Should Learning Foreign Languages be Required in America?

I believe it should be mandatory. I actually wish they would start earlier! (They are in some parts of America!) It has been proven learning a second language is much easier as a child and it helps the child with higher test scores. If started young, it gives the child a greater chance of understanding even more languages in the future. No, not every person will use this second or even third language, but that is not the point. It does however give anyone with the ability to speak/write in a second language to put that on their resume. It also gives the person (usually) a better understanding of the world. When you take a language, it's not just about the spoken word. It's also about the people who speak it. Where it comes from and where it has evolved. It gives everyone a much better cultural perspective.

One of the big reasons kids fail their language class is because the classes are started VERY LATE! It's much harder for a person to learn a new language at a later age. It's even harder if the language is extremely different. It has benefits, but not many downfalls that I can tell.

 

Maybe I'm just special because of my enthusiasm for the subject, but I found learning Japanese from age 18-21 to be very easy. :3

That said, I have no problem with mandatory foreign languages. I do wish my high school had offered Japanese, but I had to go with Spanish instead. I must say, I found it hilarious when a black girl got outraged when she learned the Spanish word for "black" and insisted it was racist. xD I always enjoyed the language classes, but I'm kinda the odd man out on that. I find learning structures to be fascinating.

 

Seeing as we are getting from all over, we should. Not just the usual languages, but also Hebrew, Korean(God forbid that the creek don't run if the class always talk about K Pop!!), and native languages like the Aztec language.

 

This is the United States of America. We speak English here.
It is completely ridiculous to expect English speaking students to learn a foreign language in order to graduate.
Here in Oregon, several attempts have been made to pass a law requiring Spanish speaking students to learn English in order to graduate.
Each time it hit the ballot, it was voted down.
If it is "unfair" to require students to speak the language of the country that they live in, how is it fair to force students to learn to speak a language that they will never need?

 

In what way is it unfair to require students to speak English? We DO require that.

 

Not in Oregon.
"Unfair" was one of many words used by opponents of a measure that would have required it, a measure that was never passed.

 

I must have been very lucky than. My high school had many languages to offer. German, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Latin, and American Sign Language. The last being my favorite. (Since it's one of the languages I speak.)

I will have to disagree, I don't see it as being unfair for a child to be required to learn a second language. It's beneficial whether or not they ever leave the country. I can list many many reasons as to why it's beneficial, as I did in my last post. It would be unfair to not give the child a choice as to what language they would want to learn. Other than that, it can only help in the long run.

 

Why is it beneficial for Americans in the United States to know a foreign language?
The only benefit I see is that it allows them to speak with people who couldn't be bothered to learn English.

 

Your statement directly contradict each other: First you say we speak english, then you say people are allowed to not speak english.
Also, I don't really think your attitude is justified - you can take it down a notch and not act as if non-english speakers are somehow attacking you just because they were raised with a different language.

That is pretty lucky, usually public schools can only afford a few people to dedicate to languages so they focus on the major ones like spanish and french. I was lucky too that the spanish teacher was also german so he taught german classes which I took for a few years in high school.

^ this, entirely. I do believe in 2nd language education and yes they should be taught in schools. Obviously the more choice the better - if kids want to learn a language but their school doesn't offer it, that can be a very frustrating experience for them if they are instead forced to learn something they have no interest in. So we ought to dedicate more resources to this, and maybe work on online classes for students and teachers from different schools to work with each other in places where there is no local instructor for a certain language.

There are tons of benefits of being bilingual that are reason enough to make it required. Other than the obvious benefit knowing two languages has on your professional life (great resume item!), it is actually a requirement of some colleges so you might be forced to revisit the issue after high school anyway in most cases (why not learn it when you are young and it's easier to get it into your head). Speaking of the brain and it's limitations; it has been proven, and I know from personal experience that knowing more than one language, even if you can't speak fluently, greatly improves your ability to think about information, as well as read and write in your native language by strengthening vocabulary and grammar.

 

I have already listed some of the benefits of learning a language. But I will go ahead with a little more.Here will give a little more insight of the benefits I see.

"Higher test scores: Numerous reports have proven that students who have studied a foreign language perform much better than their monolingual peers on many standardized tests, including all sections of the SAT. In fact, the 2007 College Bound Seniors report, issued by the College Board, which administers the SAT, vividly demonstrates the significant benefits of studying a foreign language. The report shows that students with 4 or more years of foreign language study score on average 140 points higher (out of 800!) than students with half a year or less experience on the Critical Reading section, and almost another 140 in the Math section and over 150 points higher on Writing.

Better and more advanced reading skills: A study undertaken by York University in Canada suggests that bilingual children’s knowledge of a second language gives them an advantage in learning to read. Their ability to apply the insights and experiences of one language to the other as well as their wider experience of language gives them a big leg up. As they grow older, this advantage continues and grows. Plus, being able to read two languages is pretty impressive all by itself!
Greater confidence: Children are always discovering new things, but learning a new language is a uniquely rewarding experience—at any age. For children, the feeling of accomplishment that comes with their first steps toward a second language can spur them on to a deeper and broader passion for learning in general. And because children are at a special "window of opportunity" in which language learning is intuitive and natural, the ease and pleasure of the experience may boost their confidence and their desire for new discoveries.
Gives brains a boost: In a recent article in The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell quotes James Flynn, a renowned scientist, as saying "The mind is much more like a muscle than we've ever realized… It needs to get cognitive exercise. It's not some piece of clay on which you put an indelible mark." Research into the effects of bilingualism on children suggests that exposure to more than one language is an excellent way of flexing those brain muscles—and building them up too! Bilingual children in one study reported in Nature showed a significantly larger density of "grey matter" in their brains. And those who had been exposed to a second language from an early age proved to have the most grey matter of all. Grey matter is responsible for processing information, including memory, speech and sensory perception. And if it can be increased by exposure to a second language, then language learning would be just like taking your brain to the gym!
Natural-sounding, native-like accent: Children are always mimicking what they hear, and are surprisingly good at it! They are uniquely attuned to slight differences in tone and sound. Their sensitive ears help them pick up on and duplicate the tricky sounds adults and even adolescents often stumble over. For adults just beginning a new language, this difficulty can be discouraging—trying to speak Spanish like Antonio Banderas from Evita only to end up sounding like Jack Black in Nacho Libre isn't exactly the best language experience. A study conducted by researchers from UCLA and the University of Hong Kong, however, shows that even adults with significant exposure to a language in childhood can end up speaking like a native. By starting early, your children can speak smoothly and confidently from the first.
Greater opportunities for college and careers: Colleges now place an increasingly high value on knowledge of more than one language. As the admissions process becomes more competitive across the board, knowing a second or a third language adds a new dimension to an applicant's resume. And as the economy becomes more and more globalized, English-only becomes less and less of an option.
Bigger view of the world: Traveling abroad is an experience which can benefit anyone, offering not just new sites to see, but new frames of mind and new perspectives. But going abroad and feeling comfortable in the language of your destination means you're doing more than just traveling—going from your home to another place, and then back home. You can feel as if you're a part of the culture and the life of this new world, as if you aren't a total stranger just visiting. Like reading a poem in another tongue you know, you will hear more than just the language—you will hear the music behind it as well, and the life.
Greater grasp of one's first language—including a bigger, richer vocabulary: Most of the time we use our first language with little thought to grammatical rules or constructions. This is perfectly natural, but the experience of learning a new language can bring greater understanding and perhaps even better grammar to our first language. Knowing the way another language works encourages us to examine our own language's mechanics in a positive way. By being able to compare the two, we learn more than we ever would as a monolingual. Or as Nancy Rhodes, Director of Foreign Language Education at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC says, "The more children learn about a foreign language, the more they understand about their own language." Children use what they learn in one language to reinforce concepts and terms they've learned in the other. They can solidify their gains in their native tongue by matching them to their new adventures in another language.
Building and keeping cultural connections: Some of us are lucky enough to have a relative who still speaks their mother tongue frequently. To be able to communicate with them in that language builds a bridge—not only to that person, but to the heritage and history they represent. To maintain that connection keeps alive so much—memories, stories and traditions—and brings to life new memories, stories and traditions as well.

An all-family activity: Modern life is hectic; its demands are frequent and often contradictory. Learning a language together as a family provides a unifying activity which doesn't require you to drive your kids anywhere, and doesn't make it necessary to be in ten places at once. Starting this process early with your child or children provides your family with an activity and an experience it can return to and grow with over the years.
Your child and your family will benefit—in these ways and others—from learning a second language. You will find new and even unique uses, opportunities and ideas open up as you adapt your language learning process to your and your child's needs and aspirations. Starting now means the possibilities are wide open!"


-Noted here

I honestly don't see a major downfall. To top it all off, we are a nation of many mixed cultures. We are a melting pot. So learning a little more about someone elses culture (Or maybe even your own native culture) can only help.

 

I think its good to have to take a foreign language. I don't think two years should be required though. One would probably be enough. And they should offer more languages, though it would be almost impossible for them to offer more than three or four at some of the smaller schools like mine was. In Europe, kids have to take several languages, though that's probably because there are so many small countries that speak different languages across the pond.

 

I'm gonna have to agree with ash and dragon, as well as darkshine.

Should learning a foreign language be mandatory? Eh..maybe, maybe not. Should it be encouraged? Absolutely. Should there be more choices available should you decide to talk it? Absolutely.

Belive it or not, I was of the opinion that learning a foreign language was pointless and that I would never need it when I was in grade school and highschool. I took both Spanish and French in my school years, and failed both. However, I had no interest in either, although I do remember thinking that I'd be more interested if they taught a language that I wouldn't mind learning, like Japanese.

Looking back, I wished that I had put more effort into my foreign language class, and I wish they had started teaching them much earlier, because it is WAY easier to learn a new language the younger you are. I'm currently trying to learn Japanese, and now that I'm almost 24 it's considerably harder to wrap my head around than it probably would have been when I was 7-8.


There are plenty of benefits to learning a foreign language, even if you never travel to another country. Job resumes is one, also you can talk to people from different countries, use or shop from websites that are written in another language, read books or watch foreign made movies, play games that aren't available in the US or be able to play them before they come out in the US, etc. Being bilingual also helps you better understand your own language, get a different perspective on the written and spoken word entirely, makes you smarter, and it's pretty cool when you can impress your friends with the fact that you know a second language, as most people I've known only know English and Bad English.

:derpe:

またね

 

I'm on the fence with this one... Learning a second language IS important... If you plan on regularly dealing with (or moving to) a country that speaks that language but I am with Ridley here... If you're going to live in a country then learn the dominant language of said country. As a crude example. Do you go to someone else's house and force them to participate in your dinner rituals or whatever? Hopefully the answer is no... But I think my view mostly stems from the "MURRICA!" Attitude... Of course my school only offers Spanish... Perhaps my view would be different if I could take Japanese...

 

Could always try teaching yourself.

 

> America
> 'Speaks English'
> Made up of and founded by many immigrants speaking many languages