The study of foreign languages is especially valuable in California, where a rich diversity of cultural traditions is represented and where one out of four immigrants to the United States eventually settles. Ask any multilingual individual those questions and you are likely to be greeted with a few seconds of silence before hearing an answer. There are many reasons to learn a foreign language-as many as the people who speak it.
Language is a means of contact with other human beings.
For example, the United States is developing economic and social ties to the Soviet Union. What is true about our nation's need for speakers of other languages is also true for California. California, situated on the West Coast, is a natural gateway for trade with the countries of the Pacific Rim. A less obvious but equally compelling reason to promote the study of foreign languages is the power language has to foster improved understanding between peoples of various cultural backgrounds. Culture is embedded in language.