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In December of 2011, the Rhode Island Language Summit convened 56 leaders in Rhode Island government, business, and education to delineate current and future language and cultural skills needed for a competitive workforce that can function globally and locally. Participants concluded that world language skills and cultural capacity play a critical role in Rhode Island's ability to attract tourism, provide services to a multilingual citizenry, and compete globally. This Language Summit was the sixth in the history of the “Roadmap to National Language Excellence” federal initiative launched by the National Security Education Program’s The Language Flagship in 2007.
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The Rhode Island Language Summit
Providence, RI, December 2011
In December of 2011, the Rhode Island Language Summit convened 56 leaders in Rhode Island government, business, and education to delineate current and future language and cultural skills needed for a competitive workforce that can function globally and locally. Participants concluded that world language skills and cultural capacity play a critical role in Rhode Island's ability to attract tourism, provide services to a multilingual citizenry, and compete globally. This Language Summit was the sixth in the history of the “Roadmap to National Language Excellence” federal initiative launched by the National Security Education Program’s The Language Flagship in 2007.
Prior to the Language Summit, a preliminary language needs analysis was conducted by a team of researchers at the University of Rhode Island. Key findings from the Summit and preliminary research on the need for and sources of multilingual speakers in Rhode Island include:
The Rhode Island Preliminary Research Report can be read in its entirety here.
Prior to the Language Summit, a preliminary language needs analysis was conducted by a team of researchers at the University of Rhode Island. Key findings from the Summit and preliminary research on the need for and sources of multilingual speakers in Rhode Island include:
- Currently, the K-12 education system in Rhode Island does not require that students pass a world language proficiency test, and in most districts, there are no world language requirements to graduate with a high school diploma.
- Rhode Island is home to an array of multilingual speakers. More than 20% of Rhode Islanders report speaking a language other than English at home, predominantly Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Chinese, and Khmer (Cambodian), however heritage languages are typically not developed in RI public schools.
- RI businesses and government service agencies would prefer to hire local employees with bilingual or multilingual capabilities, but often face challenges in locating hires with language skills. Due to this lack in supply, companies are forced to turn to outsourcing to meet their language needs, whereas some may provide in-house language training for their employees when resources are available.
The Rhode Island Preliminary Research Report can be read in its entirety here.