Feature Monolingual America and to enjoy culture and travel to the fullest has been documented by numerous reports. A Gallup Poll found that approximately 25% of Americans are capable of holding a conversation in a language other than English. However, after subtracting recent immigrants, their children, and other heritage language speakers, that number falls to around 10%. This is in contrast to Europe, where approximately 56% of the respondents to a Eurobarometer survey reported being able to converse in another language, and 28% reported being able to converse in two additional languages. Half of those Europeans who were proficient in one foreign language are actually proficient in two or more. According to the Modern Language Association (MLA), approximately 8% of college and university students in the US are enrolled in a foreign language course, and according to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) only 18.5% of US K-12 (kindergarten through the end of secondary school) students are studying a foreign language. In contrast, according to Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012, the overwhelming majority of European students study foreign languages. In addition, students in the EU typically begin the study of foreign languages earlier, and with more class time devoted to foreign language than do students in the US. In fact, according to the recently- released EF English Proficiency Index – Third Edition, the top 10 are all EU member nations. The steady decline of the US, replaced by countries with stronger foreign language skills, on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) is testimony to the impact of the US foreign language deficit on its economy. In addition, many American multinational corporations earn an increasing proportion of their revenues outside the country. Since 2008, the US fell to 7th place in 2012-2013 before re-bounding to 5th place in the current GCI, following Switzerland, Singapore, Finland, and Germany, all countries with stronger foreign language skills. However, the present conversation about the lack of foreign language skills in the US has persisted since the late 1970s, at a time when foreign language enrollments in the US had declined precipitously. American leaders in education, business and industry, and government have addressed the lack of foreign language skills, but with little result. It is important to remember that the precipitous decline in foreign language study in the US did not occur recently. At the college and university level, enrollment dropped from 16% of students enrolled in a course in a language other than English in 1960 to 8% at present, but this 50% decrease occurred primarily during the 1970s and 1980s, and enrollment has been relatively stable and has even slightly increased since that time. The real issue is that the world has changed, primarily due to globalization, and that foreign language enrollments in the US have not re-bounded proportionately, in response to globalization. The events of 9/11 brought the US foreign language deficit to the forefront of the national conversation. A series of programs from across government agencies and departments attempted to address it. Political figures from both sides of the aisle have introduced legislation or otherwise supported foreign languages and international education, including President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush. In the discussion of the development of a foreign language education policy, one of the issues that has arisen is the lack of a language policy in the United States. In fact, many Americans are unaware of the fact that the US has no language policy, and no official language. Language Policy: what a government does through legislation or advice to protect, maintain or enhance the language(s) used in a given country. For example, language policy can be used to enforce an official language, to protect an endangered language, or to encourage foreign language learning. Official Language: a country may have an official language, which is generally a language that is given special legal status and is the language in which parliamentary and legal affairs are conducted. The lack of a language policy at the federal level has historically made it difficult to obtain adequate and consistent funding both for foreign language education and for English-language instruction for recent immigrants and their family members keen to learn English. In addition, lack of a national language policy has historically made any language- related programs especially vulnerable to budget cuts. Babel The Language Magazine | Sampler issue 19