America's lag behind many countries in foreign language training, particularly the Soviet Union, is examined from the viewpoint of her ever-increasing need for foreign language proficiency in many areas. Differences between domestic and foreign curriculums are considered and a proposal is made, based on the specific assumption that what is needed is a required foreign language program beginning in the elementary school. In addition, the author argues that the program must be continuous through graduation from high school in order to guarantee mastery of the target language. (GK)