Foreign Language Careers for International Business and the Professions

The U.S. work and market places are becoming more global, multilingual, and multicultural in nature and are making foreign language and cultural studies, particularly those of Asia and Latin America, an important part of career planning and development. Many jobs demand knowledge of one or more languages and their attendant cultures and require experience in international and/or cross cultural areas. They also demand specialized interdisciplinary training such as that offered at many schools, colleges, and universities, and encourage internships that can lead to promising careers. Job sources for foreign language-based careers also abound and with guidance and research can be easily found. This paper seeks to provide the information and sources educators at all levels and institutions need to know in order to emphasize the importance of foreign language in careers and also facilitate ways of integrating their study into the general curriculum and classroom.