Is Learning a Second Language Necessary?

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Recommended: The role of multicultural education

Multicultural education in the U.S. school system has become more pragmatic with the affluent nature of globalization. As the world’s technology increases exponentially, our world has grown smaller, increasing the need for global communication skills and cultural sensitivity. However, American schools are plagued by the pressures of budget cuts, test scores, educational bureaucracies, and impending closures. For many schools, foreign language education has been put on the proverbial chopping block. In the results posted from a national survey of elementary and secondary schools conducted in 2008, foreign language education dropped from being taught in 31% of elementary schools in 1997, to 25% in 2008. Secondary schools experienced a 7% drop, from 86% to 79% (Rhodes 3). School administrators and boards struggle to weigh the high costs of foreign language education against the needs for other core (English, literature, mathematics, natural sciences) and elective curriculum (music, physical education, arts, social sciences) while many parents, professionals, and academics cry out for the value a foreign language education brings to a child’s life in terms cognitive reasoning and cultural sensitivity. The debate regarding the need for foreign language education leaves much to be considered; from how the act of learning a language beginning at an early age effects a child’s ability to learn and analyze situations, to what is sacrificed, or what is not learned, with the time, energy, and money that goes into foreign language education; from a deeper understanding of other cultures and diversity, to exactly how fluent does the student become in the second language and how useful is it later in life.

Advocating for the cognitive benefits...

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...er Education. The Chronicle, 18 Apr. 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2012.

Rhodes, Nancy C. “Foreign Language Instruction in U.S. Schools: Results of a National Survey of Elementary and Secondary Schools” Foreign Language Annals v44 n2 p258-288 Sum 2011. 31 pp. Education Resources Information Center. Web. 13 February 2012.

Summers, Lawrence H. “What You (Really) Need to Know.” Editorial. The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Jan. 2012. Web. 2 Feb 2012.

Thomas, David. “Why do the English need to speak a foreign language when foreigners all speak English?” Editorial. Mail Online. Daily Mail and General Trust plc, 23 Jan. 2012. Web 2 Feb. 2012.

Trudeau, François, and Roy J Shephard. “Physical education, school physical activity, school sports and academic performance.” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (2008): n. pag. Web. 16 February 2012.

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