Relevant+or+Not?

="A National Decline in Foreign Language Education" By Rebecca Antrobius =

Overview of Topic
According to the Program for International Student Assessment, high school students in the United States are lagging behind their peers in other developed nations when it comes to standardized test scores in reading, science, and math. As a result, state governments across the country have decided to abide by a common set of standards that will be established at the national level (Rickman 4). The intent is to use these new national standards, known as the common core, to raise the level of academic rigor in American high schools, and thus raise the student's standardized test scores to a level that is competitive with other nations. In order to meet these new common core standards many states and local school districts are feeling the pressure to focus their curriculum and graduation requirements around the subjects of math, science, and language arts. With this new focus on core subjects, the study of foreign language is being placed on the back burner in terms of importance. In fact, many states, including Georgia, are considering waiving the foreign language requirement for graduation, thus relegating it to an elective if it is to be offered at all. However, there are many experts that question the notion that foreign language learning is an unessential skill set that is irrelevant to the task of improving standardized test scores. These experts believe that just the opposite is true. They believe that foreign language learning is a critical component of student success in the core subjects of math, science, and language arts. Some even argue that foreign language learning should begin well before high school. According to the President of the National Network for Early Language Learning Theresa Sullivan Carravale, foreign language learning in early childhood gives students many advantages once they reach high school. In a recent article inside The Duke Gifted Letter titled //Cognitive Benefits of Learning a Language// Carravale states that, “Early language learning has been shown to enhance children’s cognitive development. Children who learn a foreign language beginning in early childhood demonstrate certain cognitive advantages over children who do not. Foreign Language is much more of a cognitive problem solving activity than a linguistic activity. It improves problem solving skills, critical thinking skills, creativity and flexibility of mind in young children.". Carravale’s claims are not unsubstantiated. There are numerous studies that directly link the study of foreign language in early childhood to better scores on standardized tests in both reading and math. A study done by Margaret Bruck, Wallace Lambert and Richard Tucker in 1974 found that people who are competent in more than one language consistently outscore monolinguals on tests of both verbal and mathematical intelligence Bruck, Lambert,Tucker 185). This is just one of the reasons that we should be giving more weight to foreign language instruction well before a student reaches high school. If a child reaches puberty before he begins studying a second language, achieving native fluency and pronunciation becomes next to impossible. Dr.Susan Curtiss, UCLA linguistics professor states in an article titled //Language Learning and the Developing Brain (1996)// that, "In language learning there is a window of opportunity in which the child learns the first language normally. After this period, the brain becomes slowly less plastic and by the time the child reaches adolescence, the brain cannot develop any real cognitive system,including language." That is why young children seem better able than adults to achieve fluency in a foreign language. Dr. Susan Curtiss further explains that, “The power to learn a language is so great in the young child that it doesn't matter how many languages you throw their way… they can learn as many languages as you can allow them to hear regularly at the same time. Children just have this capacity. Their brain is ripe to do this.” Instead of scaling back foreign language programs entirely, it would be wise to relocate these programs to primary schools. Students will benefit from this by achieving native fluency in a foreign language, and by developing the cognitive skills that will help improve standardized test scores once they reach secondary school.

=A trend that causes many issues =

The loss of funding for foreign language programs for American students is both a trend and a major issue in the education field today. Despite the fact that we are living in a globalized economy that highly values foreign language skills, American school systems seem to be trending away from focusing on them. The new common core standards have placed a new focus on the math, science and reading skill sets. As a result, many school systems across the country are proposing cuts to foreign language instruction. However, the proposed cuts in foreign language instruction at the secondary school level have yet to take effect. The same cannot be said for foreign language instruction at the elementary and middle school levels. Despite the fact that most experts have concluded that foreign language skills are best achieved during early childhood, and that the study of a foreign language actually helps improve math and reading skills later in life, both elementary and middle schools are trending toward the reduction of foreign language classrooms. According to a recent article titled //America’s Foreign Language Deficit// in Forbes Magazine, “the percentage of elementary schools offering foreign language instruction decreased from 31 percent to 25 percent and the percentage of all middle schools offering foreign language instruction decreased from 75 percent to 58 percent." Even though the general trend is toward a reduction in foreign language courses, there are a few school systems that seem to be moving in the opposite direction. A recent article in the Washington Post titled //Schools Try an Elementary Approach// reported that,"Fairfax County Virginia is considering a long-term plan to expand foreign language instruction in each of its one hundred fifty seven elementary schools.” The overall trend toward less foreign language instruction has many in the education field questioning rather this trend will cost future American workers the ability to compete in a global market. Thanks to modern technology, the world has become much smaller. As a result, many economic borders are disappearing. In order to remain competitive, employers need workers that are able to communicate across cultural and linguistic barriers. By reducing foreign language programs we may be running the risk of sending students into a workforce for which they are ill prepared. However, there is more at stake than an ill prepared workforce. The United States risks culturally isolating itself. It seems that the rest of the world has caught on to the need for foreign language education and the United States is lagging behind. While we are trending toward monoligualism, our international allies, adversaries, and competitors are trending toward multilingualism. The United States Department of Education recently pointed out that more than 200 million children in China are studying English in primary school, but only 24,000 students in the United States are learning Chinese. One can only imagine the economic, political, and social implications of such a trend. A school district's failure to produce global citizens is not just an international problem. The former director of the National Foreign Language Center at The University of Maryland, Myriam Met (2008), explains the importance foreign language instruction has in a diverse society like the United States. She states that, "An increasingly diverse society requires all students to know how to communicate across the permeable linguistic and cultural barriers of our communities. More than ever, we are learning the importance of a harmonious and civil society based on mutual understanding." Certainly foreign language instruction in early childhood can go a long way in promoting cross cultural harmony, improving cognitive skills, and creating a graduate that is prepared for the workforce.

Download a proposal detailing a study abroad trip here:


 * Bibliography **

[] This page is a No Child Left Behind PDF handout from the Department of Education that quotes the number of Chinese students studying English and compares it to the amount of American students studying Chinese.

Bruck, Margaret, Wallace, Lambert & Richard Tucker (1974) Bilingual schooling Through the Elementary Grades. //Language Learning// 24 (1). 170-204.

Rickman,Dana (2014) Top Ten Issues to Watch. //The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education//: 4-5.

Cognitive Benefits of Learning a Language. (2007, Fall). //Duke Gifted Letter,// 8(1). Retrieved from []

Met, Myriam (2008, October) A Cure for Monolingualism. //District Administration.// Retrieved from []

Glod, Maria. Schools Try an Elementary Approach to Language Learning. (2006, August 8). //The Washington Post.// Retrieved from //[]//

Skorton, David & Glenn Altschuler. America's Foreign Language Deficit.(2012, August 27). //Forbes Magazine.// Retrieved from []

Language Learning and the Developing Brain. (1996, Winter) //Learning Languages,// 1(2), 17. Retrieved from []