Reframing the Narrative

Abstract

This chapter explores the efforts of educators, government officials, and civil society to develop a workforce that meets the needs of the global economy. It begins with research findings on the cognitive advantages of bilingualism, which have resonated especially among educated parents, policymakers, and school officials. It delves further into critiques of those findings and looks at more recent fine-grained studies that yield hopeful though not definitive conclusions. It examines several federal initiatives in recent years promoting language study, including the Language Flagship Program focusing on critical languages. It discusses the 2017 report of the Commission on Language Learning, as well as several initiatives that have grown out of the report’s recommendations. The chapter sets the spotlight on the states in discussing the State Seal of Biliteracy, adopted in forty-three states plus Washington, DC, which officially recognizes multilingual proficiency in secondary school students, including heritage language speakers.