Multicultural education in the US school system has become more pragmatic with the affluent nature of globalization. As the world's technology increases exponentially, our world has become smaller, increasing the need for global communication capabilities and cultural sensitivity. However, America's schools are beset by pressures from budget cuts, test scores, educational bureaucracy and impending closures. For many schools, foreign language teaching has been put on the proverbial chopping block. According to the results of a national survey of elementary and secondary schools conducted in 2008, foreign language instruction dropped from 31 percent of elementary schools in 1997 to 25 percent in 2008. Secondary schools saw a decline of 7 percent, from 86% to 79% (Rhodes 3). Administrators and school boards struggle to weigh the high costs of foreign language instruction against the needs of other core (English, literature, mathematics, natural sciences) and electives (music, physical education, art, social sciences) programs, while Many parents, professionals, and academics invoke the value that education in a foreign language brings to a child's life in terms of cognitive reasoning and cultural sensitivity. The debate on the need for foreign language teaching leaves much to consider; from how the act of learning a language starting at an early age affects a child's ability to learn and analyze situations, to what is sacrificed or what is not learned, with the time, energy and money invested in instruction in a foreign language; from a deeper understanding of other cultures and diversity, to how fluent the student becomes in the second language and how useful it will be later in life. Supporting cognitive benefits... middle of paper... .er Education. The Chronicle, April 18, 2010. Web. January 29, 2012.Rhodes, Nancy C. "Foreign Language Teaching in U.S. Schools: Results of a National Survey of Elementary and Secondary Schools" Annals of Foreign Languages ​​v44 n2 p258-288 Sum 2011. 31 pp. Educational Resources Information Center. Network. February 13, 2012.Summers, Lawrence H. “What You (Really) Need to Know.” Editorial. The New York Times. The New York Times, January 20, 2012. Web. February 2, 2012. Tommaso, David. “Why do English people need to speak a foreign language when foreigners all speak English?” Editorial. Post online. Daily Mail and General Trust plc, 23 January 2012. Web 2 February 2012. Trudeau, François and Roy J Shephard. “Physical education, school physical activity, school sport and academic performance”. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (2008): no. page Network. February 16 2012.