I think that the high school students should not be required to study a foreign language. Learning a foreign language can be frustrating, the information is hard to retain, and the lessons are tedious. When I was in middle school, I had to take Spanish as a foreign language to graduate. However, I did pass the class but it was very difficult. Even, after passing the class, I still have a very difficult time reading or understanding someone who is speaking it. I discovered that what I learned was little or no use to me when I tried to use it in the real world. I’m sure, based on my experience, that I’m not the only one that had a problem with learning a foreign language. My friend Michael from middle school said to me “I wish I don’t have a take a foreign language in high school to graduate”. I struggled to learn Spanish and I know a lot of people including my friend Michael who had to retake Spanish numerous times to graduate. So, with that being said, I don’t believe everyone is even capable of learning a foreign language.
People who oppose my opinion would say learning a foreign language is not that hard. The truth is that anyone can learn another language. It just takes dedication and hard work or maybe it’s that you had a bad instructor and you feel like you don’t have an aptitude for learning another language. And, maybe that one language may be hard but another may be easy. Maybe, that’s why it’s not required for you to learn a specific foreign language. You can choose which one you are interested in learning which makes learning easier.
Learning a foreign language should be a personal choice when you are in high school. When I was in high school, I was given an alternative to either take a foreign language ...
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...who speak English. Most of the stores around me are owned and operated by Latinos. Products in the store are now in both English and Spanish, if not all Spanish. By having to learn Spanish this way, kind of reminds me of the metric system. We were supposed to adapt to the metric system. However, we still have not got use to using it. So, I can understand why the U.S. Department of Education are debating whether or not taking a foreign language should be a requirement to graduate in all high schools. Slowly, I believe that in the near future all high schools will make it a mandatory to pass a foreign language class.
I considered the pros and cons and people other points of view and came to the conclusion that learning another language is helpful but it just not that important, if you not going to use it in the future. It should always be a personal choice.
Because of internalized racism, Latinos and Hispanics distance themselves from the Spanish language to support the English only movement. They are embarrassed of their inherited language and rather choose English to complete assimilation. “Almost 40% of Latino/a respondents prefer English as their dominant language…” (Padilla 20). Where I currently live, I always see on the day to day basis Hispanics and Latinos that immigrated to the United States from other countries sounding “white.”
Everybody can still learn their native language, but they also have to learn the other language, so people could talk to non-native people, and they can talk back. People might bring up how hard it would be to let people decide on just one language. Yes, this would be a big issue, but the language should be one that is written and spoken like when Mcwhorter says “ Japanese is enshrined as the language of not only speech but education, literature, and journalism…”(434). He is saying that this language will be around “As long as there are Japanese people meeting and raising children in Japan” (Mcwhorter 434). There are a lot of people speaking it, it 's written, and spoken that’s why it won’t die anytime soon. If people still don’t agree with, that then the United Nations could get together and decide for everybody. Any language would be hard to learn, according to Mcwhorter that “ Each language is hard in its own way”( 433). The younger you learn the language the easier it would be to learn because it 's easier for a kid to learn a language than someone that is
Americans have hidden behind the excuse that everybody important knows English for too long. The United States is the only country in the world where a student can graduate from college without ever having learned a foreign language. Most countries start foreign language instruction at ten years of age or younger. It is time we did something ourselves and stopped letting everyone else do the work. One credit of foreign language instruction should be required in order for graduation from high school in Laramie County School District Number One.
In my opinion, people should be given the right to speak and read in any language that they wish. Although, it may benefit them to be knowledgeable in the speech that is being taught and spoken in the common country, everyone has their own cultural background and each has the right to be literate in the way that they desire. They were given the right to freedom of speech through the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights and therefore, have the right to speak in their own native language. Literacy plays a major role in the lives of humans today. It gives us the power to read, speak and write and is therefore a valuable asset to society and the development of its economy.
In all, it is important for students of all abilities to learn a foreign language. Not only
The bilingual education programs that are in existence now are not completely successful. In these classes, the teachers are teaching in mostly Spanish and very limited English. When the non-English speaking students are put in to a separate class, they are segregated and are not assimilated with the English-speaking students. This keeps them from learning in an English only situation, which makes them learn English faster. This also prevents English speaking students from not knowing total extent of culture and background of peers in their own schools. In addition to that, it doesn't give non-English students a reason to really learn English if they are going to be taught in their native tongue most of the time. When that happens, it hurts those students in the long run. They won't know enough English to communicate in the American society, and they'll be doomed if they can't live in the American society. Richard E. Ferraro, "When you're talking about language," he argued, "English is essential for success in this count...
Language is an important part of our lives. I remember when I arrived to USA I could speak a little English. I went to school to improve my language, reading and writing skills; even now I am learning my second language, without English I cannot survive in this new environment. Now I am raising my own kids and I want them to have this important skill, this privilege of knowing a second language, language of their parents and grandparents. By looking at studies of bilingual children, research shows how important it is for a child to learn a second language. Raising a bilingual child is a benefit because it improves social skills, academic proficiency, introduces child to a different culture, and prepares for the future.
Bilingual education is important to enforce in schools because it not only helps students but their parents as well. Since their first language is not English, bilingual education will really help them because it not only helps them succeed in mainstream classes that give instructions in English, but also aims to preserve the native language as on is mastering English; they cannot learn if they do not understand what the teacher or professor is saying.
Speaking a language other than your mother tongue opens a door onto the world. Becoming proficient in a foreign tongue equates to a wider range of options in love, career, and friendships.
Children are being raised in a society which is continually becoming more bilingual. Now we debate the question of whether or not schools should make dual-language programs required. There is a constant demand for bilingual people in the workforce. There are over 50.5 million Hispanic people living in America (Lynch, “Should Bilingual” 1). When we hear the phrase “bilingual education” we think of Spanish over every other language. With roughly 6,909 languages in the world, limiting our students to one language is disgraceful (Anderson 3). The long term benefits children will gain by applying bilingual learning will assist them academically and in life. Should bilingual education be included in every U.S. classroom?
Being able to speak more than one language is proving to be a valuable skill in modern society. Many children across the world are at least bilingual, leaving many American parents wondering if they too, should learn to speak another language. While this debate remains ongoing, many adults are seeking to learn a second language either to communicate with a new client base or to attain higher status within a corporate setting.
All Students Should be Required to Study a Foreign Language Educators historically have argued over the propriety of offering various academic courses. One recent yet continuing argument on American college campuses tends to pit school against school, professor against professor, student against student, school against professor, professor against student and student against school. The issue is whether or not courses in a foreign language should be required to attain a Bachelor's degree. Some believe the idea is absurd, while others believe it is a progressive move toward 21st century education.
Language has pioneered many interracial relationships and historical milestones. Language is a necessity for basic communication and cultural diversity. Being multilingual is a skill proven influential to a successful future. Due to rapid globalization, countries all over the world are stressing the importance of learning a second, or even third, language. With the exception of time and lack of resources, adults have very few widely applicable disadvantages to learning multiple languages. However, language learning as a child presents more complications. Some of those include not having enough funding at the elementary school level to introduce a program for secondary language, academic overload for the youth, stress for both the parent and student parties, and the mixing of languages. Not all of these complications are true in any or all situations, however, and the absence of them provides multitudes of opportunity for future career and academic success. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the parents or the education legislation to decide whether they encourage the learning of a secondary language at the young age necessary for retention. “The general consensus is that it takes between five to seven years for an individual to achieve advanced fluency,” therefore the younger a child begins to learn, the more likely they are to benefit to the maximum potential (Robertson). Keeping the language learning in high school or beginning the process earlier is a greatly controversial discussion that is important to address because of the topic’s already lengthy suspension.
At this juncture, the importance of learning a second language becomes compulsory. Hence, learning a second language helps you to communicate across the world to conduct business, learning education, exporting and importing things from one nation to another nation. In addition to that, the importance of second language learning emphasized everyday when we see the diversity of world cultures that make up all human beings as global communication.
I truly think that multilingual education will be worthwhile, especially with the critical period to consider, just as mentioned above. People are still able to think if multilingualism fits them while trying multilingual education; yet, once the kids miss the golden period for this, it would be harder to acquire the language fully. Moreover, even though might be some doubts to think about, multilingualism still seems to do more good than harm. There is no persuasive reason to stay monolingual instead of being multilingual, so I’ll suggest that it is time to embrace multilingual