Friday, March 12, 2010
Foreign Language is a choice
In high school we are required to take two years of a foreign language and in high school we were limited to one choice and that was espanol (Spanish). I have yet to hear of any schools that offer any other form of foreign language besides the Spanish classes. I had to take two years of Spanish to graduate and quit honestly I still have not mastered the language. It was a pain in the butt as well because I rather of taken a different elective that I was interested in rather then forced to take the course. I believe that colleges and universities should not make it mandatory to have foreign language experience to get in or to graduate because the classes would not do much if the student is not interested in the subject to begin with. There are many individuals that roam our world that are bilingual or can even speak three languages, why must we need anymore? The foreign language classes should be exactly what they are labeled as and that is electives. According to my counselors electives were a group of classes you got to choose from as a kind of a leisure activity, and studying Spanish was not fun to any of my classmates or me. Students should be able to choose extra classes that they are interested in. Spanish is not a core class and most people who take it forget it in a year. if they are interested in it then let them take the class voluntarily! In another aspect foreign language is not something as individuals we need to survive in the world. Of course it is very nice when we receive incentives for being bilingual at jobs and such but there is no real need to be fluent in more than one language. Learning a foreign language is beneficial but it is not so crucial that the state must demand it be taught to students who would like to attend college. I know there have been discussions about adopting English as our language here in The United States of America, and if this is as serious as they make it out to be then there really is no need to learn or have background familiarities with another language because it would not do a single thing. They are discouraging any other form of language to be successful but yet demand and require we learn more about it. The poor children in schools have enough on their plate since English is required. How can we learn two different languages at one time, this even gets interesting because the two languages can get mixed up and make things harder than they should. Despite that there are plenty of youth who are already struggling with our language, the language they are familiar with and then the high schools throw another difficult course at them, it is no wonder the dropout rate is so ridiculous; we are overwhelmed sometimes. These foreign language courses should just be available and let the students pick and chose them as they please, after all if English is going to be our dominate language we should not be required to know about another
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Your blog was interesting to read because I feel mostly the same way you do. You stated that high schools only offer Spanish classes; however, my school offered French also. I know this is hardly a significant variety but it did offer a little change, although Spanish and French are kind of similar. I took three years of Spanish and I did learn a little to have a basic conversation, but after a year of not speaking the language, I forgot everything I had learned in those three years. I also agree with the statement that you said that colleges shouldn’t make students take classes they are uninterested in because it wouldn’t benefit them. Students who don’t want to take a class and are forced are not going to pay attention because they don’t want to be there in the first place. I think that the statement you made, “They are discouraging any other form of language to be successful but yet demand and require we learn more about it” was an epiphany on how the government contradicts itself. I never realized how they say we need to speak English and then encourage us to learn a foreign language. I liked the way your blog gave your personal opinions on how you felt about the language. It enhanced your position by giving a more form stance on how you feel. All in all, you blog was insightful and easily comprehendible.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you in that being forced to take a foreign language in high school is rather annoying. Since they do require us to take two years of a foreign language why not have more to choose from then just Spanish? I’m sure high educational schools offer several different languages besides just Spanish. Even though Spanish is the most common used language in Southern California besides English making students take two years of it is rather ridiculous. I also agree with how you said requiring a student to take a class does not mean they will learn or get all the educational information they need out of it. When you force someone to do something they do not want to do then the student usually does only what is required to pass the class and is not interested in really learning the subject. Knowing a foreign language can benefit someone greatly in their work as well as school but that should be up to the individual whether they want to learn another language. Since we speak English in America and that is where we live why should we be required to learn another language that is not predominate to where we live? You did a wonderful job on this blog and I enjoyed reading your opinion on being required to take a second language in high school. Great job!
ReplyDeleteWell I’m sorry to hear that you only had one choice of language in high school especially because Spanish is indeed a difficult language to learn. I know I had no problem learning or taking what I needed to take in order to graduate. But at my high school we had options, not many but we had two. There was an option for French or Spanish and because I already knew Spanish I decided to take it so hopefully it would be pretty easy. Well that and because I was not the best Spanish speaker and hoped that this would be a way to help me improve it. But I also took four years of Spanish because I wanted to get some kind of award for my grades and achievement in Spanish. So you can say I was just being lazy but I did help a loot of people in my class study and they got good grades to. But at the same time I feel that if a person already knows a language that they should not have to take it. Like everybody knows English so I feel that it is kind of pointless to have to take several years of it, no offense Professor cause your class is actually cool. But if a person speaks the language they should not have to take it, like Spanish speakers should not have to take Spanish and French or German any language should not be required if already known. But that is just how I feel.
ReplyDeleteHello brit, I have to say I didn’t see this coming from you!.I respect your position on this issue, but I do disagree with you. A requirement of a foreign study can expand a student’s horizon along with making you more marketable in the job world. You yourself should have a basic understanding of the language barriers that exist today, especially since you are going in to a jobs field where you will be exposed to individuals who don’t always speak English. The job market is continuously changing and it up to our colleges and universities to make sure we as students our equipped with the instruments to be successful. It seems as if your high school foreign language classes were unproductive for you, I might have the same outlook if I were forced into taking the only foreign language class offered in school. Under such circumstances, I would probably have the outlook you have. I really appreciated you point of view on this issue. You blogs are always lively and you make sure you get your pint across. I enjoyed reading you blog and hope you continue the good work
ReplyDeleteHi Britni,
ReplyDeleteYour blog was very interesting. I agree with a few classmate above that most of high school also offered more than one foreign language. My high school was also had French and German. But I chose Spanish because it was easy to learn and I needed for my future career. I disagree when you say school should not forced you to take 2 year of foreign language. They not forcing you to take it, they trying help you for your future. Learning different languages can be beneficial in many different way. It help you to get a job when you bilingual and you can also help the Hispanic community when needed. Your job or career may required you to communicate with different culture. Some people out there know more than just two language, and that benefit them when it come to finding job. If I had an opportunity I would learn more than 2 language. Even though, it will be more challenge but it make me happy because I can easily understand different culture through their language. In fact, I think they should make foreign language as mandatory instead of elective as an option. That way you'll be able to be ready when you enter the workforce. Statistically speaking, Children in America is less educated compared to the world. Therefore, learning new language could be beneficial to them. Even though, I disagree with your opinion and thought but your point of view is very interesting and you make your point across. Overall your blog was fun. I'm looking forward to read your next blog!
Andy