I was one of those very lucky kids who attended a dual language immersion school. Although I moved around a lot as a child — living in 5 countries in 3 continents by the time I was 14 — I spent five solid years at my mother’s alma mater back in Peru and I was instructed mostly in English from 4th to 8th grade.
As far as I remember, I only had a handful of courses, including Historia and Geografía del Perú, in Spanish. The rest of my school days were spent immersed in English in a Spanish-speaking country. By the time I entered 5th grade, my private school required all its students to take up a third language. I chose French, but I could’ve chosen Italian or German just as easily.
So, I thought it very strange when I moved to the States and found out that, although offered, I didn’t really have to take a “foreign language,” until I got to high school. And then, I only needed two years of this foreign language in order to graduate. In reality, since I already spoke a foreign language — as in my native Spanish — I could’ve very well taken a test and I could’ve been exempted from this requirement.
But because I’d been taking French since 5th grade — albeit only a couple of times a week — I signed up for it as one of my electives when I entered my neighborhood’s junior high school in Miami, and I continued taking it until my junior year in high school. I eventually picked it up again as a sophomore at the University of Florida (in fact, you can almost say college French is the reason why Ana and I are friends today). Since then, I’ve taken courses at the Alliance Française on and off for the last 15 years.
All this to prove that I’m obviously a huge lover of languages and to confess that if I had the money, I would spend the rest of my life traveling and learning other languages. And so, it pains me to no end to read articles like the one from Forbes Ana sent me earlier this morning. Titled “America’s Foreign Language Deficit,” and written by two prominent Cornell University professors, the article exposes the sad state of affairs this nation is facing in terms of teaching its students foreign languages.
While I love to think that more and more people are embracing bilingualism in this country, the reality when it comes to foreign language offerings available to our students is pretty bleak. Check out some of these discouraging figures from the Forbes article :
- The percentage of public and private elementary schools offering foreign language instruction decreased from 31 to 25 percent from 1997 to 2008.
- Instruction in public elementary schools dropped from 24 percent to 15 percent, with rural districts hit the hardest.
- The percentage of all middle schools offering foreign language instruction decreased from 75 to 58 percent.
- About 25 percent of elementary schools and 30 percent of middle schools report a shortage of qualified foreign language teachers.
- In 2009-2010, only 50.7 percent of higher education institutions required foreign language study for a baccalaureate, down from 67.5 percent in 1994-1995. And many colleges and universities have reduced or eliminated instructional offerings in “less popular” languages.
Speaking more than one language is an invaluable gift, but in a highly connected world like the one we live in today, it’s become more of an indispensable skill.
As fierce proponents and supporters of bilingualism, Ana and I want to make sure that our voices — and that of all the other parents who believe bilingual is better — are heard loud and clear by anyone and everyone who has a say in changing the discouraging numbers above. We’re in the process of trying to figure out how to do that, and we promise to let you know when we do. In the meantime, I leave you with this call to action by the authors of the Forbes’ article:
We ask parents to urge their children to attain proficiency in a foreign language, whether or not schools require them to do so; PTAs to lobby school boards; faculty members and deans in colleges and universities to re-visit foreign language requirements; readers of Forbes to write to their elected representatives.
{Photo via Fiona Bradley}
I’ve left this same comment on other strands…this was a good article, and at age 40, I’m guilty (I’m a statistic) because I tried to take spanish in college 20 years ago and failed it twice. Now, I’m suddenly faced with having to learn it to communicate with new family (in-laws of mexican descent) and the experience has been daunting, challenging and downright frustrating. My new wife (who’s a fluent native speaker) and I are discussing starting a family and we want our future child(ren) to be bilingual…I’m reading about the different methods to accomplish this…I just don’t know how I can be able to fully accomplish this when my knowledge of the language is so poor. 2 1/2 years of learning, and about another 7 more to go. The resources in my area are extremely poor and lacking, despite a large spanish population. Very few classes, very few networking opportunities, I’ve spent a lot of money on books, tutors, online materials, and because I’m not where I want to be fluency-wise, I’ve given up about 800 times already. Yes, we want our kids to be bilingual, but there’s gotta be a way for adults to access resources to be able to learn also.
Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your comment here too, Erik! I hear you loud and clear and you’re the perfect example why children need to be given the opportunity to learn another language much earlier than by the time they reach high school. While learning a new language as an adult is not impossible, it can be extremely difficult, as you’ve detailed in your comment.
I’m very happy to hear you’d like to raise your future children bilingual because many others would’ve been too discouraged by now. I applaud you and I want to tell you that you’ll probably learn a lot more right alongside them. In the meantime, my best suggestion is that you try to immerse yourself in the language as much as possible. Do you listen to music in Spanish? What about movies? Is there any way for you at all to spend some time in a Spanish speaking country where you have no choice but to speak the language?
Thanks for the reply, Roxana. I’ve been trying to immerse as much as possible, but it’s been impossible. Spending time is abroad is impractical for me right now, however my spanish-speaking in-laws live with us. While that helps a little, it’s only been partial immersion for me as my wife and i communicate in english about 90% of the time. She says she forgets or its hard for her to remember to try to converse with me in spanish around the clock. So yes, music, TV, radio, reading, you name it/I’ve tried it or I’ve done it. Listening comprehension is my poorest trait right now. I’m extremely isolated at the dinner table constantly and it does get frustrating and discouraging.
Erik, have you looked into Rosetta Stone. It is supposed to be a great tool to acquire conversational skills in a short period of time.
I can relate to your wife not using Spanish with you. When my husband and I tried to do a Spanish only day we both got frustrated 45 minutes into it because it was taking way to long to have a conversation so we switched to English and never tried again. We took Spanish in high school but his vocabulary is very limited even today after 12 years of marriage. He knows enough to get around a Spanish speaking country and to have a simple conversation with my parents but no more. But he feels the same way as you (isolated) when we forget he can’t follow our conversations. Maybe you can use each day at the dinner table as a learning tool. Ask your wife and in-laws to talk (slowly and clearly) about the food you are eating, name ingredients, colors and flavors. It would be a great way to increase your vocabulary.
We are raising our kids to be bilingual and I did commit myself to speak to them in Spanish only. Time will tell if we succeed.
Hi Ana. I’ve done just about everything imaginable. RS included, with minimal success. Tell me more about you & your husband, and specifically how he handles the isolation factor at the table. What steps or methods does he use or try to get involved with the conversation?
Thanks for another great article! I grew up monolingual, but was always fascinated, even from a young age, with the idea of learning another language. I took a couple of years of Spanish in middle school, high school, and then dropped out of college in my first year. A few years later I began a career in law enforcement, and quickly discovered, living in a border city…I HAD to learn Spanish. Many college courses later, A LOT of money spent on CD’s, and lots of effort..I still only speak intermediate Spanish!
By the time I had my daughter, I was a self described language nerd. I am now DETERMINED to have my daughter learn at least one other language. I consider myself among the lucky who has a language immersion school only 20 minutes from our home.
It’s just not fair that every parent doesnt have this option! I am a huge advocate of bilingual education and feel it is the future here, if this country’s education system moves forward. Thanks to you here on the website who continue to bring attention to this issue.
Glad you found it useful, Kathleen, and thanks for sharing your story with us! I’m always inspired by people like you who grow up monolingual, but eventually figure out the benefits of bilingualism.
Lucky you that you have the option to send your daughter to a dual language immersion school! And you’re totally right when you say that every parent should have the same option! I feel you 100% because I’m one of those parents who doesn’t have that option
The idea here is that we continue to raise our voices, so that those in charge realize that we won’t back down until bilingualism is given the place it deserves in our children’s education.
Kathleen, in the 2 1/2 years that I’ve been trying to learn, I think I’ve spent about $1,000, inclusive of grammar books, Rosetta Stone, flashcards, other materials, tutors, various downloads, and other things. And like you, I’m just intermediate. My learning, in fact, has all but stopped.
Erik, I have never stopped to add it up, but I’m thinking I have spent at least the same. In fact, I just spent several hundred on the highest 2 levels of the Pimsluer CD’s. It’s helping that my daughters schoolwork is 100% in Spanish too. I wish I had some friends who would speak only Spanish to me so I could get more useful practice..
I’ve not given up yet!!!
I’ve been trying to get my wife to speak to me more in the language, you’d think that it would be easy and natural…its not. She says that she forgets or she doesn’t think about it. She also says that she doesn’t know how to help me. When I asked a Spanish professor friend of mine, she said that unless she’s a teacher, which she is not, native speakers really won’t be able to help with grammar. She also said that because we met in English and mostly communicate in English, it would be hard to change. So I don’t know…sometimes, I feel on my own a lot. All that to say that I wish for the same thing. To be able to communicate more in the language would boost my confidence. Let’s keep in touch on-line and we’ll try to help each other: huey.erik@hotmail.com or http://www.Facebook.com/erik.huey
Thanks for another great article. We obviously value bilingualism and I think it’s sad that the United States is such a mono-linguistic country. What bothers me is how some people view Spanish as a less desired foreign language, as say French or Italian. It feels as though our country views Spanish as the immigrant/working class language and therefore is less valued, which is a shame because such a value system shouldn’t be placed on language. When my husband and I get asked about our son’s only speaking Spanish, I often wonder if we’d get so many questions and concerns if the language was something other than Spanish. It really bothers me how people don’t value it and question our parenting of limiting English to them. It’s as though people really think my children will never speak English or that by them learning Spanish will hinder their ability to be something special in this world.
What a great way to grow up. I am blessed that my parents made sure that I grew up bilingual. Unfortunately, my sisters have not made the same decision for my nieces and nephews.
I have one nephew in a dual-language English/Mandarin Chinese school. His Honduran dad and Mexican mom have made the decision that we can teach him Spanish, but the opportunity to learn Chinese was one that couldn’t be missed.
I have a niece and nephew, teenagers, whose Mexican parents say that it isn’t important for them to know another language. And, especially, it isn’t important for them to know Spanish. Both of them speak a little Spanish, and understand a little, but they aren’t bilingual.
In an age where the world is shrinking, and the US is rapidly losing its place as the leader of the world, knowing other languages has become even more vital.