Preview

Foreign Language in High School

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
822 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Foreign Language in High School
Foreign Language in High School Does freedom of speech include the choice of what language you learn in school? Many high schools are only offering Spanish as the sole foreign language. Gone are the days when students could choose what language to learn second to English. The schools have taken this choice away from our youth, due to the number of Spanish speaking people in this county. It is important for us to as a global society to offer multiple languages in high schools. If students are given a course of languages to take they will be successful in learning it. According to Nancy C. Rhodes and Ingrid Pufahl report “Foreign Language Teaching in U.S. Schools” released in 2009, Spanish instruction has remained stable at 93 percent. French instruction has declined from 64 to 46 percent at the high school level. During that same period the teaching of German has dropped from 24 to 14 percent. Latin instruction dropped from 20 to 13 percent. Russian went from 3 to 0.3 percent and Japanese from 7 to 3 percent. Chinese and Arabic are on an upswing, but are still hard to find. Chinese went from 1 to 4 percent and Arabic from zero to 0.6 percent. The other languages important to the future of a global society are either losing popularity in our schools, or making only tiny gains from very low levels. They are taught in 4 percent of high schools with foreign language programs. Individual school decides which foreign languages to teach, based on a variety of factors including demand from students and parents and the availability of qualified teachers. Some schools receive federal funding and teacher placement for teaching languages that the government deems critical for government jobs or national security. Recently, those languages have included Arabic, Chinese, Urdu, Farsi, Korean, and Japanese. So why are there so many schools only offering Spanish? According to Betsy Megas, there are plenty of good reasons for a student in the U.S. to learn Spanish. The


Cited: Megas, Betsy. Quora. 22 April 2012. 22 april 2012. . Pufahl, Nancy C. Rhodes and Ingrid. "Foreign Language Teaching in U.S. Schools." 2009. Shina, Hyon B. and Robert A Kominski. Language Use in the United States:. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Reports. Washington,DC: ACS-12, 2010. pdf. 22 April 2012.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    My thesis statement is grounded on the ideas of the SROTL Resolution, Garrard McClendon, and Ruthellen Crews. The authors of “Students’ Rights to Their Own Language” argue that students should be able to speak and write in their native language because it is more suitable for them and it is easier for them to identify who they are. In addition, they argued that saying the “dialect of one student being unacceptable is like saying that one group is better than the other” (SRTOL Resolution). I agree that as students we should be able to write in our native language because it defines who we are, however, I believe that we should only write in our native language during our years in elementary and high school. What I learned from personal experiences with the English language is that my teachers during elementary and high school never focused on my oral and written skills. Any written assignments during my four years in high school I was never told that my writing was not…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    With Spanish being the second, or even first, language of most citizens, it is essential for law enforcement to learn this language, or another popular one. It can help avoid confusion from a suspect not responding or prevent an unnecessary death. When an officer can speak more than one language it may help save lives. If a patrol car pulled up to a house where an unanswered 911 call was made, they may be entering a dangerous area. If it was a meth lab that was about to blow up, and the person outside only spoke Spanish, they could unknowingly enter the home and it explode with them in it. That is a situation that could be prevented with taking the time to learn another language.…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    11114 Report

    • 1806 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Ryan, C. (2013, August 1). Language Use in the United States: 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-22.pdf…

    • 1806 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The question of whether the U.S should have an official language and whether bilingual language education can be accepted is highly controversial. Hispanic concentrated areas like California, the Southwest and Florida are especially troubled by the proposed English-only movements. People stands for English-only movement claims that linguistic divisions is harmful to political unity, while single official language can provide the chance to the narrow down the distances between the rich and the poor. On the other hand, disbelievers of English-only movements are worrying about the violation of civil liberties which are people’s rights stated in the Constitution Amendment.…

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    While parents may speak to their children in Spanish most often their child will find themselves translating what is being told to them in and responding in English. Bilingualism is now a skill necessary for most job markets. Furthermore, in his fourth myth he attempts to show the readers that Spanish speakers in the U.S. will increase due to constant new immigration. However, history has shown that the original immigrant language is lost by the third generation. Learning a secondary language has many benefits like having more efficient brains, helping with our memory, and lowering risks of mental illness since the brain is constantly being…

    • 1066 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    College students choose shift from minority language to language to majority because of social identity and expanded networks. Identity is the fact of being who or what a person or thing is. Many bilinguals feel pressured from the wider society to speak English. Stigma and prestige are factors that lead to social identity. Several have stopped speaking Spanish because they are afraid of being laughed at. From my personal experience with speaking Spanish here at Western is that we can learn from the people around us. There is not one language that works in every situation but there is a special bond between people who speak similar and share speech patterns. Speech is part of who we are, and bilingual students should be able to speak both equally.…

    • 157 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I disagree with Carlene Carmichael’s reasons because Spanish and English are not the only languages spoken in California. Many different languages are spoken in California, such as Arabic, Mandarin, and French. Trying to teach Spanish and English at the same time would confuse the young…

    • 171 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Language in Use (2010). Assessment Objectives for English Language. Retrieved February 27th, 2012 from http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/asa/asob.html…

    • 1193 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the persuasive argument All Students Should be Required to Study a Foreign Language, posted on 123helpme.com the writer makes the argument that all Americans should have some type of formal education in a foreign language. The writer gives a few good reasons supporting his claim. The benefits given are better race relations for the country as well as an improved foreign interest. The writer is basing his claim on the solid assumption that language is the most fundamental aspect of a culture and when doing business abroad language barriers can be a burden. The argument even goes on to say that incorporating foreign language into the American society will create a more well-rounded society.…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people argue why not the other way around with learning Spanish and I can understand that it would be great if it was implemented more in schools at younger ages such as even starting as young pre-k. The only problem with that idea though is it isn’t, so the reason I say English should be learned in order to enter into the country is because that the majority of text/writings which cause the idea that English is the majority.…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    English only movement

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The United States has many different languages, but the most common by far is English, although other languages such as Spanish and French are also quite common. According to the CIA World Factbook, on a census taken in 2000:…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Do you want your children to learn Spanish but don’t have any reasons. Stay tuned and I will tell you why kids should be required to learn Spanish in school.…

    • 221 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The importance of learning Spanish varies. Either way it is a necessity in the general region of San Antonio, Texas. Spanish speaking people are everywhere, whether in Texas or the United States or any general area. Speaking Spanish has become more resourceful as many people from Spanish Speaking countries immigrate over toward The United States. In the U.S alone, with well over thirty-five million people who speak Spanish, and tens of millions of people who only know Spanish. They can’t speak the formal U.S language, which is English. The importance of learning Spanish grows larger and larger as we work more and more with Spanish speaking counties.…

    • 212 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The population of native Spanish speakers in the US is growing according to the article “10 Facts About the Spanish Language;” which states that “With 329 million native speakers, Spanish ranks as the world's No. 2 language in terms of how many people speak it as their first language. It is slightly ahead of English (328 million) but far behind Chinese (1.2 billion)” (Erichsen). I am going to college to get my degree in Elementary Education. I am taking a course to learn to speak Spanish – hablar español, because I have noticed this myself.…

    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Imagine that you are sitting in a high school Spanish class. You are thinking to your self how is this going to help me in the future. So you decide that you shouldn't have to take a Foreign language to graduate. Well did you really look that far into the future? Most colleges require two years of a Foreign language to get in. Also taking a Foreign language will help you get a better job or even a better career. It will even help you when you travel. High school should require at least one year of a Foreign language to graduate.…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays