President George W. Bush will soon announce his plan to fund the inclusions of 'critical' languages into college and university programs. These languages include Chinese, Arabic, and other Middle Eastern languages.

The announcement premiered to mixed reviews.

From Inside Higher Ed:

Some language experts are excited about the administration interest and say that the additional funds could provide a needed boost for their work. But others --- especially scholars of the Middle East --- are troubled by the Pentagon role in the effort.

In many Middle Eastern countries, the reputation of the U.S. government is so poor that American scholars already face credibility problems, and the sense that the Pentagon is behind a major language drive could make that situation worse, these scholars say. Many other professors are somewhere in between --- hoping that the new programs can be run well, but nervous about the administration's motives.

"Having more Americans who know any foreign language is always a great thing, regardless of what employment sector they are in," said Juan Cole, professor of history at the University of Michigan and president of the Middle East Studies Association. He predicted that some of those educated by the military in foreign languages would end up in business, in academe, and elsewhere --- better off professionally because they will speak Arabic or Chinese or other languages.

At the same time, he warned against false expectations. "Simple knowledge of language, put to narrow instrumental purposes, would not in and of itself solve the U.S. government's problems in the Arab World, as the example of Israel, which has lots of officials fluent in Arabic, demonstrates," he said.
Details of the new program are expected tomorrow, when President Bush speaks to a group of college and university presidents who were invited to a meeting in Washington.