By Zoey Gibson
Photo by Zoey Gibson
Many Willow students want to learn more languages, but currently, only French and Spanish are offered. Not only does the lack of foreign language teaching leave students – as well as adults – unmotivated to be multilingual, but it could also be argued that the lack of other languages being learned at the high school level compromises the nation’s security.
According to the 2006 MLA Foreign Language Enrollment Survey, it is likely that the American education system will not produce graduates who can effectively communicate in a foreign language if learning foreign languages does not become a priority and is not incorporated into the K-12 curriculum. As shown by the shortage of language professionals in military and intelligence agencies, this compromises the nation’s security in military and business affairs. In the years since 2006, the situation hasn’t gotten better but, actually, continued.The Fall 2021 MLA Foreign Language Enrollment Survey showed a 14.7% decline between 2016 and 2021 in higher education.
Spanish and French dominate the charts, leaving little room for other languages despite student interest. Spanish shows superiority in schools in the US, with French as a second, and German being the third most commonly taught. This limits the possibilities of an individual, despite the global importance of multilingualism, with over 300 languages being considered as an LCTL (Less Commonly Taught Language) according to the CARLA (Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition) database. Programs like CARLA promote and offer the teaching of these languages, but it is clear to see, in a typical U.S. school, that school systems turn to “tradition,” favoring state requirements and hasty teacher availability.
Learning languages is not just an academic advantage. It connects people to cultures around the world, and it can connect people more to their own culture. “I eventually want to learn Italian, as my family is of Italian descent, and I hope to travel there one day,” current Spanish 4 student Lucy Rucker said. “However, this would probably be something I do later in my life. I want to perfect Spanish first.”
With digital globalization, the rise of interest in other cultures is huge, and it shows in things like K-pop and Korean skincare, Japanese cuisine and anime, Chinese fashion and desserts, as well as Indian haircare and fashion all show prominence in the media. This urges people to want to learn more, and learning a language is a gateway to a culture’s traditions and practices.
As digital globalization is at an all-time high, people around the world are being more connected than ever before. Thanks to some social media platforms having translation features, it can be easier to communicate. But even so, a translator only goes so far. It doesn’t give the feeling of accomplishment when speaking to someone in another language, and it’s not very practical for the real world. Students call for critical and practical teachings of languages that can help them later in life.
“The commonly taught languages depend on the political and economic state of the world at the time. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, the rage was on learning Japanese because Japan was a rising economy,” French teacher Madame Jouret claims. “I feel the major world languages as of now are English, Spanish, Mandarin, French, and Arabic.”
So, not only are students interested in becoming multilingual, but it also has advantages like global opportunity.
“I may be biased because I got a Master’s degree in Linguistics, and I have a very easy time learning languages,” English and Publications teacher Ms. Crockett said, “but I think we should offer more languages than just French and Spanish not only because students want to learn them, but because we’re not teaching our youth some major languages that are critical to know for our country’s future in terms of business and defense.”
It’s better to start learning early in elementary because a child’s brain is wired to be a linguistic sponge early in life. “In grad school for linguistics, they taught us that the window for learning languages natively closes around age 7, and neural networks are then shifted to learning other things or to perfecting the language along with social subtleties,” Ms. Crockett said. “The current thinking may be a bit later than that, but it’s still pretty early.”
Most elementary foreign language courses aren’t immersive or intensive enough to really learn a language. When they’re older and it’s harder to do so, students will be more motivated to learn a language they’re actually passionate about, so why should the curriculum be limited to only two languages?
Motivation can also act as a challenge for expanding the curriculum. In adding new courses to a school’s curriculum, there is a chance of low enrollment. “Once someone learns a second language, it’s much easier to stem from there and learn more,” Madame Jouret said, and Ms. Crockett agrees. “Once you get one foreign language down, it’s so much easier to learn a third, a fourth, and so on,” Ms. Crockett said, “especially if you’re interested in comparing them.”
Students may be nervous to apply to a new foreign language course being offered when the curriculum is still geared towards French and Spanish. “I’m currently self-learning Portuguese, as it is similar to Spanish, and I am definitely interested in taking a course on it in college,” current AP Spanish student Ella Berkner expresses. “I do, though, understand why it is not a course offered at the Willow, because it is not commonly spoken— in terms of population.”
In terms of what is practical for funding, staffing, and scheduling, these setbacks can be solved by providing more hybrid, online, and afterschool programs teaching and reviewing foreign languages. This can be done independently with one school or in partnership with universities and cultural institutes. The major challenge for schools as a whole is finding staff, but with investment in teacher training and recruitment in the long run, the challenge of availability can be solved.
The world is becoming increasingly globalized as technology advances, so why should the minds of our people only be able to speak one language? If colleges allow multiple studies on culture and linguistics, why wouldn’t K-12? Students shouldn’t be limited academically when there’s a whole world waiting for them to explore.
