Traveling through Portugal over J-Term, I frequently ran into situations where people would approach me speaking rapid Portuguese. After 30 awkward seconds of staring at them blankly, they would realize I didn’t speak the language and seamlessly switch over to English.
Being spoken to in my native language made me feel welcomed and accommodated in a country that was so far from home. But it also made me feel ignorant. Experiencing how competently the people whom I interacted with in Portugal could switch between two or even three languages made me reflect on how the United States perceives languages and language learning.
Elementary school students in Portugal take English classes from a young age. By the time they reach seventh grade, students are typically enrolled in two foreign languages, in addition to Portuguese. Currently, 90% of lower secondary students are enrolled in two or more foreign language courses.
A study from the Pew Research Center shows that a median of 92% of European students learn at least one foreign language in school. This is in comparison to just 20% of K-12 students who are enrolled in foreign language classes in the U.S.
I have been privileged enough to start learning Spanish at a young age. After classes starting in first grade, I am now conversationally fluent in the language. Since starting at Drake, though, I have realized this is a rarity.
Knowing foreign languages is the best way to create a globalized society in the U.S. Particularly with the rise of social media and open international communication, it is essential for our country to be able to communicate with foreign language speakers both in the U.S. and globally. It’s not enough to just assume everyone else speaks English. We should be able to accommodate other languages in the same way we expect them to accommodate us.
The U.S. has the second largest population of Spanish speakers in the world, following only Mexico, with 13% of the population speaking Spanish at home in the U.S.. Additionally, Forbes reports that by 2050, one in three people in the U.S. will speak Spanish.
With a population of Spanish speakers that is this significant, our schools should be teaching all students Spanish as a foreign language. Learning a foreign language should not be a privilege. It should be the standard in a compassionate and welcoming society.
Our current government is treating Spanish speakers in the U.S. as less than human. There is a narrative that demonizes migrants and immigrants from Central and South America. By teaching our students Spanish as a foreign language, we would also be teaching them compassion. Knowing how to speak Spanish has allowed me to connect with different communities in a way that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. Communication leads to understanding.
Additionally, a 2018 study at MIT found that children are very skilled at learning a new language up until the age of 17 or 18. Yet, it is almost impossible to achieve a proficiency level similar to a native speaker if language learning is not started by the age of 10. This means that it is the responsibility of our elementary schools to start the language learning process. We cannot wait until a student gets to high school or even college and expect them to be fluent in a foreign language.
President Donald Trump signed an order designating English as the official language of the U.S., the White House said on Saturday. This is a step in the wrong direction. Instead of building more barriers when it comes to language, we should be focused on knocking them down. Making a more globalized, compassionate and accommodating society can only lead to compassion and connection.
