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UNESCO and the Education Policy Center at American Institutes for Research have reported massive teacher shortages to exist around the globe. In the United States, an estimated 44 states and Washington, D.C. have experienced shortages of qualified world language (WL) teachers for decades. Limited research has addressed the reasons for this shortage and ways to remedy it. Out of concern about reduced enrollments specifically for WL teacher preparation programs, this study investigated recruitment and retention strategies used at two US Midwestern universities. Analysis of questionnaire data from preservice teachers and alumni revealed reasons why candidates chose WL education and persisted in the program. To improve the US WL teacher shortage, WL teachers, teacher educators, preservice teachers, and local, state, and national organizations must understand that they need to develop a symbiotic mutualistic relationship and collaborate more strategically to preserve, promote, and perpetuate WL education for global citizenship.

As a result of a university partnership, elementary students at two midwest Catholic elementary schools have been provided with exploratory world language instruction (FLEX) from pre-service teachers. To investigate students' attitudes and learning of Spanish, researchers interviewed second and fourth graders. The students' parents and pre-service teachers answered open-ended questionnaires. The research questions for this qualitative study were: (a) How does exploratory world language instruction (FLEX) affect children's attitudes about learning world languages and cultures? (b) How does exploratory world language instruction (FLEX) affect children's learning of a world language? The results showed that students possessed positive attitudes about world language instruction, and they learned numbers, colors, cultural information, and food and animal vocabulary, as well as how to communicate at the novice level. Universities should consider engaging in service-learning partnerships with Catholic elementary schools so students learn to open their minds and hearts to diverse languages and cultures.

In the last decade, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) has mandated proficiency requirements for teacher candidates at nationally recognized universities and published a position statement recommending teachers use 90% or more of the world language during instruction. The author explains reform is more successful when change is initiated simultaneously from the top and bottom in pursuit of the same goals. Researchers and consultants need to provide teachers with on-site, experiential professional development on proficiency-based methods in order for world language education to improve in a meaningful and viable way.