Oppenheimer: It’s time for Americans to master a second language

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s recent comment that Americans should get their children to study Spanish or another second language has drawn an avalanche of criticism from English-only advocates and cable television anti-immigration zealots.
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But the fact is that the percentage of American college students who become proficient in a foreign language is pathetic compared to that of other countries. According to U.S. Department of Education, out of every 100 college credits taken by U.S. students in a given semester, only 8.6 are for a foreign language. “*

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