Secretary of Education Arne Duncan noted,
untry
all Americans understand that by speaking more than one language, they are enabling our
country to compete successfully and work collaboratively with partners across the globe."
Considering the evidence that studying languages as adults increases tolerance in two
important ways, the question shouldn't be "Why should universities require foreign language
study?" but rather "Why in the world wouldn't they?"
(Adapted from Amy Thompson, "How learning a new language improves tolerance")