DISCLAIMER: I am a U.S. citizen and native English speaker. My foreign language experience consists of six years of high school level Spanish, with two of those as IB Spanish SL.
When I was in the fifth-grade meeting with the elementary school guidance counselor to make my first middle school class schedule, the question arose about whether or not I should begin my foreign language in the sixth-grade. Before then, I had no option through school to learn another language. The counselor said, “There is no point in starting next year because if you wanted to be fluent, you should have started in preschool,” so I decided to postpone my introduction to foreign language until seventh-grade.
That should not have happened. I should have been encouraged to begin my studies in another language in sixth grade, if not sooner. The school system should have fostered a better learning environment for foreign language. If a preschool student, age 4 or 5, could learn another language, why not me?
Sadly, this attitude about learning other languages is widespread. Some students do not even have the opportunity to learn a foreign language before high school. Learning a foreign language is not even a graduation requirement, which is ridiculous in a world where globalization continues to expand. We must have the communication skills necessary to interact with others. Yes, English may be a common language used as a standard, but why limit ourselves?
Learning a language is about more than just international relations. The future doctors taking all of the college prep science classes should learn another language to ensure that their patients receive the best care possible. The future teachers need to know another language to better work with students if only so those students can learn English. The future business owners must expand their linguistic skills so they can better perform in markets across the world. I could keep listing all the reasons for people to learn another language to help in their specific jobs, but that would just limit the applications of this knowledge.
There are reasons to learn subjects and skills other than their direct impact on job performance. As people, we should want to find a way to communicate with others. Translators are great, but that takes so much away from the experience of learning about new cultures and meeting people different from us, but also similar to us, in so many ways. As the world seemingly shrinks with the introduction of new technology, we become more intricately connected to people that we otherwise would not. The only acceptable way to cope with the ever-changing world is to be able to use our words and thoughts in a way that others can understand.
How can we change the world if we cannot even communicate with it?
Foreign language is not some overvalued skill that takes away from their native language. It is our responsibility to learn it, which is why the public school system should provide that opportunity at a much younger age. The ability to communicate is futile if it is underdeveloped to the point of uselessness, so why are we failing to place this as a priority?
No student should ever be made to feel like learning a foreign language is useless.
