The Importance of Teaching a Foreign Language to Students in America

Being in college, it is not difficult to find someone speaking a different language It is in class or in the hallways there is always someone It has crossed my mind multiple times as to why the melting pot of the world does not require students to learn a foreign language from early ages of kindergarten through high school, As an immigrant myself, I know what it is like to learn a different language. I also know how difficult it can be for someone who is in their teens or olden My sister was fifteen years old when my family came to America.

Being seven years old instantly gave me an upper hand in learning English as a second language compared to my sister and parents. Thirteen years later, my parents and sister are still having difficulties learning English, even though they already know three different languages On the other hand, I am fluent in four languages which include: Ukrainian, English, Polish, and Russian Therefore, I believe that it should be required for public schools across America to require students to take at least one foreign language throughout kindergarten, elementary, middle school, and high school years.

Many countries outside of the Us teach foreign languages to their students beginning in first grade. In Ukraine for example, the country that I came from, in my first grade class I began learning my fourth language as a seven year old, which was English I believe that if other countries require their students to learn a new language, so should America, Opportunities rise for those who know more than one language in America.

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So why doesn’t the country provide students with an equal opportunity rate and truly impact one’s chances of being able to pay his/her bills? Lots of people believe that they know the answer, however the answers usually lie within the same category; if everyone is equal the way they are supposed to be, then there will be a shortage ofjobs vacancies However today we see plenty of graduates that spent thousands of dollars on their education and not only leaving themselves in debt, but also find that it is very difficult to go into the field that they have been studying for years, I have applied for over ten jobs in the past three years and at each interview I sat down for, one of the first questions I have gotten asked is if I know any other languages besides English.

Which is when I realized that I take away chances from other people that apply for the same job and they do not get it simply because they cannot speak another language, and I find that to be unfair, Furthermore, I believe that the value of learning other traditions should be a part of people’s lives, especially adolescents and young adults Today, people are too focused on their own tradition and become biased towards other traditions, which leads to hate, violence, racism, and in some cases violent crimes only because people were raised to be selfish and close-minded Once you begin to teach a child the value in other cultures, places, traditions, and languages, they grow to be accepting of one another and they see what is out in the world for them to try, places to go, people to meet, and experience a bigger and much more valuable life Leading towards my last point, children who grow up learning other languages build the skills to be much more likely to learn another language which is easier for them to learn.

Studies prove that those who know two or more languages instantly have higher chances of learning another language much less difficult, which then makes it easier on those who would like to travel the world and experience more. As some would say, teaching another language to a child who will never benefit from, is pointless, a waste of time, and money. Some state that it is too difficult because help with homework will be even more difficult as parents do not always know the languages, Some also say that most cultures offer language schools nationwide and that it should be a choice. However it is unfair to take away a child‘s opportunity to become bilingual, especially if the purpose for doing so is to help them in the futures Along with giving them the opportunity of finding other beautiful places in the world that they will want to experience once they are oldert.

Think about it this way, people whose parents did not commit them in sports as a child, have strong opinions about it when they are olderi I know this because I am part of that group of people I always wished my parents had committed me to doing a sport like gymnastics or soccer when I was younger, I would have been more experienced in the things that I enjoy now, but cannot do myself. I believe that taking away a child‘s right to learning more about the values of other cultures, traditions, and languages is wrong. Every child should be committed to learning another language and being well educated on what they can do and how far they can go Whether it is a job requirement or it isjust something that they will need in the future in order to communicate with others while also having the ability of learning more languages at an easier rate It is easy to see that this will make the future of the world able to sustain what the future holds for them, and there is nothing wrong with that.