As technology continues to improve and make communication easier, the need to know another language also increases. Today in the United States, there are only 10 states that require you to graduate high school with foreign language credits where countries in Europe start foreign language as young as 3 years old, which according to North Dakota State University, a 3 year old’s brain is twice more active than the brain of a college student.
According to Penn State University.edu, 9% of the U.S. population is multilingual where 52.7% of Europe’s population is multilingual. One of the many benefits to learning a foreign language is improvement in other areas of learning. According to Pennstateuniversity.edu, it was found that elementary students who studied a foreign language scored higher on tests in reading, math, and language arts! Learning a foreign language also shows more cognitive development in mental flexibility, creativity, problem-solving, conceptualizing, and reasoning. And requiring students to learn a second language at an earlier age will allow these skills that are often neglected, to be emphasized in our education system. Learning another language also allows student to learn in a more creative way. When learning a foreign language, activities would include writing short stories, talking with classmates in that language, watching movies from that culture, and interacting games.
Globalization has accelerated international migration and its creating this diversity right here in the U.S. It’s not just learning another language. It’s learning the culture of the langue as well. And knowing the culture will help students better understand, accept, and respect classmates from different countries. The generations below us will have to know how to sell to the world, buy from the world, work for international companies, manage employees from other cultures and countries, compete with people on the other side of the world for jobs and markets, and tackle global problems like AIDS and pollution. But right now, the US is not adequately preparing us for these challenges. The previous information and following information from Texas A&M.edu, says that surveys conducted by the Asia Society (2002) and National Geographic-Roper (2002) indicated that, compared with students in 9 other industrialized countries, U.S. students lack knowledge of world geography, history, and current events.
Texas A&M University also says that now 1 and 5 jobs are tied to international trade, a portion that should increase. SO beyond the educational benefits of learning a second language, knowledge of a second language helps improve travel, enhances career opportunities, and enables one to learn more about different peoples and cultures. In a survey of 581 alumni of the American Graduate School of International Management, most said they had gained a competitive advantage from their knowledge of foreign languages and often was a critical factor in hiring decisions and enhancing career paths according to the Connecticut State Department of Education.gov
Summing up a paragraph from an article from Pennstateuniversity.edu, it’s become more essential in the job market to know another language because companies and businesses have a natural desire to expand their networks. Having another language on your resume shows employers your potential to converse with an entirely different group of people that maybe that company hasn’t had yet. They would be more apt to send you abroad, which would help you, enhance your career that often leads to promotions. Those who are fluent in a second language, having a job that deals with marketing, sales, or technical support could increase your salary by 10-15%
In conclusion, incorporating a foreign language in our education system as early as kindergarten would improve student’s standardized test scores, improve their cultural diversity, improving their cognitive development in problem solving and reasoning skills as well as benefiting them to have a higher opportunity for higher paying employment by not limiting them for jobs just in the US. Therefore I encourage you to sign my petition to Governor Haley that will introduce the education of foreign languages into elementary schools.