Articles and Stories

May 7, 2015

By Amanda Scott

My eldest son, a sophomore in high school, is currently struggling through his third year of Spanish.  It got me thinking, would he be excelling in Spanish if he had started learning it at a younger age?  He was never offered the opportunity to learn a secondary language in school prior to eighth grade and I never thought to educate him sooner through outside resources.

The United States is far behind when it comes to foreign language studies.  Most U.S. colleges require only two years of foreign language during high school. According to the Center for Applied Linguistics, most countries have mandatory foreign language requirements, starting as early as eight years old. In the U.S. most students don’t start studying a foreign language until age fourteen, when they enter high school.

In much of Europe for instance, 90 percent of children in elementary schools are studying English and sometimes a second foreign language as well. In America less than one-third of elementary schools even offer language studies. Should we, as parents, as educators, as professionals be demanding more?

Studies as far back as the 1960’s have shown that it is best to begin foreign language learning in elementary school. Experts say that a minimum of six to eight years of study is required to become proficient in any given language. If studies do not begin until high school that only allows for a maximum of four years of education. Children who started learning a second language at a younger age outperformed older children and adults who studied the language for the same amount of years. Native pronunciation and intonation is easier for younger children as well.

The benefits of foreign language study are great.  Research shows that students who receive secondary language education benefit cognitively. Some studies suggest that problem solving skills are improved, creativity is greater, and standardized test scores are higher in bilingual students. Along with improved memory, researchers showed an added health benefit, dementia and Alzheimer’s onset was later in multilingual adults than in monolingual ones. Knowing multiple languages may improve your college opportunities as it gives you a competitive edge over others.  Many careers are now requiring the ability to speak additional languages as well.

Foreign language is even more important today than ever since we are so globally connected through the Internet. It benefits us all to be able to communicate better and facilitate the understanding of others with regards to language and culture.