This study discusses teaching a second foreign language and thoughts on national strategies with the prospect of mobilizing the international community and drawing upon national strategic strength. During the process of the examination and revision of the course outline for 12-year compulsory education, it was found that the strategies for the teaching of a second foreign language are problematic. Thus this study first summarizes forward-looking policies on teaching foreign languages from a global perspective by examining policies adopted by the EU, the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia, China, Korea, and Japan. Then it discusses the current situation and identifies problems of second-language teaching in Taiwan’s high schools over the past twenty years. Finally, the study makes several concrete proposals on the construction of a superior system for the teaching of foreign languages. For example, a systematic and strategic design is needed for the improvement of the system of training and hiring of teachers, the system of “standards for the learning of foreign languages,” and the coordinated set of measures for the evaluation of teaching materials. The course outline for 12-year compulsory education is based on such a design. However, putting the course into practice according to the outline is essential. The objective of the study is to encourage those in the educational field in Taiwan to reconsider the possibility of constructing a superior system of second-language teaching based on the notion of a national strategy.