November 5, 1999
By Domenico Macei, PhD
When Chevrolet tried to sell its Nova model in Latin America, customers refused to buy it because of its name. In Spanish Nova -no va- means "It doesn't go." Would American customers buy a Japanese car with a name suggesting something similar?
As the American trade deficit with other countries continues to rise, US companies need to look not simply at the quality of their products but also learn about their customers and their needs. Products designed, produced, and marketed with Americans' tastes and needs in mind may not appeal to buyers abroad. To be successful in the global economy, American companies need internationally educated employees who possess knowledge of other cultures. Designing and eventually marketing products all over the world requires a knowledge that can only be gained by studying world languages, the key to entering cultures.
The Japanese know the importance of foreign languages. English is a basic subject in Japan. Japanese business understands that languages represent an important investment because of the purchasing power of the speakers. As Japanese executives are fond of saying, the language of business is the customer's language.
Knowing the language and culture of the customer is vital in international business. Some cultural practices are well known. Men kiss on the cheek in some countries while in others they may bow. Other cultural practices are less well known. In many cultures the first business meeting is not about business. It's about getting to know each other, finding out who the two parties are, their families etc. Business is conducted later. Also, in many oriental cultures it's impolite to say "no." The negative response is often suggested or must be interpreted through other subtleties. Obviously, it's not possible to learn all languages and cultures, but learning a second language and culture, makes it easy to eventually learn a third, and one will not be shocked by cultural practices of a fourth one.
Learning languages and cultures is not something to be picked up in a week-end workshop or two weeks in a foreign resort. It takes a long time. It needs to start in the earliest stages of education. In this respect the US has an advantage over many other countries because of the immigrant population. Many school districts already have bilingual programs designed as a transition to English-only instruction. Instead of curtailing these programs as California did last year, they should be expanded so that these bilingual children could eventually become bilingual adults. These children can learn two languages and be successful as children do in many other countries.
And if they need to learn another language it will not be a problem. It's the first foreign language that's difficult. Learning Italian or French is easy for Spanish-speakers in part because they are related languages. But even if the third language is unrelated, like Japanese, bilingual individuals possess much linguistic knowledge that will make it a lot easier to acquire it.
In addition to new languages, bilingual and bicultural individuals possess a flexibility about learning that reaches out to other domains. Bilingual individuals brains are characterized by what researchers call a "plasticity" of the brain, making it easier to pick up new things. Because they understand that there is more than one way to say the same thing, bilingual/bicultural individuals know that there is also more than one way to acquire a new skill or solve a problem. This flexibility about learning is vital for business and industry in an ever-changing technological world where employees are constantly asked to acquire new skills.
The bilingual skills and flexibility about learning should be available to all children. Monolingual American children should, in addition to English, study other languages. What languages should be taught in American elementary schools? Spanish is an obvious choice. It should begin in elementary schools.
By the time students finish high school, they would be nearly fluent. In college they could perfect it rather than start it as unfortunately is the case for many students now.
Other languages should be made available for those parents who do not wish to have their kids study Spanish. Japanese, French, German, Portuguese, and Italian, are obvious choices. Not all these languages would have to be offered. Locals school districts could choose one or two.
Other countries understand the importance of starting the study foreign languages in the early grades. By the time Dutch students are in high school, they are fluent in English and have been exposed to some other language. In most countries around the world any educated person will be able to communicate in several languages in addition to the local one.
US companies may be able to ward off the wane of the American economic might by investing in the future of children. Foreign languages, long seen as a frill, are becoming a basic subject along side of English and Math as they already are in other countries. Companies doing international business should provide the financial support necessary to establish language programs in elementary schools and continue them in the higher grades. In the long run this support will generate better prepared employees and, eventually, higher profits.
Domenico Maceri (dmaceri@aol.com), PhD, UC Santa Barbara, teaches foreign languages at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, CA.
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