Why Foreign Language should not be a High School and College Requirement
This is a problem that I have had for several years. When I entered high school, I had taken several years of foreign language, but only for two days a week. If anything, it was more of a thing that gave me enough information about the language, Spanish, to realize that I couldn’t stand it. It always seemed while I was trying to focus on my core academics, Spanish class would show up all throughout middle school. And now, where has it got me? No where. People always tell me that, since I live in Southern California, speaking a language that nearly half of Los Angeles county knows would be very beneficial. I could see where they got confused. But why am I so against it. I guess I should get more specific; I don’t think Spanish should be recommended foreign language. When you sign up for language classes, your counselors, teachers, everyone tell you that in SoCal, you should take Spanish, because that is the most useful. I think that is horrible.
Why? Because it is preparing us for an even worse situation then we are already in. We already are having issues with the border, and illegal aliens are crossing the border everyday. I don’t know about you, but that angers me. And now, with the population learning more of the language from where they come from, we are making this country, the U.S.A., that much more inviting of a place for them to come over.
I don’t want anyone to write comments saying that I am racists, or am WRONG (cause I’m not!), because if they come over legally, thats great. Welcome them with open hands, give them gifts, they deserve it if they come over legally, and went through the tough and difficult process. But then, they should be required, in my eyes, to speak English in all public places. Not necessarily to themselves, or so other people can here into their conversations or anything, but when people go to a retail store, or something like that, and they don’t know how to speak English fluently, they are putting more unwanted and unneeded pressure on the staff.
Anyway, back to my reasons for why this should not be allowed in schools. When I am a business major, with secondary focus in computer programming, I don’t want to have to devote and entire class period to a skill that you only need if you are working in McDonald’s for the above reason. It’s a waste. And, I am not saying that the problem is completely within the High School systems. The colleges, some of the biggest in the United States, want to see 3 years, thats six spots filled, with foreign language. And they would rather see that then six extra classes in what they are actually going to college for. I mean, where is the logic in that?
Scenario. I want to go to MIT (not really). They say, since they are a private college, that they want to see 3 years of a language. That means that they would rather accept, and probably will accept, someone who has less training and classes in Technology with three years, then someone who has twice as much training, but only one or two years. Thats nuts. I could see that being logical if they were going to college to study foreign language, but, no I am not.
What do you think?
[digg]
on July 13, 2008 on 1:01 pm
Dear Reed, I am a high school Spanish teacher who agrees with you in part; Spanish should not offered at the middle or high school levels, but at the kindergarten level. You have a bad taste in your mouth over this because you were forced to learn a new language when you had already acquired your mother tongue, English. Had you started learning Spanish in kindergarten, you would have been exposed to the language when you were still acquiring English. You are so set in your ways with English; grammar, vocab, etc., when you are 15 yrs old and older, that your brain does not willingly accept a new language, many times that seems to break all the rules you have learned in English. Spanish is useful and it does not alleviate legal immigrants from learning English, it helps us be more informed. Don’t you want to make sure that no one is planning a coup of some sort? If you don’t know anyone else’s language, then you are at the disadvantage. Please consider what I say. I would be interested in your thoughts.
on July 13, 2008 on 6:02 pm
HELLO!
I thank you, you are the first non-automated comment I have gotten. And you comment raises a good point.
I did learn Spanish at a young age. Though not as young as you mentioned, which was Kindergarten, but I think I started in about first or second grade. I learned Spanish very fast, and was able to speak simple sentences and carry on a basic conversation. The problem was, I was learning this language faster than English. Some time passed, it’s third grade, and I am having a hard time in English because I am trying to work with sentences in a form that only works in Spanish. So I have to work twice as hard in English. In all actuality, I will openly admit that my success in English has come from Spanish. I have been in Honors and AP level English classes since I started High School two years ago.
This is not the only case of this. I have a friend who is brilliant. She has never failed a class, test, quiz in her life. I am a 4.0 student, but she blows my grades away. When she was in class with me in third and fourth grade, all of a sudden she went away for about a week. I mean, her parents took her out of school, but we didn’t know where she went. Turns out that when she was learning Spanish, her parents would help her with Spanish since they knew it fluently for work. My friend one day just stopped talking for about two weeks. Couldn’t figure out why, but she would talk to no-one anywhere for any reason. When she started talking again, she said she stopped because she didn’t know what language to use, and what to call things. She would talk in English sentences, but describe things in Spanish. So at what age of learning two languages is too young to differentiate between the two.
My third point. I believe I mention in what I wrote, that I think it should be a requirement to know English in the U.S.A. Personally, I feel that is a bare minimum. You wrote,
“Don’t you want to make sure that no one is planning a coup of some sort?”
Does this not now show that just like smoking, speaking a foreign language in public places should not be allowed. If you could plan something out in the open, and there be no one that could stop, let alone understand, you, don’t you think that should not be allowed.
AND, jmfaulkner84, are you not encouraging that type of action by teaching a new language to these young minds. And unless you think you are going to get the entire country to know two different languages, why should this be allowed. I am not making this up either, I am talking about exactly what you said. Someone in a language I don’t know could be planning something against me, and I don’t even know it.
I am a High School student, and I thank you for you comment. Please comment again, and we can carry on this conversation.