American Enrichment by Emma

American Enrichment by Emma - January 2023 Scholarship Essay

I think a lot of Americans underestimate the power of foreign languages – unlike most other countries, where fluency in multiple languages is the standard, in the US it isn’t very common to be fluent in multiple languages. At my school, the language programs are slowly dying. There’s fear that once the current French teacher retires, there will be no one to replace her, just as there wasn’t at the middle school, and subsequently, learning the French language at our school will cease to be a reality.

I propose that foreign language classes should be required, and that to achieve this, schools must offer a range of language options, consisting of more than just French and Spanish, and even including American Sign Language, for students who either aren’t interested in learning a spoken foreign language or who struggle doing so. Although it’s difficult to find foreign language teachers now, if doing so was made more of a priority and connections were made abroad and with universities, I believe that the ease of finding willing language teachers would improve.

If students were required to study a language other than English all four years of high school, they would enter adulthood and the workforce better prepared to interact and collaborate in an increasingly interconnected world that values global relations. Through this, Americans would be, overall, more educated and better able to compete on a global stage, as they would be aware of languages and cultures other than just their own. In my experience, learning a foreign language has made me excited to travel abroad to speak the language and to meet more people who would influence my learning of the language. Although travel isn’t accessible for all Americans, by learning a foreign language, at the very least everyone would understand the value of collaboration and global connections, and the communities of foreign speakers would grow in the United States as people looked to connect with other foreign language speakers locally, enriching America’s diverse culture.