Why America should Prioritize Foreign Language Study

Despite all of the benefits of learning a seconds language, American school systems don't prioritize foreign language studies.

Americans can’t help but notice we are falling behind other countries in education. Changes need to be made in our schools to help eliminate the uneducated stereotype that Americans face. A majority of countries around the world introduce second languages to students very early in their schooling. America needs to take a page out of their books and add foreign language to our elementary and middle school curriculum.

Ask anyone who took a language class in high school and you will get a sort of answer like “Oh I didn’t actually learn anything from that class” or “I can’t say a thing”. This goes to show that with a combination of trying to learn a language at an older age and the low standards that America puts on foreign language classes, the current language curriculum just isn’t cutting it. On behalf of college kids everywhere, thank you Dora and Boots for teaching us the only Spanish we all can remember.

I can attest that trying to learn a different language in college, plain and simple, is hard. There are studies upon studies that show that young children can learn and retain languages substantially better than teenagers. The older you get, the less your brain can be trained with new sounds and a completely new vocabulary. This is why the most successful approach would be to introduce a second language to students in elementary school.

There are so many benefits in introducing a second language to kids and virtually no downsides. For starters, learning another language is proven to grow kids’ brains that allow them to become better multitaskers, problem solvers, and excel in their native language. By having these skills, it is no surprise that students that speak more than one language perform better on standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT. This contributes to why other countries around the world outperform American students on test scores.

Another benefit of being bilingual is the understanding of other cultures. By learning another country's language, you are exposed to different slang and how others see the world. You also learn about different holidays, traditions, and values. In today’s environment, only good can come out of learning about and appreciating cultures that differ from your own. Americans are notorious for being naive about other countries so this would be a great way to teach kids at a young age to appreciate and respect different cultures.

The list goes on and on of the benefits of being bilingual such as being more empathetic, delaying mental decline that can be seen in Alzheimer's, being more skilled in playing instruments, having a more active imagination, and boosting your career opportunities. Today, America is the second largest Spanish speaking country in the world, just behind Mexico. To fully embrace America’s diverse population we should be teaching children how to communicate with their fellow Americans. There have been times where I had to play charades to try and convey a message since I wasn’t knowledgeable enough to communicate simple phrases to a non-English speaker.

All school, public and private, should start introducing Spanish to students in elementary school. The reason for Spanish is that it’s the second most spoken language in the United States. Spanish could be taught by incorporating words such as hello, goodbye, help, yes, and no into a classroom’s daily vocabulary with no graded testing on the subject. Since the kids will be introduced to only very simple concepts at this level, elementary teachers would not need to be fluent in a language. They should attend a workshop that allows them to learn what they are teaching and how to teach it.

Once students start getting older and understand their own language better, verbs, conjugations, and complete sentences could be introduced to students. This will create a gradual learning of more and more complex Spanish. In middle school, there could be the option to continue on with Spanish or to take a different prominent language, such as French.

Some say this will put too much pressure on students, by only introducing languages and not testing over the subject at a young age, the speaking of a different language will get the connotation of being fun and a normal thing people should do. By the time students are in middle or high school, they will already be accustomed to language learning and treat it like a core subject.

Since there are so many benefits of being bilingual, why have American schools not implemented this yet? With gradual teaching of languages throughout school, American kids will be more prepared for the competitive job pool and be able to communicate with fellow Americans and people from all around the world.