Why You Should Take A Foreign Language

Why You Should Take A Foreign Language

By: Mya Bradford

In Northern Cambria High School, it isn’t required to take a Foreign Language. I think everyone should have to take a language class for four years, but I don’t think that’s possible so at least two years. In my opinion, Spanish and French are two of the most important classes. These are two classes that you will use in the future if you choose to do so. You could encounter a customer at your job who doesn’t know how to speak English or you might be wanting to travel to another country, so knowing another language could be beneficial!

The first reason why I think you should have to take a Foreign Language is because 43 million people in America speak Spanish, English being the first most spoken language and Spanish being the second. There are benefits to knowing another language. If you know another language you have a better chance of getting a better job or advancing in your career. Most corporations need employees who are bilingual or multilingual. This opens the door for jobs in marketing, transportation, administration, sales, retail, banking, education, law, communication, public relations, tourism and government. Bilingual or multilingual employees can earn up to $1,000 a month or more for speaking a Foreign Language. Employers look for people who can communicate efficiently to new and expanding oversea markets.

If you plan on traveling outside the country you would want to know a different language because they are going to be speaking a different language and you would want to be able to communicate back with them. Learning their language before you go can help you actually save money. You can negotiate prices to help them suit your budget instead of picking a random hotel. You can also save money on transportation, airfare, train, or even taxi rides. The last way you can save money is by going to a supermarket to buy food or going to a restaurant for cheaper. When you know their language it increases your safety. You have to be aware of your surroundings all the time, especially when you are in a different country. You are going to want to know how to read the signs not just to be able to but because if someone is chasing after you, you might wanna be able to read the signs to run back to your hotel.

I can see why the other side would argue that they should have an option whether or not they want to take a Foreign Language in High School. They would have valid points in saying that they aren’t interested in traveling outside the country or they aren’t going to get a job that requires them to be bilingual, so it would be a waste of time taking a class that they will never use. Even if you don’t plan on traveling outside the country or getting a job that requires you to be bilingual, it’s still a good skill to have because you never know if you might come in contact with someone who speaks a different language. It’s not just people in different countries who speak a different language, it’s people in different states too. As I traveled around the world, I realized that lots of people speak Spanish all around the world.

I know that not everyone has room in their schedules because of Vo-Tech and I don’t know if it’s even possible to have that many students taking a Foreign Language every year because we only have two Foreign Language teachers. In order for this to work we would have to hire more language teachers. My point of this article is that I hope that one day schools make everyone take at least two years of a Foreign Language!

Sources:

Dylan Lyons, “Spanish – 43,200,000 native speakers”, babbel.com, “What Are The Most Spoken Languages In The U.S.?” babbel, 18 May 2020 https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/most-spoken-languages-in-the-us

30 October 2022.

Juliet Ugo, “You can save money on local transportation, be it airfare, train, or taxi rides. You can save money by going to the local market to buy ingredients for your meals or find the local restaurants where you can get delicious food at a cheaper rate.”, redefinerswl.org, “The Benefits Of Language While Traveling” redefinerswl, 5 November 2021. https://www.redefinerswl.org/post/the-benefits-of-language-while-traveling

30 October 2022.

https://www.careerprofiles.info/career-benefits-of-foreign-language.html