Thoughts on Foreign Language Learning
The following was posted as a comment on Tim Archer’s blog.
Although I am bilingual (English/Portuguese) and strongly believe in the value of consistent, quality foreign language instruction in public schools, I also take a pragmatic approach to language-learning: learn it if it’s useful.
When I was in grade school one of my brothers took Spanish in high school. He had a really great teacher. A few years later she resigned, and instead of hire a new Spanish teacher the school threw out all the Spanish books, bought French books and hired a French teacher. That’s inconsistent. Kids learning Spanish were suddenly thrown into French. A few years later, when I was in high school, the French teacher resigned. Instead of hire a new one, the school used a satellite link to French and Spanish classes out of Chicago. Rather than hire new language teachers, the district put teachers from other subjects in simply as monitors. The students watched the classes on TV and once a week could call in to the “real” teachers to ask questions. That’s shabby. Schools should have qualified teachers who are able to really teach the language, and the language(s) offered should remain consistent over time.
As camp missionary I once overheard a counselor trying to convince a camper that he should learn a second language, even if he’d never use it. The camper in question, a high school student, was from rural south-central Missouri. He had no intention of leaving the area and didn’t know any speakers of other languages. I interjected, saying that I began learning Portuguese at 20 because I had been to Brazil. Since I intended to use the language, it had value to me. When I was in Brazil I made every effort to depend on Portuguese and not try to make people speak English with me. That’s simple respect.
So, while I see value in exposing young people to consistent, quality foreign language instruction from the earliest grades, I don’t think anyone should feel morally obligated unless they really intend to use it. Then, when they need it, they should really learn it and not rely on English.
One last thought: it doesn’t always make sense for the foreign language offered by the local public schools to be that which is spoken by a large minority in the community. For example, the local grade school here teaches French, though I doubt there are many French speakers in the neighborhood. There are MANY Spanish speakers, though, and their kids would have an unfair advantage over the non-hispanic kids in Spanish classes. Since the school is apparently only able to offer one language, it makes sense (at least to me) that it offers a worthwhile third language instead.
