Over the past two decades, countries in the world have become

more and more interdependent, and new technologies have erased many

existing borders. As boundaries between countries are dissolved, foreign

language instruction has become less necessary than ever for linking with 【M1】__________

the rest of the world and for producing an enlightened citizenship able to

function in today’s ever-shrinked world. 【M2】__________

To be competitive at a global scale, the business world of tomorrow 【M3】__________

needs individuals who can work in a cultural diverse environment and 【M4】__________

who have strong skills in a foreign language. US companies have

committed many faux pas when attempting to market their products

abroad. One such example involves in a major American airline company 【M5】__________

wanting to advertise its new leather first-class seats in the Mexican

market. They translated its “Fly in Leather” campaign literally as 【M6】__________

“Vuela en cuero,” that means “Fly Naked” in Spanish. One can only 【M7】__________

imagine embarrassment that must have ensued. Additionally, many 【M8】__________

businesses are looking for people who are proficient in other languages.

Such skills are needed in service industries, publishers and entertainment

industries, corporate offices with overseas accounts, and also in other

areas such as medicine, law, business, journalism. Knowing another

language provides a competitive edge in career choices in today’s and

tomorrow’s world.

Once again, the connection between languages and national security

has risen to a forefront. In the past decades, the US government has 【M9】__________

relied heavily on technical means for gathering intelligence; however,

the events of September 11 have been highlighted the shortage in the 【M10】_________

manpower needed to translate the messages gathered through

intelligence. Lack of foreign language expertise will continue to

undermine national security, because the only way to get the deep

understanding of another country that is needed for intelligence

operations is to master the language spoken there.

【M1】