2.3: Foreign Languages
Increase proficiency in critical-need foreign languages. Other Information:
The Department must expand the number of Americans mastering foreign languages in order to advance increasingly important
economic, diplomatic, and national security objectives. This effort demands that more schools offer languages such as Arabic,
Farsi, Chinese, and Russian. The Department will support expanded course offerings in these critical-need languages and the
related teacher preparation to encourage access to high-quality instruction. Strategy 1. Support projects expanding AP offerings,
IB offerings and participation in critical-need languages. In the API, Foreign Language Assistance, and other programs, the
Department will give priority to projects that support activities to enable students to achieve proficiency or advanced proficiency
in critical-need languages. Furthermore, over the course of the strategic plan, the Department will begin measuring availability
of critical-need language classes so that it can better track the nation’s progress in this essential area. Strategy 2. Encourage
grantees to offer incentives, such as salary increments or bonuses, to teachers to become qualified to teach AP and IB courses
in critical-need foreign languages and to teachers whose students pass AP tests in those subjects. The Department will work
with Congress to increase support for API grants, giving priority to applicants that reward critical-need foreign language
teachers both for becoming qualified AP and IB instructors and for their students’ success on AP exams. Strategy 3. Leverage
the SMART grant program, rewarding postsecondary students who major in a critical-need foreign language. We will continue
to implement, support and evaluate the SMART grant program as an incentive for students to complete a bachelor’s degree in
a critical-need foreign language.
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