The Need for Foreign Language Education in America
School systems across America are prohibiting students from seeking a future education in a foreign language. In most school systems from grades 5th-12th taking, a foreign language class is an optional graduation requirement in 24 states, and it is not a requirement at all to take a foreign language class in 16 States, leaving it to be a required graduation course in only 11 States in the United States of America. The idea of taking a foreign language in the school system has slowly but surely been shrinking due to the idea of allowing students to choose their courses, while at the same time making them take English, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science. Along with adding language requirement, the states should also make sure to enlarge the foreign language curriculum so that it allows students who have a native language other than English to be able to speak in their own particular dialect and does not penalize students for speaking in their own dialects. This topic of expanding foreign languages in middle school and high school curriculum should be further investigated because there are many opportunities that come with speaking two different languages and so many studies have proven that being bilingual opens many doors when exploring career options. Ultimately, if the United States wants to improve the future of its youth, the states should begin to adopt the idea of adding requirements for foreign language education from 5th grade through high school.
Developing a better curriculum for foreign language is just the first step in creating a more developed foreign language education for American students. This idea is expressed by Jim Johnson, a business professor at Rollins College and foreign language educator in Europe and USA. In the article “Foreign language Training in the U.S Undergraduate IB Programs: Are We Providing Students What They Need To Be Successful?” He states that most foreign language speakers should be receiving some type of training/lessons in language classes for particularly universal foreign language and the non-universal foreign language. Having the classes split into two is showing the student that in different situations where knowing both styles of speaking a foreign language is very useful. An example could be in an office setting or for a job interview you might use the universal foreign language while at home or maybe with friends using the non-universal foreign language is more comfortable. based off of when the professional opportunities present themselves. Johnson additionally articulates that if these native speakers and non-native speakers were taught a foreign language of choice vigorously before college, their undergraduate progress would be drastically different and more easygoing, (35). Johnson’s argument supports the main topic of the research paper because if school systems continue to build the foreign language curriculum into two different styles of foreign language teachings, it is allowing for there to be a place for students to learn when to speak professionally or when it is justified to speak unprofessional foreign language. Similarly this is like creating an English class that has some requirements to write in Standard Academic English and some assignments to complete in any style of English that the author pleases. It teaches both skills to the student allowing for more growth of writing and speaking a foreign language and allow for more comfort when in that class. Schools’ in America have to promote the foreign language education across the states to build it into a curriculum where students feel there is a motive and a reason for pursuing something new and shows an immense amount of values/perks from learning a foreign language.
American students should begin learning another language other than English from 5th grade to high school. Multi novel publishing, French author Fabrice Jaumont, expands on the idea of beginning to teach language to students at a younger age in his novel “The Bilingual Revolution: The Future of Education Is in Two Languages,” published in 2017. Jaumont states that students are more receptive and like a sponge, soaking up all the information when they are younger. The older students get the harder it becomes to introduce brand new topics and ideas for their everyday lives such as a new language. He additionally wants to make bilingualism the new norm for students, because not only does it create more opportunities for the student in their future, but it also creates a welcoming environment to those who are not bilingual, and only know their native language (Chapter 13). Being bilingual as a whole is better for a school community, and depending on how flexible the teachers are with accents and various levels of Spanish comprehension, it could possibly prevent the negativity surrounding accents and different dialects that some students face be rejuvenated . Jaumont’s argument unites with the crux of this research essay because he advocates for change in the school system’s entire process of producing a longtime requirement of foreign language class.
America being as diverse as it is, should enforce more requirements for foreign language learning, to ensure ELL students are more comfortable. When analyzing how to create change in an already poorly consistent foreign language school system, stretching deeper into the future of this present-day bilingual education conflicts is something Terry A. Osborn, Professor of Education at the University of South Florida, does creatively in his book “The Future of Foreign Language Education in the United States,” published in 2002. Osborn facilitates this idea of mending the corrupted school system by altering how foreign language education can grow into something much bigger and better, but while also showing fulfillment of the failures from the present. Essentially Osborn’s argument resonates with this well-known phrase, “out with the old, in with the new.” While the idea is to change it is also to analyze and study the environmental shifts with how America continues to poorly marginalize people who fluently speak any other language other than English in its school systems (16). The jumpstart for his argument would be to alter the way other foreign languages are treated by constructing a school system where students who only speak English are mandated to learn another language. The same goes for students who do not comprehend any English, they will have to be put into the system to learn/master the English language while still being able to speak that dialect of their family comfortably.
Bilingual employment is a huge reason for changing the current state requirements for foreign language. A graphic by Gitnux, “Bilingual Employment 2023: Statistics And Trends”published on March 28th, 2023, states that there is addition bonus earnings ranging from about 5% to 20% per hour that you are asked to be translator and use your bilingual abilities in most jobs in the United States. It also expresses how being bilingual is offering people more jobs and creating an open spot for people who will use that skill during the “human interaction” potion of their jobs (1). This expresses how beneficial it is to create a larger goal for students to build up a very important skill before they reach adulthood, so that they can maximize their opportunities offered when the time comes.
If America would encourage their school systems to have stricter foreign language requirements for students in 5th grade to high school, then it would enhance the students’ education and future opportunities. Schools should form a new curriculum for students to maximize their chances of success in their future. The foreign language learning abilities of students are more flexible when they are younger. Teaching students a second language creates a more welcoming environment for students whose first language is not English. Considering the proposals given from all diverse types of educators/professors of literature in this essay, the strongest concept to continue to enrich is to build an environment where people can be themselves verbally and physically when in school. Enforcing foreign language requirements in schools will create a place of equal opportunity for all and to build up more skills for the students’ success in their future endeavors.
Works Cited
Gitnux. “Bilingual Employment 2023: Statistics and Trends • Gitnux.” Bilingual Employment 2023: Statistics And Trends, GITNUX, 28 Mar. 2023.
https://blog.gitnux.com/bilingual-employment-statistics/.
Jaumont, Fabrice, “Bilingual Education in the U.S.: Know Before You Go”, The Bilingual Revolution: The Future of Education Is in Two Languages, chapter 13, published
https://web-p-ebscohost-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ehost/detail/detail
Johnson, Jim, “Foreign language Training in the U.S Undergraduate IB Programs: Are We Providing Students What They Need To Be Successful?”, Journal of Teaching in International Business, Vol. 28 Issue 1, page 35, published in 2017.
https://web-p-ebscohost-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ehost/detail/detail
Osborn, Terry A., “The Future of Foreign Language Education in the United States”, Contemporary Language Education, page 16, published 2002.
https://web-p-ebscohost-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ehost/detail/detail?
“The National K-12 Foreign Language Enrollment Survey Report”, 2017.
www.americancouncils.org/sites/default/files/FLE-report-June17.pdf?stream=top-stories
