PISA Is a Wake-up Call but to Whom and For What?

There are plenty of stories to be found on the “wake-up call” that’s needed (but we said the same thing three years ago), but what, exactly, are we being called to “wake up” to? As a parent and business person who advocates for greater global awareness and more foreign language learning in our schools, a few things stand out.

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The Importance of Raising Global Children

Raising global children is one of the most important things that we, as parents, can do for our children – and for the long-term prosperity of our country. Working together, teachers and parents can raise global children, expanding their personal horizons and opening up a world of personal and professional opportunities.

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Why Study Abroad?

For parents, advisers and students….In my talks on campuses, many students express an interest in “just having fun” while studying abroad, so they’re planning on taking a few classes pass/fail and traveling around. They want to know, is that so wrong? It all depends on what the objective is.

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Applying to College? Make Sure You Have Options to Study Languages

Choosing a college is tough. You want the fit to be right, but you also want to graduate and get a job. Read on for some alternative thinking on choosing the best campus.

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Why Summer Learning Needs to Include International Studies—Even for K-5 Students

Guest blogger Angela Jackson writes about the easy yet important ways to keep up the global learning over the summer.

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Learning 2 or 20 Languages: Is There a Secret?

I recently finished Michael Erard’s latest book, Babel No More, in which he does a fabulous job of taking the reader on an international, historical adventure of polyglots and hyperpolyglots. The book reads much more like a novel at times than an academic treatise. And that’s a good thing.

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The World has Changed: Foreign Languages Make a Huge Difference

Today many Americans work abroad, competing with global graduates proficient in three to four languages and ever-stronger emerging market talent pools. Companies want globally competent employees – including multilanguage competency. Few starting out today could succeed as I did speaking only English.

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Don’t Kill Foreign-language Learning

How can we prepare our students for a global world without foreign language instruction? How can we make America great again while destroying the programs our children need to compete in today’s global marketplace?

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Volunteering — While Learning Spanish — in Central America

Following up on my last blog, Studying Spanish Along the Pan-American Highway,  this piece will explore some the volunteerism options I’m considering for Spanish-language immersion learning in Central America next year.  Volunteering is a great, inexpensive way to study a language and also learn about the local culture.   And since cultural knowledge and understanding (gestures, […]

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Studying Spanish Along the Pan-American Highway

Originally appeared in the Huffington Post on July 25.  My family and I just returned from a few weeks traveling through Central America. Originally, we planned on going to Greece and Turkey, but the economic strife, strikes and riots in Greece had us changing our minds – and scrambling for a Plan B.  I wanted […]

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