Every student at Proctor High School must take a foreign language class of some variety. But many students have also seen that the only foreign language class that is available as of now is Spanish. While this works for some students, Spanish still isn’t a language that works for all students’ dreams.

One may hear much of Spanish in their life due to its rising popularity in the United States. But different people have different journeys. I am liable to hear Japanese spoken consistently; I have Japanese relatives, and I might actually move to Japan for a time. There may be a student in this school who will hear much of Russian, French, or Italian, but there are no courses on these. There are other languages that are more relevant in the lives of the students due to each person’s individuality, but the lack of language courses does not support this.

Furthermore, there are students that are already learning a foreign language. I’m learning Japanese, but there is no Japanese course, meaning the only time I have for learning Japanese is in my spare time when I’m not doing schoolwork. It would be infinitely more efficient, and better for my time (and therefore mental health), for me to take Japanese as a class. Plus, it earns me a foreign language credit, and because I already know an amount of the language, I’ll be able to pass it more easily than a Spanish course.

 Tying into mental health, some languages are very hard to learn. Chinese and Japanese, for example, use entirely different writing systems, and being stuck learning these writing systems without the support of an expert teacher on these topics could stress out a student and take so much of their time to the point where it hinders their work. 

On a similar note, language-learning also provides positive benefits for the brain. According to the Language Connects Foundation, research indicates that multilingual people tend to develop better memory, concentration ability, problem-solving talents, and more creative tendencies than unilingual people.

There are a lot of college courses that are based on languages and cultures other than the ones being taught about in Proctor. But not having the adequate high school courses before college could lead students to not having the appropriate context to take these college courses and pass adequately. Multilingualism is one of the most important traits commonly considered by employers, meaning learning multiple languages can help you get hired for a job, too. Ninety percent of employers in the U.S. say that they rely on multilingual employees for their talents.

Additionally, learning about different cultures can diversify the community and create an environment that is more open-minded. Several studies have said that children that have studied another language end up liking and respecting the culture associated with that language, and they also demonstrate higher levels of empathy and tolerance in general, as stated by the Language Connects Foundation.

Though there is not a lot of physical room in the school for more language courses, it is plausible to have online courses for those looking to take these classes. An online course would allow for students to take the courses without needing a dedicated room in the school for it.　With the modernization of technology, such classes could be set up very easily and effectively, especially with the normality of computers in the education system.