What's the point of learning a second language?

The Statistics 

The one thing I regret most in high school is not taking my Spanish class seriously enough. I passed the class by memorizing and not really learning. Now, as a teacher who has come into contact with many students who speak Spanish as well as English, I wish I learned the language, and did not just memorize it. From some quick research it's amazing how little Americans know a second language. Only 25 percent of Americans are multilingual according to this article found on today.yougov.com. It was also astonishing to see how little students actually take a foreign language which can be seen in the graphic below as well as in this website - blogs.edweek.org.

So, why do so little American's know a second language?

It was interesting to read the blog post by the Educational Linguist. I do not think many Americans see the problem with being only monolingual. Most likely, where ever we go we will be able to find someone who speaks English. One of my colleagues said this exact sentence to me when I was voicing my concerns about going to Europe because I only speak English. She told me, "Don't worry, more than likely no matter where you go you will be able to find someone who speaks English". This is a common perception to hear from many of my fellow Americans and I think it is why there is a lack of drive to learn a second language. English is seen as the norm. The way I hear some people talk about the English, makes it sound like it is the universal language. This is unfortunate, and that is why I found  "What if we talked about monolingual white children the way we talk about low-income children of color" to be a refreshing read. It turned the tables on the self-righteous Americans who think they do not have to waste their time with a second language because where ever they go they will be able to find someone who speaks English. This  may not be true for all Americans, but I think this is why there is a lack of drive to learn a new language because many do not see the purpose. When I was in high school I did not see the purpose. Many people told me it would help with jobs in the future, but did my angsty teen self listen to them? No, she did not unfortunately, and I wish she did. It is still not too late, but I do believe that the younger a person is, the easier it is to learn a second language. For example, this elementary school featured in this article - USA Today - is beginning Spanish at a very young age. The students are excited to learn a new language because they have other students around them who speak Spanish, and they want to be able to converse with these students. These young students have a purpose. In schools, not only do we need to teach the language, but we need to teach the purpose. This is like any other subject. My students constantly ask me, "What's the point?", and I find that I get much better work when I can connect it to the real world.

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