In an effort to inform foreign language teaching efforts in elementary and secondary schools in the United States, a small-scale, 3-month exploratory study was designed to collect information that would highlight what was most interesting and illuminating about foreign language education in various countries. Twenty-two educators from 19 countries responded to a series of questions about methodologies, strategies, and policies in their communities that could help improve language teaching in the United States. From their responses, specific policies and practices were identified that could inform American language education. These characteristics are described in this report. The following implications for American schools were drawn from the study results: start language education early; learn from other countries' successes and failures; conduct long-term research; push for stronger federal leadership in language teaching; identify how technology can improve language instruction; improve teacher education; develop appropriate language assessment instruments; designate foreign language as a core subject; and take advantage of the rich sociolinguistic context in the United States. It is apparent that Americans can learn a lot from other countries in this area. The entire language education profession could benefit from systematic international collaboration in language teaching efforts. Three appendices contain a review of selected comparative language studies, a list of countries and language educators contacted, and a cover letter and sample questions. (Contains 39 references.) (KFT)