The Importance Of Foreign Language Studies In High Schools

Foreign language classes are often put off until high school due to the fact that this is when people believe students are most ready to learn another language. This belief is widely accepted despite the fact children are able to learn to speak like natives in foreign languages, whereas teenagers and adults usually are not able to learn how to do this. Speaking “like a native” entails being able to think in a foreign language without having to translate (Nadia 1). The ability to speak like a native in a foreign language can be easier to obtain when taught the foreign language during elementary school. Once a student passes the prime learning stages, learning a foreign language can be extremely difficult. Adults starting to learn a language have to work through an established first-language

“One of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time”, Federico Fellini once stated that “A different language is a different vision of life” and I, in my turn tend to say that he was perfectly right. A person who speaks more than one language can experience multiple personalities, visions and reflections consisting which language is he speaking. High School students should comprehend the real benefit of speaking a foreign language. Being a multilingual myself and speaking fluently four languages and studying another two, I consider that I am qualified enough to persuade that my argument is strong, plausible and not ultimately-right. In the following paragraphs I am going to address the following three reasons why should other High School students learn at least one foreign language? Firstly, learning a new language enhances performances in the academic domain and makes you smarter. Secondly, knowing a new language is a high estimated and a very valuable characteristic in your professional CV. Thirdly, international travel is more pleasant through knowing a foreign language.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) report that “the language areas of the brain seem to go through the most dynamic period of growth between the ages of 6 and 13” (qtd. in Talukder 3). The UCLA study instead suggests that “the elementary and middle school years are the biologically most advantageous times for acquisition of a second language” (qtd. in Talukder 3). It is during the first years of life that “the foundations for thinking, language, vision, attitudes, aptitudes, and other characteristics are laid down," says Ronald Kotulak, author of Inside the Brain (qtd. in Dryden and Voss 266). Studies of the brain show that a second language is stored in the same part of the brain as a first language when learned by age 8. After that age, a second language is stored in a different part of the brain.

In “Why Foreign Language Education Matters” Representative Rush Holt expresses the idea that the average American is generally deprived of what is known as cultural enrichment in their day-to-day lives, even though others believe that English should be the primary and only language Americans should speak. Holt conveys the overall concept that being bilingual, trilingual, or multilingual is a benefit not just for oneself but for our society. Rush Holt presents the argument with extreme concern for our upcoming generations and the consequences it may cause our nation’s economy to decrease in federal funding’s for education programs, as well as our global marketplace and national security who is highly dependent of translators, specialist, and

Children all over the world are taught every day that communication is vital to life in this modern world, but they are being kept from learning any language beyond their native tongue. In Europe alone, there are twenty-four official languages and that count does not include the more regional languages that are dotted across the continent. There are forty-four countries in a land that is of comparable size to the US. Twenty-four languages in forty-four countries, yet each new generation that comes along has been taught that it is fine to seclude themselves to knowing a single language. A child in the US could be able to talk to a child in Finland, Vietnam, or South Africa in a literal moment, but that connection often never happens, because they don’t speak each other’s language. Without the knowledge gained from a well known second language, they will be unable to reach their full potential in expressing themselves in a world where they have the potential to be constantly interacting with people from other countries, cultures, and language backgrounds. “We Americans do a less than adequate job when it comes to teaching our children a foreign language. We start too late and we do too little to convince our children about why learning a foreign language is so important. “ Children need to be exposed to as many forms of the world to expand their minds and allow them to convey what they experience. To not allow this to happen, would be akin to attempting to write a paper with

As the brain matures it becomes less receptive to learning a foreign language. The brain separates sounds into units known as phenomes which over time become wired into the brain. The phenomes that the brain does not use become dormant which is why the matured brain is “less

The United States education system lacks a national foreign language education requirement, which has resulted in a decline of foreign language learning opportunities. (“Education,” 2010). Foreign language requirements and opportunities in the nation’s schools are decreasing due to budget cuts (Skorton & Altschuler, 2012). Out of the 50 states, only 10 states have a foreign language graduation requirement set for students (“Education,” 2010). From 1997 to 2008, the number of elementary schools offering a foreign language decreased from 31% to 25%, while the number of middle schools dropped from 75% to 58%. Foreign language opportunities in high schools remained the same at around 91%; however, from 1994 to 2010 the percent of colleges that required foreign language study dropped from 67.5% to 50.7% (Skorton & Altschuler, 2012). The result

The ability of speaking two languages is important for a career in today’s standpoint. With countries becoming more diverse with different cultures and ethnicity, being bilingual can help an individual tremendously in the work force. With this in mind, schools should implement a class for students to learn a new language and being able to master it before graduating high school. Therefore, Schools should require students to learn and master a foreign language before graduating high school because people who speak multiple languages are intellectually smarter, it helps them communicate better in the modern world, and benefits them for the workforce.

Ask the average American adult if he or she knows a foreign language, the most common response is: “I took a foreign language in high school but I don’t remember it” (Why Learn a Second Language?). This response is no longer an acceptable response as communities in the United States become more diverse, full of many different languages and cultures. Foreign language is defined as “any language used in a country other than one's own; a language that is studied mostly for cultural insight,” according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Foreign language requirements in the United States are scarce, but important factors to educational development. Only about 15 states in the U.S. have specific requirements for foreign languages in their

The main idea of the article debates the need for students to take a set amount foreign language classes in order to graduate high school. This article is trying to inform us about the effects not taking foreign language can have on students and persuade us why it should be taken. It pointed out some very interesting information.

Although there are approximately 7,097 languages spoken around the world, 75 percent of the United States of America’s population cannot speak a second language. Twenty-eight percent of Americans feel that they do not need to know a second language because everyone they know speaks English or they expect all those they encounter to speak English. Because such a large percentage of Americans are monolingual, they often struggle to communicate with those in foreign countries because they do not know the native languages. This is largely due to the lack of language classes offered through the American school system, and not starting languages early in education. The solution to help close language and cultural barriers for Americans is starting foreign languages earlier in schools around the United States.

Did you know that some high schools are deciding to cut out foreign languages from the required list of classes? Well, they are, and it is a terrible mistake to not take a foreign language in high school because there are so many benefits that students are missing out on. Taking a foreign language in high school should be a required class because learning a second language allows for more job opportunities, better health in older age, and higher scores on verbal and nonverbal tasks.

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

As a child develops, their brain has different stages of expansion and maturity. Each child must learn to do certain things at different points in their growth to keep up with other children their age. Language development in children is often a controversial topic among many psychologists and educated individuals of society. Research shows, “...debate over the ultimate causes of age-related phenomenon, ...some claiming that it is due to general cognitive declines that continue over the lifespan” (Larson-Hill). Students taking foreign language courses at a younger age will keep more information due to their brain development and growth stages, rather than a student who is in high school.

In contemporary society, the boost number of young people choose to go abroad to study. There are over 7.2 million international students all over the world (Bohm et al., 2002) Because those students figure out that education abroad is more concerned about personality, and can be independent of them. However, second language learning has become one of the most serious problems for international students. Therefore, higher education provides language courses for international students who are not native-tongue. However, many students are not using the foreign languages fluently yet. If international students want a perfect comprehension of the target language, understanding of the new culture can be one of the most compelling