Academic benefits
Research shows that students benefit academically from the study of a second language and gain positive attitudes about other cultures and languages. Click on the "answer" links below to read more about these studies on the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Web site.
- How does language learning support academic achievement? Answer »
- How does language learning provide cognitive benefits to students? Answer »
- How does language learning affect attitudes and beliefs about language learning and about other cultures? Answer »
Why immersion?
- Early start
- Native-like pronunciation
- Extended sequence leading to higher proficiency levels
- Better match with curriculum
- Cognitively challenging
- Culturally responsive
Read more
Kids learn a second language easily - but how? (PDF)
Researchers hope to grease the bilingual skids for adults
Anchorage Daily News, June 21, 2009
by Lauran Neergaard
Early Launch for Language
Young Children Have Advantage, but Linguists Say Lessons Benefit All
The Washington Post, February 16, 2009
by Valerie Strauss
What is Immersion?
The Washington Post, February 16, 2009
The Importance of Early Language Study: Changing Students' Minds - and Brains?
Karelia Pallan,
National Capital Language Resource Center
What Parents Want to Know About Foreign Language Immersion Programs
Tara W. Fortune and Diane J. Tedick, University of Minnesota
ERIC Digest August 2003 EDO-FL-03-04
Foreign Language Immersion Program
Features and Trends Over 35 Years
Ashely Lenker and Nancy Rhodes, Center for Applied Linguistics
CAL digests, February 2007
Benefits of being multilingual
Career opportunities
The need for individuals who can speak and understand languages other than English is acute in many sectors in the United States, from
business and social services to national security and diplomacy. The
September 26, 2001, report of the House Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence (H.R. Rep. No. 107-219, 2001) identified language as the
single greatest need in the intelligence community.
|
 |
Senator Lisa Murkowski on the importance of language learning
In the August 2009 issue of The Language Educator Senator Murkowski spoke to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) about language education. Read the full article here »
 American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
During 2005, The Year of Languages, the ACTFL published the following advertisements:
 |
|
Now, more than ever, our children need to learn another language. So they can communicate, understand others and compete in a global environment. For the sake of our kids, it's time to speak up for language education.
|
Make sure foreign language remains part of your child’s
education. To succeed in this shrinking world,
our children will need to speak more than one language.
So for the sake of our kids, speak up
for language education.
|
|
|
 |
|
Foreign language education spells
success. Improve academic
performance. Raise SAT scores. Create more
opportunities for success in tomorrow’s international economy. That’s what learning another language can do for your child. So speak up for language education.
|
|
