increase funding for foreign language education in public schools.

Foreign language education at all levels of education (elementary, middle/junior high, and senior high) are important to a student's overall education. Only 20% of Americans consider themselves bilingual where about 56% of Europeans consider themselves bilingual. Our inability to speak more than one language is makes it harder for us to compete on a global scale. Learning a language is best at a young age. In addition to learning a new language, it has a positive effect on children's educational, linguistic, and cognitive skills. Due to the focus on standardized tests, foreign language programs have been cut to just one or two languages and to just the high school in many areas. We need to teach several languages at all levels, and this requires funding.