World Knowledge & Languages Increase Life Opportunities KimOanh Nguyen-Lam Executive Director CSU Consortium- Strategic Language Initiative

U.S. Economy American companies lose an estimated $2 billion a year  30 % of U.S. companies cannot expand internationally International sales continue to exceed domestic sales. Source: Education for Global Leadership: The Importance of International Studies and Foreign Language Education for U.S. Economic and National Security – A CED Publication

U.S. Business Future U.S. manufacturing jobs: 1/5 exports U.S. business earning growth: 58 % from overseas markets (ex:Coca-cola – 70% of profits from non-U.S. markets) U.S.-Asia trade: $800 Billion+ (outpacing U.S.-Europe) Multi-national companies: 5.4 million U.S. workers U.S.-based multinational corporations: 21.8 million U.S. workers Global mergers: more foreign parent companies in U.S. (DaimlerChrysler AG, Bertelsmann, and BP Amoco) Future careers in business, government, health care, and law enforcement require global knowledge skills.

CA Economy International Trade Opportunities Exports are 1/4 of CA’s $1.5 trillion economy Over 1 million high-paying jobs in CA related to foreign markets

U.S. and the World EU Citizens: 56% bilingual 28 % trilingual 11% multilingual U.S. Citizens: 9% bilingual Source: Building a Fluent Workforce –by Janet Hulstrand – International Educator – Sept/Oct 08

U.S. and the World  Average # of languages spoken by business executives  European countries: 3.9  Latin America and Asia: 2.5  U.S.: 1.5  U.S. students are “strong technically” but “shortchanged” in cross-cultural experience and “linguistically deprived.” (RAND Corporation survey) Source: Education for Global Leadership: The Importance of International Studies and Foreign Language Education for U.S. Economic and National Security – A CED Publication

Benefits of foreign language study Mental agility Higher cognitive function Higher SAT scores

Higher Education Despite having the greatest number of students in higher education in the country, California only enrolls 8.5% of these in foreign language. The majority of these are at the introductory level.

Time to Proficiency in Selected Languages: Total average 300 hrs foreign language study

The Language Edge

California’s Multicultural Society California’s population distribution by ethnicity:

Tim Scerba, CEO, Mexico and COO, Latin America “The ability to speak multiple languages provides an edge in today’s competitive markets… … Being multilingual and multicultural— is a powerful combination in today’s global market.”