Bilingual in America

Did you take a foreign language? Why did you choose that class? Do you remember what you learned? If you answered no to the last question, you’re definitely not alone. Most Americans barely remember what they learned in their foreign language classes in high school. Learning a second language is definitely important and provides many benefits, but why is it that so many Americans don’t know a second language? This may be due to the failings of the US education system.

The United States is known as a global power and we’ve made it a priority to work with the rest of the world. But why is it that less than 1 percent of American adults are proficient in a language that they learned in a U.S. classroom. Most American High Schools provide some form of a foreign language class, but the problem is, it’s easier to learn a new language when you are younger. Most European school systems start teaching foreign languages at the elementary level. England, Wales, Spain, Germany,and Sweden all require their students to learn at least one foreign language. France, Portugal, Italy, and many more all require their students to learn at least two languages. The compulsory age for a student to start learning their first foreign language in Belgium is 3, they also start their second required language at age 13. Although, it is easier to manage education laws and standards since they are smaller countries and they don’t have 50 different state governments with varying opinions and laws on education. Foreign language education in the United States is rarely prioritized at the elementary level. Experiences in High School language classrooms are also limited, the system prioritizes vocabulary memorization and writing over speaking and conversational skills. Writing and reading are just as important as speaking a language, but there is not enough emphasis on speaking skills, language education is not balanced enough.

You know the stereotype, the clueless, obnoxious tourist who butchers every word of Spanish that they speak. Through not being able to communicate well with the rest of the world, we only reinforce this stereotype. Learning a new language could help people learn more about each other's cultures, which might result in more understanding and empathy between people of different cultures. When traveling abroad, you don’t even have to be fluent in the language of that country. Making an effort to learn even a little bit of that language would be considered polite. Not making any effort to learn gives people the perception that we believe that English is above all other languages. So when you’re traveling abroad, even learning a simple “hello” or “where is that?” will increase the quality of your trip.

Bilingualism provides multiple benefits, both socially, economically, and beyond. Obviously,

knowing a second language will allow you to communicate with and meet more people. This could lead you to so many more opportunities and experiences. Mrs. Nemastil, a Japanese teacher here at the High School spoke about the social importance of languages, “We need to be able to communicate and exchange ideas with others. We cannot grow and learn from one another if we don't speak each other's languages. Speaking another language also gives a person the chance to analyze a culture different from one's own.” Bilingual brains also function slightly differently from monolingual brains. Being bilingual can decrease your chances of developing Dementia or Alzheimer’s when you are older, it can also improve your memory and problem-solving skills.

Although there are many problems in our school system, it is possible to change how we learn

Foreign languages in a classroom setting. Introducing new languages at a younger age is a possibility. Mrs. Nemastil also has a solution, “We need to focus on providing opportunities and appropriate settings where students can feel welcome to make mistakes. We need to shift our teaching from teacher-led to more student-driven. Students need to be pushed to talk to each other, share with each other, and work together in order to get ideas across. We need to step back and use research-proven methods and the proficiency scale to set actual meaningful communicative goals.”