Foreign Language and Cross-Cultural Education in the Promotion of International Trade: PEEP, a Case Study

Abstract

Much has been said and written in the past few years regarding the inability of United States businessmen and others to communicate effectively with foreign nationals. Not only is there a language barrier, but a cultural one as well. This problem has become more acute as greater emphasis is placed on increasing export trade from the United States by both national and state governments. In considering these new national goals, we at Central Virginia Community College decided to agarrar al toro por los cuernos and do something about it. As early as 1977 we had identified the need in our service area to involve more traditional and non-traditional students in the study of foreign languages and cultures in order to attain better communication with foreign nationals involved in trade. Specifically, during 1978-80 Central Virginia Community College was awarded two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The first was a Consultancy Grant for $5,000 to study and determine the diverse foreign language and cross-cultural instruction needs of the Central Virginia region, and the second and more significant one, a Pilot Grant for approximately $37,000 to develop and implement the previously studied project. As a result, by the end of 1981, the Cross-Cultural and Foreign Language Resource Center became operational. This project has been regionally and nationally acclaimed, as attested by the Council on Learning report in its Handbook of Exemplary International Programs. More recently, for the fiscal year 1983-84, under the Funds for Excellence Program administered by the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia, CVCC was awarded another grant to plan and develop the Piedmont Export Expansion Program (PEEP). This project was successfully implemented with the active support of the Piedmont Foreign Trade Council of Central Virginia, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promote international commerce in the U.S. and in Central Virginia in particular. The main thrust of PEEP was aimed at establishing a meaningful cooperative program between businesses engaged in foreign commerce and regional institutions of higher education to further develop, through a series of seminars, workshops and regular academic instruction, trade for the entire Piedmont area of Virginia. The acceptance by the community was outstanding and all objectives of the project were met. Three colleges became active participants in the program: Central Virginia Community College, Lynchburg College, and Randolph-Macon Women's College. CVCC became the administrative institution and this writer was appointed as the overall program coordinator. The program was designed to provide the participants with the educational opportunity to experience both academic and experiential learning sessions. This was accomplished by the use of both academicians and exporttrade business experts in a cooperative, instructional setting. The once-a-week core classes: International Marketing, Cultural Differences, Export Documentation, Balance of Payments, etc. were held during evening hours at Lynchburg College. Latin America was designated as the initial area of study with Spanish and Portuguese as the target languages. These were offered through the Cultural Resource Center at CVCC. The language course was offered as Spanish for Businessmen and Travelers. Interestingly enough, though there were only 12 students enrolled in the core courses, 31 persons signed up for the one year language component of the program; these included two business executives and their wives, businessmen and investors, and senior citizens contemplating travel to Latin America. Two native speakers with ample academic credentials both in linguistics