The Importance Of Foreign Language In Schools

Second languages are vital. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have the ability to speak ten out of the near seven thousand languages that are spoken in the world today? It is certainly evident that it would be pretty astonishing but also undoubtedly complex and mind-boggling. From Afrikaans and French, to German and Swahili, foreign languages are responsible for one thing; enabling easy communication and the ability to interact with others in whatever language you may speak. In today’s society, approximately one fifth of the global population speaks English. So, learning another language is inevitably crucial for education, work and travel. It is also important for making real connections with others, broadening your horizons and can even give you an even more in-depth understanding of your own native language. But what advantages do foreign languages have?

Since our nation’s birth in 1776, we the people of America have aimed to be a melding pot of different cultures open to everyone. While the majority of Americans speak English, over 62 million people speak a language besides English in the comfort of their own homes. With all our cultural diversity, some still feel the need to make English the official Language of the United States. Since it was founded, the culture of our country has been dominated by wealthy European, often English immigrants, where other cultures have been oppressed and moved to the backburner. The supposed melding pot of America is really directing other cultures to imitate the English immigrants and held them to their standards. This phenomenon of idolizing the European cultural patterns while reducing African and other groups of people as subcultures has been labeled as Eurocentrism. The opposition the the Official English movement argue that knowing multiple languages is inarguably beneficial for the cognitive development of society, as those who are able to speak two or more languages have a higher rate of literacy, a better attention span and better functioning systems. Put into a simpler definition, those who speak multiple languages brains’ work better than those who speak only one language because it challenges the brain to function in more complex situations and allows it to adapt and grow. An English Only movement supports the Social Conflict Theory

Although the founding fathers decided to leave the idea of establishing a national language out of the Constitution, there have been several movements to establish English as the national language since then. Even though none of these movements could garnish enough support to make this into a reality, they have been influential in that English is the official language in 31 states. In recent years, five additional states have considered legislation that would mandate English as well (Schwarz 2014). Since many individual states have sided on the issue, it poses the question of if the national government should follow the trend as well. A strong argument can be made that the United States should make English as the official language because it would promote unity and patriotism among Americans, be economically beneficial for the nation while rightfully placing the responsibility to learn English on the non-English speaking immigrants.

A common joke says “What do you call someone who speaks two languages?” in which the person being asked the question would usually respond with “bilingual.” It goes on to ask about those who speak three or four languages, but then there is a kicker. “What does one call someone who only speaks one language?” to which the punch line is “an American.” According to the 2006 General Social Survey, only 25 percent of American adults are fluent in a foreign language, while only 7 percent cite the source of this education to formal schooling (Devlin 1). Large amounts of evidence point to the benefits of being multilingual. Although the United States has a few laws that help immigrants assimilate through dual language programs, there is little to be

Immigration, legal or not, has been a problem for the United States for a long time. In the U.S., promoters of bilingualism have supported the use of other languages for public services, including government documents, hospitals services, voting ballots, and bilingual education. In their essays “A Nation Divided by One Language” and “Viva Bilingualism”, James Crawford and James Fallows claim that it is not necessary to declare English the official language of the U.S. On the other hand, in their essays “English Should Be the Only Language” and “Why the U.S. Needs an Official Language”, S. I. Hayakawa and Mauro E. Mujica argue that English should be made the official language. They contend that

Language is considered a vital tool in the construction of someone’s identity and an expression of culture. English is the most widely spoken language in the world. The number of people who speak it as a second language is increasing dramatically. In the last couple of decades immigrants have chosen to make the United States their home, but some proceeded with caution by slowly adapting to the English language and culture. Others don’t want to learn and adapt to the English culture simply because they believe it will separate them from their own cultures and traditions. Therefore, the question struggling to be answered is, should English be the official language in the United States?

Many kids in today’s world are not learning enough to be able to live in the global economy and according to David Boren, the former U.S. Senator, “Not training our kids to be able to work and live in an international environment is like leaving them illiterate” (182). The best way to learn a culture is to study the language and devote time where the language is important. Learning a foreign language rises, brain growth, yet fewer American schools offer it. To

It has been a long time since the question whether America should set English as its official language became controversial. Majority of people in this country consciously accept the fact that English is most directly relevant to their success, however, English-only policy is actually violating the spirit of America and may result in serious problems in some cases.

The United States has always been the land of the free, a quality that attracted many immigrants in search of a new life. As a result, the U.S is one of the most heterogeneous countries in the world. Today, three hundred and eleven languages are spoken in the U.S (Rhein, 2007). While the U.S has no official language, English is the most commonly spoken language in the country. Ever since the 1980’s, there has been a phenomenon known as the English-Only Movement, which is driven by those who believe English should be made the official language of the U.S. This phenomenon began in the 1980’s when Americans started to fear that immigrant languages would take over English (Crawford, 1998). For the past three decades, this movement has continued to have an impact in the U.S. Some of the common justifications for making English the official language is that it would make America more unified and it would improve the lives of immigrants (Brice, 2014). Another common justification is that it would save the federal government billions of dollars. The government spends large amounts of money every year to keep multilingualism alive, and it is in turn hurting the economy. Multilingualism has also had a major effect on the grades of school children who do not speak fluent English. Since the 1980’s, many governments have made efforts to reduce multilingualism. In order to improve the lives of immigrants, the economy and the grades of students in the U.S, English should be

“Despite about 18% of the U.S. population natively speaking a different tongue than English, a full 96% of United States citizens speak English fluently” (Whiskey 2012). Today in our society, a large majority of American citizens speak English and continue teaching those at a young age to resume this trend in the future. Although there is a minor percent of people whom come to America speaking a foreign language, many of them are learning and practicing the English language as a requirement for success in America. America originated with English being the superior language and shall continue to do so in respect to this nation by coming together as a whole to attain future achievement.

Some people believe that speaking the same language can make communication easier and making English the official language would encourage new immigrants to learn the language of the country they have adopted as theirs. However, being forced to learn and use another language can make people lose their connection with their own culture. If English was never the official language for the past two hundred years, why should it change now? Having multiple languages in this country is beneficial because it fosters diversity and also helps preserve one’s cultural

The language policy which promotes English as the official language of the United States has been controversial since three decades ago. The U.S. Congress had never considered declaring English as the nation’s official language. However, since 1981 there are the increased movements of the English-only idea commenced by the late Senator S I. Hayakawa who introduced the English Language Amendment. It was the first Congress proposal to declare English as the nation’s official language (Crawford 1992, p. 90). Fortunately, this proposal disappeared without Congressional action. If the proposed bill had been approved by Congress,

Imagine what Christopher Columbus first said when stepping on American soil. Perhaps he said: “This land holds great promise.” Whatever he said the more fascinating question to ponder centers around what language did he speak, for Christopher Columbus, a multi-linguist, knew Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. So what happened to the diversity of languages in this land of promise? Many foreigners contribute to the melting pot of America, bringing their culture and language, yet American schools continue to teach just one language in today’s society. The heated debate among parents, educators, and politicians over a multilingual education in the United States began in the late nineteenth century. Over the next sixty years many crucial

The late senator S.I. Hayakawa wrote in his essay, the language of power “English unites us as American-immigrants and native born alike. Communicating with each other in a single, common tongue encourage trust, while reducing racial hostility and bigotry.” He believes that the passage of English as the official language will help to expand opportunities for immigrants to learn and speak English, the single greatest empowering tool that immigrants must have to succeed. If we do not have a central government to rule and protect the people, it would lead to disunited states. Likewise not having a central language to unite the people and the government together, would also lead to devastating and sever chaos for our country and our future. Making English the official language would encourage new migrants to learn the idiom of the country they have adopted us

Language is a key part of any family, community, culture and the human race. Without language the world today would be much different. From cavemen, to the Egyptian use of hieroglyphics, to Old English, to more than 6,500 languages spoken around the world today, the advances that humans have made in language is remarkable and inspiring. The ability to speak, read, write and understand more than one language is also remarkable and expands the liberties in life, especially for young people. High school students should be required to take at least two years of a foreign language class in order to graduate, as many recent studies support the benefits of doing so. Students who have learned a foreign language in high school have proven to have a