Foreign language, more politically correctly called world language these days, is
an important part of the high school curriculum. Many are surprised to find, though,
that world languages are usually not a graduation requirement. They are, however,
most often a requirement for admission to a four year university so the majority
of high school students are encouraged to take these classes.
With all that being said, there are several points to consider in taking
world languages. The first thing to decide is whether to take one in the
first place. World languages can be tough. They are considered academic
electives and that means more homework, book work, etc. If you have a student
who is not performing particularly well in high school or for whom it has become
apparent that admission to a four year university directly out of high school is unlikely,
adding an academic elective may not be wise. That student could always start at
a community college which seldom requires a world language and transfer to a
four year university later.
If you do choose to take a world language though, you'll need to decide which
language to study. Students are often limited to choose among the languages
their school offers but the advent of online educational programs means one can
look beyond their school's curriculum. It has always made sense to me to choose
a language that has some geographical or family relevance. Thus students in
Florida and Texas might benefit most from Spanish, Chinese and Japanese might be
very appropriate in the west, etc. Of course if a student has Portuguese
grandparents or a hearing impaired cousin those corresponding languages may be a
good fit.
The last step in the process is to choose how many years of a language a
student should take. Two consecutive years of the same language is usually
considered the minimum. Taking additional language credits (preferably in the same
language, except for special circumstances) is highly coveted by colleges
and universities, however. The most competitive of those might even require
additional world language course work beyond the first two years. Therefore, it is
always a good idea to do a little research into the world language requirements
of the colleges you are interested in.
It goes without saying that as a student moves through additional years of
their language, the classes will get harder. Like math, world languages are highly
foundational. So if a student chooses to blow off that first year in, say,
Spanish 1 and does poorly in the class, the chances of them making it to Spanish 4 and
doing well there are greatly diminished. Make sure your student is ready for a
world language and is prepared for a class that can truly open up the world to
them.
