The world we live in today is rapidly changing and moving in new directions right before our eyes.  The impacts of the internet and economic obstacles have pushed countries toward interdependency, increasing the likelihood of a closely knit global community in the future. As a result, this globalization of activities will place a premium on citizens who are competent in more than one language. Those people will serve to bridge the gap between cultures, contribute to international diplomacy, and successfully handle international commerce on all levels of execution.

The problem with this picture is that although the United States is regarded as the world’s melting pot, its population as a whole has a very low level of proficiency in second languages, positioning it as the only industrialized country that routinely graduates students from high school lacking knowledge of a foreign language. Statistically speaking, only 9.3% of Americans are fluent in both their native tongue and a second language in contrast to 52.7% of Europeans, placing US companies at a great disadvantage moving forward.

Multilingual employees will be vital to businesses because aside from their basic ability to communicate, they are able to step inside the mind and context of  other cultures. Further more, a lack of intercultural sensitivity can lead to mistrust, misunderstandings and an inability to cooperate, negotiate, and compromise. In other words, avoiding these pitfalls will be paramount for survival. Emphasis must be placed on employee training and knowledge of multiple languages in order to sustain a competitive advantage moving into the future.