Duo Lingo (Halle)

1/18/2024

Growing up I had always hoped to learn another language, yet it never happened because I did not have the time nor opportunities to do so. However, this would have been a much easier quest for me if it was offered during school. As we all know we need at least one language credit during high school to pass. In our high school this credit can even come from band or choir–which in my opinion should not be considered a language credit. There is only so much one can learn from one semester of spanish (or otherwise). Although this is not a large problem within schools, would it be beneficial and sustainable to require students to take a language class from kindergarten through high school? If so, what language would be the best, or should there be multiple options?

I believe that it would be a good opportunity for schools to require kids to learn a second language, because it broadens incoming adults to have more opportunities when it comes to communicating and interacting with diverse groups of people with new perspectives. A reference for the sustainability of this idea is how Canada teaches students in elementary school both English and French, and this has been their standard for a while now. I think every school would simply need one or two more teachers to make this proposal function, and it would go a long way for students' futures and increase the quality of public education. It could be more challenging to offer more than one language, so that each kid could choose what they desire, because there would have to be more teachers to do so. I think that the best language for this would be Spanish, as it is one of the largest languages.

10 Comments

Sidney

1/21/2024 06:44:11 pm

Knowing more than one language has so many benefits, especially in today’s world. There are so many different ways to communicate with people, and travel around the world, so knowing foreign languages is almost essential. Although we have our phones to quickly translate conversations and more, it is proper etiquette to know an answer to someone’s question. I believe that schools should begin teaching students a new language at a young age, because it will increase people’s ability to understand people from a different culture. I too think Spanish should be the language implemented into school systems, as it is very broad.

Halle Peets

1/21/2024 07:05:11 pm

I absolutely agree, it is very valuable to understand multiple cultures. Spanish is one of the fastest growing languages, so for a large portion of young generations to know it would help broaden their access to more resources.

Zackeryah

1/21/2024 07:24:24 pm

I do believe that people should learn new languages if they're planning on traveling,.can't have the stupid American atertype forever. I think having kids learn a new language can drastically improve their future, with studies showing that bilinguals have better memories than those who only speak one language.

Shaylee

1/21/2024 08:35:39 pm

You make a very good point about how everyone has a translator on their phones. I can see the kids this generation and the next not wanting to take a class offered by the school when they could take the easy way out.

Zackeryah Schwartz

1/21/2024 07:21:16 pm

I do think that more languages should be offered to students, especially to rural towns like Salmon. I do however, think it should a choice to learn a second language, as you have to want to learn for it to come easier. Obviously Spanish should be offered to students but I also think Chinese (Mandarin specifically) should also be a class in every school. Chinese is in the top five spoken languages along with Spanish and English, so learning it could have great world uses. Obviously not as much in the USA compared to Asian countries, but more and more people are making the US diverse, and it'll be nice to talk to them.

Shaylee

1/21/2024 08:39:00 pm

One doesn't have to learn Spanish as their seconded language, you are right. Learning Mandarin would be beneficial and if it was an option to kids, maybe they take it over Spanish.

Sidney

1/23/2024 11:32:10 am

That would be cool, but isn’t that language the most difficult to learn? I think schools should offer the languages that students are going to be more likely to understand and comprehend.

Shaylee

1/21/2024 08:33:40 pm

Learning another language would be very beneficial. It allows more communication between people and if learned at a young age, it should stick longer in the mind. But I think that if it was offered at schools, it should be longer than two semesters. That way its more fluent. I don't think kids would be too happy about that. Unless they are really committed to a certain subject, kids just do what it takes to pass and not learn. I just don't think kids aren't too interested in learning something that they would seem to be relevant to themselves.

Zackeryah

1/22/2024 08:03:37 am

I'm glad we all agree that kids should learn another language, though im sure none of us know any other languages besides English. I wish that I has stuck to Spanish when I took it as a freshman but that's an old mistake.

Sidney

1/23/2024 11:28:54 am

I agree that it would take more than two semesters to learn a language. I have taken three semesters worth of another language class, and do not remember nearly as much as I originally learned. I agree that students won’t be too happy, but is it necessary to make it mandatory?

Duo Lingo (Halle)

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