Should students be required to take 2 years of foreign language classes?

[7Grace]

Should students be required to take at least 2 years of foreign language classes to graduate high school? Within Harlan Community School, you are not formally required to take any foreign language classes to graduate. But a question that could be posed within the school is, is it worth forcing students to take these classes?

I think overall there are some positives and negatives to this idea. The positive that is shown after requiring these classes is the increase in knowledge overall. Students who take foreign language classes usually end up being more advanced in other classes due to the heightened knowledge of another language. Another benefit is that students who take a foreign language and stick with it can get better jobs and better opportunities in the long run. Some students may eventually find it easier to get a better job with an even higher pay rate due to the ability to speak another language. The last pro I will mention is the fact that if you even start it earlier, as in elementary school, it widens a younger student's brain and makes their knowledge more flexible. 

Contrary to the pros of this idea. Some cons come along with this requirement. One of them is that forcing a student to take a foreign language may take away from a student within the classroom who wants to be there and is eager to take on the challenge of learning a new language. It takes away some one-on-one time with those who are striving for achievements such as their seal of biliteracy. Another con is that along with requiring a student to take a class, you are bound to have more students failing the class than if the class was chosen. Students are more likely to try a class if they have chosen to take it off their free will. 

Overall I think that both the positive and negative reasons are reasonable. But, in the end, I think that it is better to not require it. I feel like the students who want to push themselves and strive for a better future will choose to take on the challenge of a foreign language. So to sum it up, I believe we should keep it as a non-required elective.

 

https://www.leadwithlanguages.org/why-learn-languages/middle-high-school/#:~:text=Bilinguals%20have%20better%20problem%2Dsolving,academic%20progress%20in%20other%20subjects. 

 

Do you think we should have to take 2 years of foreign language to graduate?

Are you in a foreign language right now?

Do you think they should start teaching younger kids different languages?

[7Hayden]

I do not think that they should require it but I do think that it does look good for you to get a job.  Businesses love when an employee is bilingual.  Yes, I am in a foreign language class right now.  I think that Highschool is a good time to start teaching kids foreign languages.

[7Grace]

I agree that it shouldn't be required, but it does help in a lot of ways.

[7Nolan]

Personally I don’t think that we have to take 2 years of foreign language to graduate unless you want to. I think that taking a foreign language could benefit you later in life but I do think it should be optional. I am in a foreign language class right now. I think they should only teach what some of the kids want to take.

[7Grace]

I agree that we shouldn't have to take 2 years in highschool.

[3keegan]

I think that a foreign language can be beneficial if you are going to a certain college some colleges require you to take 4 years of a foreign language I don't think that it should be required in schools if you don't want to take it

[7Grace]

I agree that it should not be required.

[7Molly]

I think that foreign language can be benificial to you if you go to college or get a job. Some colleges dont require you to take foreign language though so I dont think it should be required in schools. If its not needed for where you go to college them you shouoldnt have to take it. 

[7Grace]

I also think it can be benificial, but I don't think it should be required.

[7 Weston Reisz]

No, I do not think we should have to take 2 years of foreign language. I am in spanish 3 right now and it is one of my least favorite classes and I don't see a point in taking it in the first place. If you plan on coming to America you should learn English if you really wanna be here that bad.

[7Grace]

I agree, it shouldn't be required. I am only in spanish 2, and I don't like it, so I can only imagine how bad spanish 3 is. I also agree that if you choose to come to the US you should learn english.