As the US increasingly tries to shape its global role in the 21st century, a recent GAO report released September 2009 indicates that the Department of State faces "persistent foreign language shortfalls." These shortfalls may have an "adverse impact on security, public diplomacy, consular operations, economic and political affairs, and other aspects of US diplomacy."

Findings from the report show that 31 percent of overseas officers stationed at language-designated positions fall short of the speaking and reading proficiency levels required by the job. The number of under-qualified officers is up by two percent from a previous 2006 report.

Most of these officers serve in locations of strategic significance such as East Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The GAO report also reveals that 43 percent of the officers in Arabic language-designated positions did not meet the requirements of their position.

While President Obama is pondering whether to reinforce the US military forces in Afghanistan, Kerry Golds from The Atlantic notes that for the US to succeed in Afghanistan and other parts of the world, "soft power" forces should be as well equipped as military forces in order to eliminate any "misperceptions and misinformation."

In Afghanistan, less than one third of political and economic officers are proficient in a national language, which has led to difficulties in establishing and maintaining relationships with Afghan contacts, reports CNS News. Only 12 out of the 45 language-designated positions in Afghanistan are filled with people who have the required language proficiency, while eight out of 14 officers in Iraq lack sufficient language skills.

State Department Press Officer Fred Lash told CNS News that the agency has taken several initiatives to address the shortage of qualified officers such as annual reviews, training, recruitment and special pay incentives for language proficient staff. He added that the process is difficult and "has been a problem for years because many of the positions are hazardous and at hardship posts."

The GAO report identifies that these initiatives have not been carried out in a comprehensive and strategic manner and recommends that the State Department devises new initiatives such as setting up more schools to address these gaps. Without understanding the native languages, "they're not going to be able to fulfill their mission as effectively," said GAO analyst Jess Ford, who wrote the report.

Meanwhile, the Committee for Economic Development in Washington, D.C. revealed that American companies lose an estimated $2 billion each year because of employees' inadequate language skills and poor cultural competence, reports CantonRep.com. Nearly 22 million Americans work for multinational corporations, many in global teams with daily communication.

"It's always been a good thing to know more about the world and to speak another language, but now it's become an issue of our economic security, our national security and our public diplomacy," says committee President Charles Kolb.

Kolb continues, "Speaking a second language gives our young people an edge in terms of the competition we're facing around the globe. Believe me, you win kudos if you're negotiating in another country and you're fluent in that language."

In the US today, only eight percent of students study a second language while only one percent major in one, reports Krista Ramsey of Cincinnati Enquirer. Many are concerned that American students and schools have been losing the language race for decades while their international counterparts require foreign languages in primary school and focus their efforts on producing multilingual candidates.

"As a nation, we don't put our money where research and good practice tell us to," says Kathryn Lorenz, Associate Professor of French at the University of Cincinnati. "We know that students who start language study early do much better than those who start in high school."