita
come la scia di un'elica

ma sì, è la vita che finisce,
ma lui non ci pensò poi tanto
anzi si sentiva già felice,
e ricominciò il suo canto

Ti voglio bene assaje,
ma tanto tanto bene sai
è una catena ormai,
che scioglie il sangue dint' 'e 'vene sai

Ti voglio bene assaje,
ma tanto tanto bene sai
è una catena ormai,
che scioglie il sangue dint' 'e 'vene sai...

...dint' 'e 'vene sai ...

Foreign Film Reviews

Kimberly — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 07:08:00 GMT

Jean de Florette / Manon des Sources (France)

I just watched this again for the first time in about a decade. The two films form one of the greatest epic sagas of all time. The films rival the Godfather trilogy as one of the best movies ever made. Some similarity with the Godfather can be found in scope and style and score (although not in story).

Claude Berri makes fantastic use of subtle foreshadowing and symbolism to haunt us with a sense of impending doom, though we can't help but succumb to Depardieu's contagious enthusiasm.

Note how big a role water plays in almost every aspect of both films.

At first viewing, you might despise the actor who plays Galinette Ugolin for his boorish look, his simple mind and his twisted thought process. However, watch some of Daniel Auteuil's more recent work such as Cache and Apres Vous, and you'll agree he's a thespian genius. Depardieu is at his best in Jean des Florrette. Emmanuel Beart got her first major film role as the teenage Manon (she later married Auteuil and starred in Mission Impossible).

Jane Eyre (United Kingdom)

There are twenty theatrical and television versions of Jane Eyre; I've seen five and recommend this as the best.

The use of relative unknowns in the lead roles works well, and their performances are first rate.

The direction and screenplay subtly but effectively create the elements of foreshadowing and muted tension that make such Victorian period pieces come to life.

The film has you rooting hard for Jane and Edward, which is exactly the point.

Lemming (France)

I was immediately caught up and remained intensely involved to the last frame. I found the suspense scenes riveting. A dash of David Lynch in the middle and some Hitchcock sprinkled throughout make this a rather unconventional French film.

Charlotte Gainsbourg is as sensual and sweet as ever. She does act a bit strange for a portion of the movie, but this is all implicitly explained later on. Contrary to other reviewers, I did not find it difficult to separate what was real from what was not. There was adequate explanation for everyone's actions. However, one must accept a paranormal premise in order to follow all of the twists.

Love Actually (United Kingdom)
This movie attempts to include every cliche from every romantic comedy ever made, particularly those starring Hugh Grant. And, as with most modern romantic comedies, relies heavily on scenes involving spontaneous, often bad, singing. Did that sound like I didn't like it? I gave it four stars because I'm a sucker for romantic comedies.

The Widow of Saint-Pierre (France)

This is a beautiful French film shot in Canada, with sterling performances by Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil.

When the movie starts, the story is stark and simple. seemingly mimicking the cold and unforgiving setting of the Canadian Northeast. As the film progresses, the hidden beauties of the landscape are revealed slowly. The cinematography at the end is positively stunning. Similarly, the relationships and idiosynchrasies of the lead characters are developed in a patient and methodical way, revealing unsuspected depths of character.

The emphasis is on compassion, integrity, loyalty, responsibility and unlikely, yet controlled, passion and obsession. It becomes one of the rare films to concentrate more on character's motivations than on their actions.

The film's title, along with an initial glimpse of the ultimate outcome burdens the viewer with a foreshadowing of an unhappy ending. This only adds to the bittersweet, but incredibly deep, investment one makes in the story and characters.

Le Petit Lieutenant (France)

Now here's an unusual French film: a detective story complete with autopsies, stabbings, shootings, DNA matching, investigative work, internal affairs, you name it. It was a good film, but it's hard to rate it more than three stars since this genre is certainly done a lot better and more frequently by Americans.

It was about the equivalent of watching a couple old episodes of CSI, but with subtitles.

My Mother's Castle (France)

What a fun and fanciful romp through Provence with an endearing and credible family. Adapted from a novel by Marcel Pagnol, telling his memories of his own childhood and beautifully rendered as a film with Jean Pierre Darras providing superb narration. Pagnol is most famed for penning the novels Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring.

My Mother's Castle is actually the sequel to My Father's Glory. The film is absolutely fine on its own though if you don't care to watch the prequel first.

After the Wedding (Denmark)

Susanne Bier, writer and director of the Danish film, After the Wedding, believes in telling stories loaded with truth and emotion. The story is compelling enough to hold one's interest throughout, but it's the acting that really captivates. The performance given by Sidse Babett Knudsen as the mother was possibly the best female acting I have ever seen. The woman could go from positively soft and endearing to terrifyingly harsh and cold-hearted without skipping a beat. There were several scenes where I found myself so caught up in her performance that I had to remind myself I was watching a film. Stine Fischer Christensen as Anna, Rolf Lassgard as Jorgen, and Mads Mikkelsen as Jacob were also very believable in their respective roles.

Watch the short inteview with Susanne Bier on the DVD's special features. She reveals some of her process and insight in creating a masterpiece like After the Wedding.

This movie evokes emotion and forces you to care about the characters with not one ounce of Hollywood heavy-handed manipulation. For the most part, the utter realism of the story, acting, and direction made me feel almost voyeuristic having such an intimate inside look as this family struggles with life-defining challenges.

The Lost Son (France / UK)

Intense crime drama follows one man's pursuit of some really despicable characters. It becomes personal when they go after one of his dearest friends.

Daniel Auteuil is a special actor; this is the first English language film I've seen him in (and possibly the only one he's starred in). His English is not great, and his voice sounds much better speaking French, but because he does not try to do more than he can with the language, this does not create an insurmountable problem in the film. I have yet to see him in a role in which he does not perform at five star quality. He is one of those rare actors, like Deniro, Pacino, and Cage, who can be so versatile in so many varied roles, but is still distinctly recognizable.

Natassja Kinski and Marianne Denicourt are excellent in small supporting roles.

My Best Friend (France)

All eight movies I've seen with Daniel Auteuil have earned 4 and 5 stars from me. He's shown some acting chops to so convincingly play both a despicable villian in Jean de Florette and a gallant, devoted officer in The Widow of Saint Pierre.

In My Best Friend, Auteuil evokes a bit of both the good and the bad in portraying a somewhat confused and selfish man searching for the definition of friendship. Dany Boon plays a very Tony Shalhoub-like trivia buff who has his own problems making friends. Together the two men form an entertaining and quite watchable pair.

In a very clever twist, the movie contains a lengthy segment where Boon's character appears on the French Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. What better than the 'Phone a Friend' lifeline to put a friendship to the test?

The movie is mostly entertaining with the warmth of a romantic comedy. As I've said before, the French use cinema primarily as a means of exploring and evaluating human relationships of all kinds. This, like so many other French films, wryly steers clear of the predictable and formulaic, and strives to touch the viewer with both emotional and intellectual stimulation.

Un Couer En Hiver (France)

Un Coeur en Hiver (loosely translated: A Heart of Stone) features a great performance by French beauty Emmanuelle Beart. You may be pleasantly surprised to see how well she plays the violin. Daniel Auteuil is thoroughly believable (if not slightly off-putting) as the ultimate 'afraid of commitment' male.

While watching this film, keep in mind that Beart and Auteuil had been in several movies together already (most notably, Manon of the Spring) and were probably living together when they made this; they ended up married the year this movie was released. They had a daughter together, but the marriage only lasted three years.

The emotion in this film is palpable. The chemistry between Beart and Auteuil, even when it's negative, is obvious.

The supporting cast does a fine job, and the violin performances add some tangible uplift to the overall somewhat disheartening plot.

If you're like me, you'll be waiting for someone to grab Auteil, slap him hard, and ask "What is wrong with you? this woman is incredible!!!"

Monsoon Wedding (India)

A colorful, joyful celebration combining Indian and Western cultures. I was not thrilled at the inclusion of a few heavy-handed subplots; it tended to take away from the lighthearted whimsy at the center of the story. However, I very much enjoyed the frequent scenes blending ancient Indian traditions and culture with what is obviously becoming a very Westernized modern nation.

As often is the case with Indian movies, color, water, and luscious cinematography play a big part in portraying the story.

Innocence (France)

The French working title for the film translates to The School. Odd that they'd rename it as Innocence, although fitting I suppose since the girls wear all white all the time and frolic in the woods and swimming holes without a care in the world. As they grow older they draw nearer to the end of innocence: the release into the outside world.

The film is a surreal fantasy. To try to understand it as anything else will certainly limit your enjoyment of it. If you wish to interpret it as something tangible, you will spend the entire movie wondering why the first scene shows a girl arriving at the school in a coffin. No explanation is given, and if you view the film as total fantasy, none is needed. If you intend to watch this film, sit back, relax, empty your mind of expectations, and enjoy the beautiful cinematography and the lighthearted innocence of young girls in the woods.

Good news for folks with subtitle-phobia, dialog in this film averages about three words a minute.

The Butterfly (France)
This is the third French film I've seen this year about an elderly person bonding with a young child. I guess the French are all about interpersonal relationships. This one has some great performances. Michel Serrault as the old man is perfect, as is Claire Bouanich as the precocious 8 year old girl. Fine for the whole family (as long as you can all understand French or read subtitles).

Dirty Filthy Love (United Kingdom)

This is a difficult movie to want to watch. I had it at home for a month before finally watching it. But my wife and I were both glad we did see it.

It is extremely well done. Michael Sheen's performance is Oscar caliber.

However, I do not agree with this movie being billed and promoted as a romantic comedy. Although there are some light-hearted moments, the movie is nothing but serious. It is a quite sad look at the pain and anguish caused by mental illness, not just for the victim of the illness, but also for family, friends, and colleagues.

The DVD includes the original trailer for the film which promotes it like it's the latest Hugh Grant romantic comedy, with quotes like "Savagely Funny" and "Outrageous Comedy". This "comedy" moved my wife to tears on several occasions.

Wuthering Heights (United Kingdom)

I had anticipated a romantic tale of passion and was surprised to find a somewhat brutal film about relentless obsession, cruelty and violence. Heathcliff's character was quite cruel to everyone he came in contact with, treating women with contempt and physical violence. Catherine was flighty and unconcerned about the abuse, mistreatment, even physical violence sustained by her supposed true love at the hands of her brother. She even took part in the mockery of him.

It was hard to see the forest (romance) for the trees (contempt and cruelty). I give it three stars for the fine performances from Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes.

Truly Madly Deeply (United Kingdom)

As a longstanding Rickman fan, I had high hopes for this film. However I was disappointed by the casting of Juliet Stevenson. After really enjoying her performance in The Politician's Wife, I believe the problem with Truly, Madly, Deeply is that Stevenson is not convincing (for me) in such a frivolous role. Her laughter grated on my nerves and was barely distinguishable from her crying (although when she cried, her nose ran effusively, which gave a clue at least). In any case, she was shrieking, crying and laughing hysterically for much of the movie, and it made me feel sorry for the cast and crew.

On an up note, Stevenson is superb in The Politician's Wife which has little crying and even less laughter. Also, Minghella's Breaking and Entering (Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, Robin Wright Penn) is one of the best film's I've seen in some time.

Mademoiselle (France)
I would not recommend this to anyone who doesn't like French films a lot. It's a nice story with the requisite affair, although done with the least amount of sexuality I've ever seen in a French movie. My wife almost lost interest in the first half hour, I almost lost interest in the last half hour. But we both made it all the way through and agreed upon a three star rating.

The Golden Door (Italy)

Some good and bad here -- the perfect three star movie. The intro by Martin Scorsese was unexpected and intriguing.

Charlotte Gainsbourgh was cast against type as an English woman attempting to immigrate from Italy to the U.S. It seemed they almost wrote her into the script after it was finished.

I'm still not sure how I felt about the bits of whimsical fantasy interspersed here and there. I think the movie was just a bit too heavy to support that kind of leavity.

In the end, a good story directed and performed well is hard to dislike.

Swimming Pool (France)
This film suffers from trying to be a little too oblique. There are several sequences that may or may not be dreams/fantasies. There's a character who may or may not be real. There's a little person. But I gave it three stars because it's entertaining, it has a lot of lovely French countryside, and it features a beautiful French girl.

Night Sun (Italy)

Natassia Kinsky and Charlotte Gainsbourgh add a bit of feminine beauty to this dark and disturbing saga.

It was not difficult to understand what was happening in the story, but it was extremely hard to justify the actions. Seemingly arbitrary decisions that went against common sense made it difficult to become invested in the main character. A quite unsatisfying ending added to the disappointment.

But with all that said, the movie's excellence in cinematography, acting and direction made it hard to consider a waste of time.

Fear and Trembling (France)

I was not pleased with this movie. I found it exaggerated and embarrassing, not to mention dull. The Japanese people in the office are all caricatures of real people with no developed personalities.

I did not empathize with Amelie. It was hard to understand why she continued her experiment when it had so obviously failed. The only explanation I could see for her cleaning toilets for seven months was that she was planning to write a book about it later.

I felt the screenplay came across a lot like a novel; unfortunately the sarcasm and wit didn't play as well on screen as they may have in printed form.

A very long and tedious portion of the film has to do with Amelie's complete inability to use a calculator or copy numbers. Perhaps persons who share this affliction might relate, but I found it slightly incredible and certainly not interesting.

Amelie's borderline sexual infatuation with her female boss was confusing and tangential.

Finally, the fact that the entire film was shot in an office building, combined with the fact that there was only one character that was developed in any form, made this movie a very frustrating and tedious experience.

To Be and To Have (France)

I didn't get it.

I found this movie to be unbearably slow. It was definitely the least informative documentary I've ever seen. There is no narration, and there are many minute-long or even longer cinematagraphic tangents of trees, snow, animals, etc.

My children attend a French-American school in California, so I was hoping to gain a little insight into the French educational system. This movie did nothing more than show one man's country classroom and the surrounding idyllic pastoral environment. Granted, the man was a superbly patient and understanding teacher, but I really didn't learn anything by watching. I fast forwarded a lot towards the end.

Private Property (France)
The film asks more questions than it answers. You're left knowing less at the end than you knew at the beginning. The performances were quite good, and the premise was promising. However the lack of resolution to just about every conflict and relationship introduced in the film left me feeling a bit frustrated.

Education in an Age of Globalization

Kimberly — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:04:00 GMT

source: Asia Society

States Institute on International Education

Michael Eskew
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, United Parcel Service

Washington DC, December 8, 2005

Thank you for that kind introduction and good evening, everyone.

It’s a privilege to be here tonight, in the company of so many people who play an incredibly important role in the future development of our nation.

There is no issue more critical to our country’s long-term competitiveness, health and well-being than the quality of our education system.

The world is changing.

Business is changing.

Our society is changing.

And, as you have made it clear – the way we teach and nurture our future leaders must also change.

In times of extraordinary transformation, it’s natural to feel that we’re somewhat unique – that we’re experiencing changes no one else ever had to deal with.

While that’s partly true, we should also take comfort in the fact that others before us experienced similar challenges as we face today and rose to meet them.

Washington, with the rich history that surrounds us here, is a great backdrop for such a discussion.

For instance, if you think back to what Abraham Lincoln and the Congress of 1860 were facing– it was remarkably similar to what we’re going through today.

And no, I’m not talking about the Civil War.

I’m talking about an often overlooked issue of that day: a transforming economy and jobs.

Then, sweeping economic change threatened a largely agricultural economy and a rural, insular way of life.

In quick succession, steamboat service was introduced. Scores of canals were constructed. Thousands of miles of railroad track were laid. And countless telegraph lines were strung throughout the nation.

It was a time of groundbreaking innovation.

Almost overnight, large numbers of what had been generally self-sufficient local economies found themselves caught up in a changing and expanding national economy.

Competition no longer came from the next town. It came from producers in many parts of the country, and even from industries abroad.

People began traveling farther and more often.

Yet, there was tension then, too. Economic growth was not a vertical line upward.

Financial crises occurred … like the panic of 1857.

That produced sharp increases in unemployment… large numbers of bankruptcies… and runs on banks.

Not surprisingly, many resented the developments that led to this volatility.

Most Americans still thought of themselves primarily as Kansans or Kentuckians or Virginians. They identified with their states.

To many, the erosion of the economic boundaries separating communities and states … and the increasing competition from other regions and Europe … came as a big shock.

Protectionist pressures were strong.

In 1860, when Lincoln and a Republican Congress came to power … the administration pushed forward four broad policies:

Help Americans get a stake in their nation by increasing their opportunity to own property and establish businesses.
Assign a role for government to support the economic, educational and technological changes taking hold at the time.
Establish a transcontinental railroad.
And realize that a period of turmoil, while potentially a barrier to reform, may also present a unique opportunity.

The rest, of course, is history:

A collection of states became a nation.
A climate for Americans to capitalize on innovation and emerging technologies was created. A rising class of entrepreneurs and property owners flourished. /li>

The stage was set for the American economy to dominate the 20th century.

Ask an educator and they’ll tell you that we can learn a lot from history. I’ve done a lot of asking over the years – my wife is a teacher.

Now, we must compete in a 21 st century world economy.

And like what Lincoln promoted, it’s going to take a multi-lateral approach, engaging every corner of society.

I’ve given a number of public speeches over the past several years that deal with global trade, business transformation and education.

You could say it’s enlightened self interest to do so. After all, I work for a company that is entrenched in the global economy … and has a lot riding on its continued development.

On any given day, about two percent of everything produced in the world is delivered in the back of those beautiful brown trucks you see rolling through the streets of your hometowns.

But this issue goes further than my professional interest. Much further.

As a father, citizen, and someone who cares deeply about global trade, global prosperity and global harmony, I feel it’s our mission to help prepare people for a world that is coming closer together through trade.

That said, I applaud the work you folks are doing at the States Institute, and am heartened to see so much progress being made to advance international education in our schools.

I went to InternationalEd.org and counted no less than 20 states involved in programs ranging from:

Student and teacher exchange programs with China
New multi-language curricula
International trade literacy
Global communication technologies
And the list goes.

It’s clear to me that you are well on your way towards effectively changing the way we teach the next generations of Americans. But I also recognize from talking with many of you, that your work in many ways has just begun.

Don’t feel alone. We’re all in this together. Business. Government. Education. Parents. And students.

In the time remaining tonight, I think maybe the best value I could bring to you is to outline six specific traits we’re looking for in future employees at UPS as we engage even further in world trade.

We need people who are:

Trade literate
Sensitive to foreign cultures
Conversant in different languages
Technology savvy
Capable of managing complexity
Ethical

These six traits have bearing on the kinds of education needed to bring people to the workplace who are equipped to succeed in the global economy.

And, by the way, while I’ll use UPS examples, I don’t speak just on behalf of our company tonight. Over the past few years, I’ve participated on a number of boards, committees and agencies – from the Business Roundtable to the President’s Export Council to the U.S.-China Business Council. I spend a lot of time talking to fellow business and government leaders, and I can tell you that we’re all very aligned in our thinking.

The same kind of thinking expressed by Melodie O’Hanlon, an English teacher at Berkeley Springs High School in West Virginia.

Listen to what Miss O’Hanlon says: “Understanding the true economic, social and political forces at work in the world is essential in solving problems on a local and global level.”

This gets to the heart of the first trait I’ll talk about – people who are global trade literate. In other words people who understand the basics of 21 st century trade and economics.

One could argue – and I have over the years – that a major reason that the term “globalization” has come to mean a menacing force in the minds of many is that we haven’t done a good job promoting trade literacy in this nation.

The business community in particular.

Tom Friedman, a good friend of UPS and educators everywhere, recently wrote a column about this.

Tom contends America’s leading businesses and business leaders have been too quiet. While the opponents of globalism have been loud.

Last year, during the national elections, we even saw global trade cast as political wedge issue.

And that’s a shame.

Education, hopefully, will change that perception.

At UPS we’ve started a companywide initiative to teach an ongoing global trade curricula to every UPSer. We’re utilizing our employee web site, as well as one-to-one meetings with drivers, management discussions and other channels.

And we’re also staging conferences around the world with people like Tom Friedman, Jimmy Carter, FW de Klerk, Vaclav Havel and George Bush Sr. to elevate discussion about global trade and supply chain issues.

As our business moves further into both of these areas – trade and supply chain -- we’ve seen a dramatic demand for people skilled in global trade jobs.

In fact, we’ve added over 20,000 supply chain jobs in the last five years.

The Wall Street Journal recently described supply chain professions as “the kind of high value work that international trade produces. Jobs that our nation needs right now to offset losses in other industries.”

The second trait we look for are people who are adaptable and sensitive to foreign cultures.

In 1976, I was among the first wave of American UPSers to work in our fledgling international operations. I was sent to Germany and it was an eye-opening experience.

Let’s just say we weren’t as cross-culturally astute as we are today. We've learned some lessons the hard way over the years.

During the build-up of our business in Europe, we were challenged with integrating 16 acquired companies.

The integration of those acquired companies into our organization was the biggest stumbling block to our international expansion.

Unfortunately, our first impulse then was to behave more like commandos instead of teachers, partners, and consultants.

Our attitude was often, "You stand over there and watch how we do this, then do it exactly the same way." In short, it was, "the UPS way or no way."

Well, that didn't work and our business suffered.

Things only got better when we found the right blend of UPS culture, capabilities, and local knowledge. We knew we had acquired valuable operations in valuable markets. Our job should be to make it better, not make it over.

When we focused our coaching into areas where significant improvement was needed and left the rest alone, things improved.

We learned that local employees lend more credibility to the local customer base because they understand the culture, language, legal system and business practices.

We learned that integrating acquired companies means balancing both parties’ expectations, while creating a climate of trust, inclusion and cooperation.

People who are sensitive to foreign cultures will always have a home at UPS.

Part of that adaptability and sensitivity comes with the third trait we look for -- foreign language skills.

When I was a kid, growing up in Southern Indiana, I never thought about foreign languages. Now, it is essential to expose children to different languages and cultures.

Today, in American schools, one million students study French - a language spoken by 70 million people. Fewer than 50,000 American students study Chinese, a language spoken by more than a billion people.

During a recent trip to China, I heard an interesting statistic: There are more people learning to speak English in China right now than there are English speakers in the United States.

In very short order, the United States will become the third largest English speaking country – behind India and China.

At UPS we serve 200 countries and over 150 languages. We have web sites translated into 22 different languages.

Foreign language skills are essential to our business and will be even more so in the years ahead as we expand our footprint in Asia and the rest of the developing world.

One universal language that is vital to UPS is technology.

In fact, the fourth trait we look for in people to help us with our international business is technology skills.

Global technologies and usage patters greatly impact our lives and our businesses.

Think about the developing world … while lacking in wired resources they actually have leapfrogged the Western world in wireless usage and application.

China today, for instance, adds five million new cellular customers every month.

And as you know, China and India are producing millions of bright new engineers, scientists, materials researchers, software developers and other technology professionals.

In the area of engineering alone, the U.S. ranks 17 th in producing new talent.

As a Sputnik-inspired engineer myself, this concerns me. We have over 10,000 engineers at UPS and that demand will only increase in the coming years.

Technology is central to our mission at UPS of being able to serve every customer -- whether they’re in Boston or Bangkok -- as if they’re our only customer.

Without these kinds of capabilities it would be impossible to compete in a global economy. Customers demand more services and more responsiveness.

Technology is the great enabler.

Here’s a simple example of how technology impacts just one area of UPS.

Six years ago during the Holiday season, we received 600,000 service calls - mostly tracking inquiries. The cost per call was $2 dollars.

This year, those same inquiries are being handled over the Internet. By the end of the Holiday season, we will have handled more than 12 million of them that way, at about one cent per call.

Greater service for our customers at lower costs.

New technologies, new competitors and disruptive business models are accelerating at a furious pace – just look at the extraordinary rise of iPod, Google, eBay and other “flatteners,” as Tom Friedman would call them.

These kinds of forces, compounded on a global level, are also why we look for people who can manage complexity and uncertainty.

This is the fifth trait we look for – people who can learn how to learn.

While information is much richer today – complexity and uncertainty have not abated. In fact, they’ve increased.

That’s also why we want to make it possible for people to have six or more different jobs in the course of a career at UPS. In fact, we think it’s the key to our management longevity, which we consider a distinct competitive advantage.

Today, the average UPS manager has been with the company over 16 years and has had at least six different assignments – many of them international-related assignments.

Being able to manage complexity … and learning how to learn is a trait we will always value. One of the great attributes of a liberal arts education is preparing people to learn how to learn. So we absolutely believe that traditional liberal arts educations still have an important role to play in American society.

Another tradition that has never been more important to America as it engages in a global marketplace is ethical behavior … which is the sixth trait we look for in our people.

Business integrity and diplomacy have been under the microscope in recent years. And that’s too bad … because the vast, vast majority of American business leaders, like educators, play an essential and honorable role every day of their lives.

Outside the U.S., widespread negative perceptions of our country still persist.

The business community can play a big role in fixing this tarnished image.

In fact, I believe we’ve entered an era where business diplomacy trumps political diplomacy.

The world has become so integrated economically that the vast majority of influence … the greatest force that impacts the greatest number of lives internationally … is business.

Our actions and our beliefs are not only shaping the perceptions of our companies abroad but they are forming impressions about our nation and the ideals for which it stands.

It’s a huge responsibility – one we must manage with care and diligence.

I recently spoke at Bentley College up in Boston. Many of you are probably aware that Bentley pioneered the study of business ethics in American higher education. I applaud their work.

At the same, we need to make sure that those foundations of ethics are grounded in students long before they reach the collegiate level. Our schools, our families, our businesses and our communities all have roles to play in this regard.

At UPS all of our managers are certified each year on compliance and foreign business practice issues.

“Doing well by doing right” has been a philosophy that has served UPS well in our 98 years of business and will continue to.

Tonight, I’ve outlined six attributes that we look for in people who will help guide our company in an expanding global economy. People who will guide most American companies. People who are:

Trade literate
Sensitive to foreign cultures
Conversant in different languages
Technology savvy
Capable of managing complexity
Ethical

Everyone here tonight plays a big part in helping us not only attract the right people … but in succeeding in this complex, challenging, invigorating and opportunity-rich world of change.

By promoting international education in our schools, you’re promoting America’s business interests … social interests and cultural interests.

On behalf of all my fellow business leaders around the country, I want to thank you for all hard work and dedication you put into this most noble cause.

We need you. We value you. And we want to continue working closely with you in the years ahead.

Thank you again for your time and attention this evening.

Not Lost in Translation

Kimberly — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:46:00 GMT

photo credit: John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times

source: The New York Times
By PAUL BURNHAM FINNEY

Published: February 20, 2007

With corporate travelers now doing business in all four points of the globe, developing some fluency in foreign languages is getting to be as important as taking along a laptop on an overseas trip.

On a visit to Moscow a friendly kak dela (how are you doing?) can be an icebreaker when meeting a Russian contact, and an obrigado (thank you) when you exit a session in São Paulo may be just enough Portuguese to charm your Brazilian host.

Veterans of the overseas business circuit say that despite the spread of English worldwide, those linguistic gestures promote familiarity by showing that you have done your homework and care about getting along.

“I have five phrases wherever I go,” said Sally A. Painter, a managing director of Dutko Global Advisors, a public-policy management firm, who takes overseas business trips two weeks a month to places as diverse as Argentina, Cambodia and Latvia.

The industry is at odds over whether
live instruction or a CD-ROM, like those
made by Rosetta Stone, works best.

“ ‘Good day.’ ‘How are you?’ ‘Thank you very much.’ ‘It’s been a pleasure to see you.’ And ‘many thanks,’ ” she said. “That’s about it for my basic repertoire. I wish I had better language skills.”

Business travelers insist that those snippets go a long way to impress foreign contacts. And it is no easy task mastering even a few phrases if the language is Mandarin, the hottest newcomer on the language-training scene.

“There is a big boom in the demand for it,” said Thomas Uehara, director of United States operations for Berlitz International, arguably the best-known provider of language training. (Arabic is a distant second.)

Aware of the value of dealing in the mother tongue of their hosts, many traveling employees are now taking crash courses to develop more elaborate conversational skills.

“Business opportunities open up when you know what people are saying and don’t just depend on what a translator can tell you,” said Rosemary Feal, executive director of the Modern Language Association in New York.

“Our most popular course is five days — with give-and-take sessions for seven hours a day,” Mr. Uehara said. “Our students say that after the second day, they start dreaming in the target language. That’s when you know you’re succeeding.”

The price for such a weeklong course is $2,500 plus study materials.

“It’s lucrative — getting executives primed to go,” said Mike Ferrari, director of merchandising at Barnes & Noble, who has seen a significant uptick in sales of CD language guides. “They’ll pay a premium for fast training.”

Leading the pack of today’s high-tech trainers is Fairfield Language Technologies, which markets a CD-ROM self-learning system under the name Rosetta Stone.

“We’re projecting annual growth of about 150 percent in our corporate business,” the company’s chief executive, Tom Adams, said. “Intel, for example, teaches its project engineers how to speak Chinese before shipping them to China.”

Berlitz and Fairfield part ways on whether a live instructor or a CD program is a better teacher.

The instructor-student partnership, as Berlitz explains it, allows for considerable flexibility to fit individual needs. For instance, if you are about to make a swing through Latin America, Berlitz can rotate Argentine, Chilean, Colombian and Mexican teachers so that you can get acquainted with different Spanish accents.

On the other hand, the computer programs are versatile — you can plug them into your digital music player and learn while jogging or “killing time at the motor vehicle bureau,” as one business traveler put it.

The venerable Berlitz, founded 128 years ago by Maximilian Berlitz in Providence, R.I., and now owned by the Benesse Corporation of Japan, is quietly updating its sacred methodology and going high-tech with what it calls Berlitz Virtual Classrooms.

It is really Berlitz online: you can be located almost anywhere in the world, and if you have a computer, a microphone and a headset or speakers, you can learn any of some 50 languages online.

Despite the itch to become language-smart, frequent travelers like Ms. Painter, the consultant, can easily fall back on English as the modern lingua franca of global business. It is the superpower’s language — the one that foreign executives encounter worldwide in much the same way that French was a favorite among diplomats at one time.

“American business travelers assume everyone’s going to know English,” said Aaron Wunder, a project manager at Healthy Companies International, which advises executives on cultural matters like language fluency. “I haven’t seen a big increase in the commitment to learn foreign languages.”

In a 2002 survey of corporate executives, Healthy Companies found that most American executives could claim knowledge of only a smattering of another language. By contrast, Dutch executives on average could handle four languages.

“We couldn’t survive in Holland without three or four languages at our fingertips,” said Hans Buchenau, a Dutch businessman. “We speak Dutch, teach English as the second language, and border on Germany and French-speaking Belgium.”

There is more reason to gain an aptitude in foreign languages than you might think, experienced world travelers say. For example, an American executive who was checking into the White Swan in Guangzhou, the former Canton, recalls how he was impressed by the staff’s fluency in English until he asked for directions to the men’s room and got a reply: “Your luggage will be delivered to your room.” Rote word practice is not the same as understanding, he noted.

On a recent trip to Mumbai, India, Tom Russell, publisher of Random House’s Living Language learning guides, ran across a commentary in a leading Indian publication that pointed out the hazards of the new “globish” language. It is a term used to describe the awkward English that is often spoken abroad “in fits and starts,” he said. “It’s just enough for a foreigner to get by in our tongue.”

“Americans are getting a bit more adventurous with languages,” he acknowledged, “but they’re afraid of making fools of themselves.”

In any case, major American companies are refining their thinking on how best to prepare employees for business dealings overseas. “They’re letting them shop around and get reimbursed rather than pressuring them to attend corporate classes,” said Mr. Uehara of Berlitz. Backing up this trend, Mr. Adams of Rosetta Stone said that “a lot of initiative is coming from individual employees.”

To make learning languages easier, educators use every device from “Spanish for Dummies” and dolls that speak different languages to CD manuals you can play while driving. They stay away from brain-numbing recitations of French verbs.

“Tailor it to the customer,” said Juan Gutierrez, president of the Ultimate Language Store in Richardson, Tex. “Some students learn from foreign TV stations and movies. We carry hundreds of foreign films. How about ‘Lord of the Rings’ in Italian?”

The Government's Role in Foreign Language Education

Kimberly — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:39:00 GMT

source: Associated Content

How the American Government Has Attempted to Help Foreign Language Education

By Joshua Cook, published Apr 27, 2007

The federal government invests immense amounts of money in language instruction for government employees and members of the military. The technology level of most government language teaching schools education sector. Most federal funding in the development of fresh teaching material and research occurs within, or for, the government's own language schools. It is a pity that there is little spillover into the private sector of these improvements.

The Foreign Language Assistance Act, which provides grants to states based upon the size of their school age populations, is an example of the federal government's hit-and-miss attitudes towards foreign language education. States were to submit project proposals to the U.S. Department of Education which, once accepted, would be funded. One of the limitations of the program was that no one could be sure how long these funds would continue into the future. Also, given the federal government's desire for new projects, any long term cost of these changes and programs would be put onto the local governments. This is all too common today. Once federal funding for these programs is gone, there is almost no trace that they were around at all.

The longest running federal support program for foreign language education is Title VI of the Higher Education Act, but today it has lost more of its central purposes. Created in 1958, to make sure we didn't get surprised like we did when the Russians launched Sputnik without our knowledge, the lesser taught languages were being focused on. Soon after though, this broadened into area studies and other nonlinguistic studies. It now supports international business education, undergraduate international studies, research and materials preparation, and overseas teacher training and conferencing.

In general, the federal government's intervention in foreign language education is in the form of project
There are a number of positive trends occurring though:

1) The amount of foreign language instruction in the last decade had increased by nearly ten percent in the elementary level and has stayed relatively stable in at the secondary level.

2) The teaching of less commonly taught languages has increased at the elementary level.

3) Computer-based instructional materials are much more commonplace than they were in the past.

4) Staff development has increased in the past decade in both elementary and secondary levels.

5) Over half of schools changed the curriculum due to a heightened awareness of national or state standards by those teaching language classes.

But despite these positive trends, there is still cause for concern. Funding shortages, inadequate in-service training, poor sequencing from elementary into secondary schools, lack of quality materials, and poor academic counseling still remain problem areas. The bottom line is that what is lacking is a fundamental national commitment to foreign language training and education. There is little coordination between federal agencies that take the initiative to train their departments and the public education system. In line with this lack of coordination are the upgrade college and university programs. Because of increased financial restraints, these upper level education institutions are forced to prioritize, which again, leaves foreign language education by the side of the road.

International studies programs do not involve enough students. The percentage of undergraduates enrolling in these fields is still too low. This causes academic international studies programs to be slow to the national changes needed.
The United States is showing signs of de-emphasizing internationalism in higher education as the rest of the world's universities are becoming more international. Approximately 43,000 Japanese students study in the U.S., while less than 2,000 Americans study in Japan. We will lose our competitive edge in the global marketplace if this trend continues. Other nations recognize that they operate in a global economy and that understanding other cultures and languages is valuable and necessary.

We can follow the idea that English is sufficient enough to get by in dealing with military, diplomatic, and economic challenges that are arising, or we can follow other nations and mobilize our nation to promote competence in foreign languages. Now more than ever, the need for Americans to be able to compete on the national stage is of great importance. If we are willing to take strong actions and demand that all schools America will continue to be the world leader we strive to be.

is considerably higher than in the formal grants. These tend to give only short-term funds that are meant to seed and grow into larger programs. This is not an answer to a long-term problem. teach foreign language at every level, and that it be a cumulative learning experience,

Americans Need Foreign Language Skills in Global Community

Kimberly — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:35:00 GMT

source: Deseret Morning News, Salt Lake City, UT

By Steve Fidel

Published: Thursday, March 15, 2007 10:43 a.m. MDT

A person who speaks three languages is trilingual; a person who speaks two languages is bilingual; a person who speaks one language is — American.

The cliche is an old one but was used at a translation summit in Salt Lake City on Monday to stress the need for greater language skills among the U.S. population if Americans hope to thrive in the international business community and improve their country's cultural and political standing across the globe.

"Sometimes breakdowns of communications have serious consequences," said Stephen Sekel, who oversees the editing and translation of official documents for the United Nations.

Sekel announced a new U.N. outreach at the summit, saying the international organization would be working with translator training institutions and professional associations in the United States to find potential recruits.

The United Nations is facing a shortage of language professionals, who must have advanced language proficiency in three languages — one of which must be Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish or English.

The Committee for Economic Development, a Washington, D.C., think tank, wants the federal government to retool its educational agenda and pump $125 million per year into public education to beef up language and foreign-culture training, said Alfred Mockett, an international business executive who co-authored a report on international studies and foreign language education for the committee.

Story continues below

Mockett said only one in three junior high and high school students in the United States studies a foreign language, and the number drops to one in 10 for college students.

"In Denmark, even truck drivers speak three languages," he said.

Mockett said core curriculum initiates like the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 are inadvertently hurting language study programs because of reporting requirements for basics like reading, science and math. Subjects like foreign language study that don't have the same reporting requirements are being neglected as a result, Mockett said.

Despite the political focus on the war in Iraq and other international situations, elected officials are neglecting the importance of understanding foreign languages and cultures.

"We can't be lulled into thinking the world will do it our way," Mockett said.

"You'd be surprised how many congressmen don't even have a passport," Mockett said outside the conference.

Mockett said the already crowded field of presidential hopefuls is tuning in to the committee's message as candidates formulate the education plank in their political platforms.

The foreign language deficiency is more pronounced in government than in the business community, where most of the growth potential for U.S. companies lies in overseas markets, Mockett said. Still, "the business community is in desperate need of cross-cultural competence."

The Brigham Young University Center for Language Studies hosted Monday's summit, which is billed as the only event of its kind to include U.S. government representatives, educators, translators and corporate executives.

E-mail: sfidel@desnews.com

More School Districts Look to Hire Teachers of Chinese

Kimberly — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:29:00 GMT

source: The New York Times

By KATE STONE LOMBARDI

Published: June 1, 2008

In the Region

Long Island, Westchester, Connecticut and New Jersey

THE second graders were playing patty-cake while chanting in a singsong: “I love reading. You love writing. I am going to help you. You are going to help me. You are my friend. We are very happy!”

If that sounds pretty simplistic for a group of 8-year-olds, bear this in mind — the class was speaking in Chinese. Every one of the 549 students who attend the Grimes Elementary School here began learning Mandarin this year, after the school received a three-year grant to begin the program.

The district’s Mandarin curriculum is one of the newest in Westchester public schools, but it won’t be for long. Horace Greeley High School, in Chappaqua, plans to introduce the language next school year. And the Scarsdale School District will embark on an ambitious Mandarin language program in the 2009-10 academic year, beginning in the sixth grade and continuing through high school.

Several districts already teach Mandarin, including Croton-Harmon and Briarcliff. Mamaroneck has the oldest Mandarin program in the county; the district has offered it since 1988. Other districts, including Hastings, Rye and Blind Brook, are exploring adding Chinese to the curriculum.

What is happening in Westchester reflects a national trend. The number of Chinese programs in prekindergarten through 12th grade in the United States has grown by almost 200 percent since 2004, according to the Asia Society, a nonprofit group that promotes education about the continent.

“This has just exploded all over the country,” said Rosemary G. Feal, executive director of the Modern Language Association.

The burgeoning interest in Mandarin reflects the recognition of China’s emergence as an economic and political power, administrators say. About 1.3 billion people worldwide speak all dialects of Chinese. The proliferation of programs has also been stimulated by the availability of federal grant money to encourage Chinese language instruction.

But starting a Chinese language program is not as easy as simply winning school board approval. First, there is a gap between interest in Mandarin instruction and the availability of certified instructors.

“With more and more programs springing up, there is a dearth of certified teachers right now, especially compared to the demand,” said Robin Harvey, coordinator of the Developing Chinese Language Teachers project at New York University.

To become accredited, it is not enough for teachers to be fluent in the language. They also need a total of 30 college credits in the language they will teach, Ms. Harvey said. Many natives of Taiwan and mainland China lack such credits.

At N.Y.U.’s education school, about 20 people will be certified this spring to teach Chinese. Pace University, in White Plains, also has a Chinese language certification program. Only two people are being certified this year, but Pace is working on a new program, which it plans to introduce in January, to fast-track native Chinese speakers for certification. Administrators are exploring ways to document language competency in ways that would count toward college credits.

Ms. Harvey, who worked as a consultant to the Scarsdale School District, said that districts contemplating new Mandarin programs also express concern about how much children will be able to master.

“Because we are so culturally distant from China, it seems that Chinese will be insurmountable to learn,” she said. “In fact, the first three or four months, when you’re looking at characters, they do seem totally alien, but all of the sudden, a switch will flip. It doesn’t take longer to learn to speak or listen than other languages, but it does take longer to read and write.”

In a recent 11th-grade Chinese language class at Mamaroneck High School, teenagers play-acted a dialogue of a doctor’s examination under the direction of their teacher, Rong Rong Le. Looking down at the rows of Chinese characters, Alexandra Rudansky, 17, and Kate Rainey, 17, took turns as doctor and patient as they conversed in Mandarin about temperatures, blood tests and X-rays.

BOTH girls have studied the language since the seventh grade and can now converse and understand native Chinese speakers. On a recent class trip to Chinatown, they bargained over prices of store goods and ordered meals in Chinese. Both tutor eighth graders in Mandarin and plan to continue Chinese study in college.

The Mamaroneck program has grown in popularity. Jordan Gratch, 17, began studying Chinese in seventh grade and is one of 28 people in his grade to study the language. His younger sister is in the eighth grade, which has 100 children taking Mandarin.

Croton-on-Hudson and Briarcliff offer Mandarin instruction as part of a continuing exchange with Chinese high schools. Last summer, 45 foreign students lived with families in Croton, and last month a group of seniors from Croton and Briarcliff traveled to Shanghai, Beijing and Xian, visiting schools and staying in homes and dormitories.

In the Region

Long Island, Westchester, Connecticut and New Jersey

“The community has really embraced this,” said Joel Adelberg, the principal at Croton High School and one of the leaders of the trip. “For a small town, we are doing some exciting work.”

In Chappaqua, a history teacher and a Chinese teacher will jointly teach the new high school course. It will include not only Mandarin instruction, but will also examine the historical and cultural foundations of modern Chinese society.

“We thought it might be better to start with this course that contains both contemporary culture and a language, because that might generate an interest,” said Lyn McKay, deputy superintendent of curriculum in Chappaqua.

In Scarsdale, parents pushed for Mandarin to be included in the curriculum, and the district formed a committee to study the issue last fall. After considering several languages, including Arabic, the group recommended Mandarin, citing China’s strategic importance, community interest and the sustainability as a program.

Michael V. McGill, the superintendent of Scarsdale schools, said: “To me, the broader goal really has to do with sensitizing students to cultures that are different than their own. Learning the language is important, but understanding how language and culture and politics and personal behavior all interact is also very important.”

Frances Lightsy, the principal at Grimes Elementary School, agrees. She said most of the children in her school, which is 98 percent African-American and African-Caribbean, had never seen a Chinese person, except perhaps in a restaurant. When Chun Li, a native of China, arrived to teach a special education class a few years ago, some of the children mocked her.

“We really needed to expand their horizons to accept someone different,” Ms. Lightsy said.

Ms. Li volunteered to teach an after-school program to expose the children to Chinese culture. Now, she teaches Mandarin full time at the school. As she entered Tanya Douglas’s second-grade classroom, the students called out “Good morning, teacher” in Mandarin. For 30 minutes, she kept the children engaged — writing Chinese characters on the board, having the children speak, gesture and dance.

“This is an exciting thing for me to do,” Ms. Li said. “We started from scratch. And now they are beginning to communicate.”

U.S. Firms Becoming Tongue-Tied

Kimberly — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:21:00 GMT

source: USA Today
February 9, 2006

Global trade requires foreign language skills
By David J. Lynch, USA TODAY

As the Bush administration promotes its new imitative to keep the United States competitive in a globalized world, it's worth noting this fact: Only one of the men running the five largest U.S. corporations is fluent in any language other than English.

Thanks to his time helming General Motors' Brazilian operations, GM's Rick Wagoner speaks Portuguese. But he's a corner office exception: Wal-Mart's H. Lee Scott, ExxonMobil's Rex Tillerson, Ford Motor's Bill Ford and Jeffrey Immelt of General Electric -- none of these highly paid executives can make a contact or negotiate a deal in another language.

In last week's State of the Union address, President Bush spoke of "keeping America competitive" by encouraging innovation through tax breaks for corporate research spending and promoting math and science study.

But some experts worry that the administration's current push doesn't do anything to address the USA's globalization Achilles' heel: Americans' lack of foreign language skills and general global awareness. "Competitiveness is not just about training more engineers and scientists. That's just part of it," says Angel Cabrera, president of Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management in Glendale, Ariz.

History, geography and prosperity all conspired to leave Americans ill-equipped for globalized commerce. Traditional isolationism made some suspicious of foreign tongues and peoples. A continental country isolated by massive oceans, the USA felt itself a land apart. Prosperity fostered complacency.

No longer. Though English is the global default language for business, monolingual executives place themselves at a competitive disadvantage. Increasingly, they'll be up against foreign counterparts who understand not only their own language and culture but also those of the USA.

"Like it or not, knowledge of the world is no longer a luxury," says Michael Levine, executive director for education at the Asia Society. "Other countries are moving ahead with their educational systems, and it's certainly a competitive advantage for them."

Example: In China, more than 200 million students study English. In the USA, just 24,000 American kids are studying Chinese.

In December, the Asia Society released a study with the Goldman Sachs Foundation that called for overhauling public education to provide students far greater international experience. With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the society has established pilot schools in New York, Los Angeles and Charlotte. Seven additional schools are set to open within the next year in Denver, Philadelphia, Austin, Charlotte and New York.

The schools use a distinctive curriculum that takes an international approach to all subjects and gives students greater opportunities to travel and connect with children in other lands via the Internet, Levine says.

In retooling for future global competition, the USA has a long way to go. Less than 1% of today's high school students are studying the languages likely to be among the most important to the USA's future: Chinese, Arabic, Farsi, Korean, Japanese, Russian and Urdu, according to the Education Department.

Though the president didn't mention it in last week's speech, the administration earlier this month unveiled a $114 million program aimed at increasing the number of Americans fluent in such "critical" languages. The initiative is motivated largely by national security concerns but is expected to have spillover economic benefits. A pilot project in Portland, Ore., already has started teaching Chinese to kindergarten students.

Rising interest in language skills

Corporate interest may be stirring. Today in Washington, the Committee for Economic Development, a business-funded group, will release a study urging greater emphasis on international studies and foreign languages.

For now, corporations get around their executives' inability to speak other languages by hiring foreigners to run their overseas units or relying heavily on translators. Companies such as Wal-Mart often send executives to Thunderbird for crash courses on foreign languages and cultures. In recent years, the school also has seen new customers from small companies that are venturing abroad for the first time.

But Cabrera, a native of Spain, says European and Asian corporations better understand the concrete commercial benefits of a sometimes fuzzy concept such as global awareness. "Most people (in the USA) think in order to succeed, you just have to have a strong background in finance or marketing. ... (But) business at the end of the day is about relationships with people," he says.

Michael Eskew, CEO of UPS, saw first-hand the difficulties involved in bridging the language gap early in his career while an expatriate in Germany. The Americans' first-name informality often rubbed their culturally conservative German counterparts the wrong way. So did the Americans' conviction that they knew best about everything, says Eskew, whose own linguistic skills are limited to scholastic Latin.

UPS, which operates in more than 200 countries, has modified its approach in the intervening three decades. Eskew, who became CEO in 2002, established a "global trade curricula" for its more than 407,000 employees on the company website and seeks new hires who speak multiple languages.

"With the next generation, we need to do a better job of this, especially languages like Chinese," Eskew says. "We're going to be partnering with these people. We need to understand their culture and their language."

Ensuring America's Place in the Global Economy by Building Language Capacity in the Schools

Kimberly — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:59:00 GMT

source: American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

Click here to read the entire testimony (16 pgs) in PDF. Page 1 is reprinted below.

Becoming Citizens of the World

Kimberly — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:53:00 GMT

source: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

April 11, 2007

Policymakers have supported foreign language and international education in higher ed. Now’s the time to turn that commitment to K-12 education, as well.

In “Becoming Citizens of the World,” Vivien Stewart identifies existing school-based programs and further policy recommendations for creating students prepared to thrive in a multiethnic, multicultural, and multilingual world.

At the classroom level, how are you bringing an international connection—including collaboration with students from other countries—into a class or school project you have planned this semester? At the policy level, how is your school or district adapting to the global age?

Blogger Jennifer Borse at Tidbits of Interest says this article is "right on target."

"The only thing that I'd remotely disagree with (and only as a technicality) is that we needed to be doing all these things 10 to 20 years ago rather than starting now, but later is better than never. Much of the United States has been way too inwardly focused for the past decade(s) - and it seems that the most inwardly focused/domestically-centric sections of our population/economy are the ones that are most ripe for feeling the pinches ultimately caused by growing globalization. History drills in the point that "once great"- doesn't ensure "always great" - the world keeps changing and citizens that want to stay competitive keep adapting. Survival in this era is guaranteed only to the fittest (globally speaking)."

Posted by Laura Varlas