In MCPS, elementary schools offer foreign language education through a few select immersion programs. Then, in middle and high school, it becomes a graduation requirement. MCPS’s vision is to produce students who are “linguistically and culturally competent in languages other than English.” However, evidence shows that teaching foreign languages starting from elementary school as a part of the regular curriculum will better achieve this result.
There are high-level foreign language courses offered in MCPS high schools, such as Advanced Placement, which many students take—but these don’t always seem to achieve that quintessential, globally-minded ideal. I was in an AP/IB French class last year; almost everyone was bored and didn’t take it seriously, which sometimes frustrated our teacher. I had also treated French as a sort of “side” class, so when AP season arrived, I was in a panic.
After the exam, many were relieved that they’d never hear, read, or speak a single French word again. They had completed their foreign language requirement. Of course, each student is entitled to their own opinion on classes—but is this truly a successful way to cultivate “linguistic and cultural competence”?
Firstly, a curriculum, more than a requirement, makes students engage comfortably with a subject. English and mathematics aren’t trifling side-things because they’ve been at the core of education since elementary school. In the same way, elementary education with foreign language in its core can make language a regular fact of life rather than a mere graduation requirement.
“They are creating more immersion schools in MCPS and I think those are important,” Richard Montgomery High School Spanish teacher Mrs. Eiretes De Jesús said. “It’s not only about the language. It’s also about the culture. So I think the fact that they’re trying to create more immersion schools really speaks to their trying to move forward.”
Richard Montgomery junior Shoshana Peck doesn’t think languages should be required, but she acknowledges their importance. “Languages are important because it helps develop skills, and if you become pretty good at a specific language, it allows you to communicate with more people, and that could be really helpful,” Peck said.
As MCPS said, a part of language learning is cultural competence. In other words, a foreign language makes students think in new modes; and through these modes, they gain firsthand access to new cultures. This exercise is akin to empathy. A linguistics professor also confesses that his difficulties learning Chinese “taught [him] humility” and “empathy for people who come from somewhere else and have difficulties articulating things.” Early foreign language learning would therefore teach kids the value of listening and standing in another person’s shoes, which is invaluable for both academic and non-academic pursuits.
There are also substantial scientific reasons. Researchers, including well-known psycholinguist Steven Pinker, have found that the best age to start learning a language is before 10. It is indeed easier for elementary schoolers to learn a language than it is for middle or high schoolers. Another study in child development confirms that “children are born ready to learn the language or languages of their environments without confusion or delay.”
“Now that people are connecting a lot more, being able to communicate without those barriers is pretty important,” Richard Montgomery senior and bilingual former Chinese student Karen Li said. “And when you get started younger with languages, you get better at it.”
“I do come from Puerto Rico, and in Puerto Rico, we learn Spanish and English since we’re in elementary school, so by the time we’re in high school, we’re reading literature in [both languages]. So I think it’s more beneficial to start learning languages in elementary school,” Mrs. De Jesús said. “Your brain absorbs more.”
Studies also show that language learning benefits children’s cognition. According to the Sonrisas Spanish School, “learning a second language fosters a flexibility of thinking that translates into math, creativity, and problem-solving.” Children who learn a foreign language also have better memory, attention and performance on standardized tests.
It also isn’t a burden for kids who struggle with English because understanding foreign grammar makes learners more aware of and confident in English grammar conventions. For instance, I didn’t know what “subjunctive” or “intransitive” meant before I learned French, and I’m more aware of these technicalities now within English.
Parents may value foreign language education differently, so any drastic change in MCPS’s system is unlikely. Still, it is abundantly clear that including languages in the core starting in elementary school produces not only linguistically competent children but more empathetic, cognitively apt and overall successful students. Maybe Spanish class will one day become a student’s second language rather than a mere elective or IB Group 2 subject.
Article written by Hannah Lee of Richard Montgomery High School
Photo courtesy of Hannah Lee of Richard Montgomery High School