Should New York City mandate foreign language teaching in schools? This is something that has been debatable and talked about for years, especially because of the diversity in the state. New York City has always been a state where you can visit any borough and you will see people from many different backgrounds speaking many different languages. In New York City people can always find small towns dedicated to a country such as Little Italy or Washington Heights which is heavily populated by people from the Dominican Republic. Making students learn a foreign language can benefit them in many ways when it comes to education and work opportunities. In some job fields, people who are fluent in more than one language can get advantages when it comes to job offers or pay. Only a total of 11 states out of the 50 have foreign language graduation requirements, and New York City is not a part of those 11 states. The city is one of the most diverse in the United States, yet when it comes to their language mandate and requirements it is not as diverse. New York City high schools should make it mandatory to learn a foreign language because it can teach discipline and it can be a great benefit to students in their future careers or jobs.
Students learning at least one foreign language can be a great benefit to their lives and education in many ways. There has been a lot of research done over the past years on the many pros and cons to students learning more than one language at the same time and it has been confirmed that it is a great benefit when it comes to their brain and the way it develops. This can help with the way their brain is able to hold knowledge and information, it can help by teaching students different learning skills and practice those skills throughout their education career, and build memory. Canton, Marcus, Is it fair to require that all students learn at least one foreign language? 2023 stated “A lot of scientific research has been done showing that learning a new language helps increase gray matter, which improves memory.” With this being said this is a great benefit to any student no matter the choice of career they might want to take. This will be a great benefit to them in any subject when it comes to school and also in general. If all parents and schools would gather together to mandate foreign language being taught starting in Elementary School or High School this would be an amazing thing students would go through, they are practicing new skills and how to improve their memory at the same time. This is something that would even keep helping them throughout college because they would go into their career and field knowing how to speak two different languages.
It is very common for students who live in New York City to come from a family or household where English is not the primary language spoken. This all comes back to the fact that New York City is a very diverse state, and usually those students go into school having to learn English as they move up grades. Some schools have dual language programs where students have the chance to take their regular day to day classes in English and Spanish, giving them a balance with both languages and teaching them how to grow their skills. Usually this is taken by students who come from a Spanish speaking household so most of the time it is easy for them since they’re just mastering the language rather than learning. In High School it is important for the school system to mandate foreign language as a graduation requirement because this is setting them up for success. They are getting closer to pursuing a career and a lot of the times when they start looking for jobs they can get offered more pay due to the fact that they know more than just one language. Depending on the job sometimes it is a requirement that they also know more than just one language, and this is great because not only does it benefit them and their goals but it also helps the community. There are a lot of people in New York City that do not speak English and when they go to public places where they need help they can’t get it solely because of the language barrier.
Learning new languages is something that has become more of a hobby rather than a requirement in schools. Although it is great that there are apps like Dulingo where people can learn languages from their own comfort, it is also important to realize why it should be a graduation requirement for high schoolers. It is a skill that will serve a purpose for the rest of their lives. Struck, Kathleen, One School, Five Languages, 2015 stated “The jobs of the future require that our students know more than one language. They are going to be traveling abroad, they are going to be communicating with people from all over the world. This will open doors for them.” This emphasizes the importance of knowing multiple languages, as years go by and technology advances so does everything around us. There are a lot of jobs that require traveling for many reasons and it is important to know the language spoken to the country they might be visiting for many reasons being safety, the ability to communicate with others, and networking. Meeting people from different backgrounds can teach people new skills such as communication, anything related to work, the culture, and so on. It is easy to forget the thousands of languages that exist because growing up in the United States all the school systems teach is mainly English but they don’t prepare students for the times that will come and they will leave the country and have to speak a different language because for other countries English is not the primary language.
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Overall the benefits of knowing multiple languages are endless, but this doesn’t only apply to the United States or New York City but also to any other countries who only focus on teaching their students their primary language. Many of the times we see students in Universities who are studying abroad and struggle to understand the material or make friendships because of the language barrier. It can create insecurities because they’re not able to communicate and not only does this happen with friendships but also in public places. A lot of the time people whose first language is not English tend to struggle in public places trying to receive help or understand workers because employees only speak English or don’t speak the language the customer needs help in. Stein-Smith, Kathleen, Foreign Language Classes Becoming More Scarce, 2019 states, “Yet, according to the U.S Government Accountability Office, nearly one in four Foreign Service officers do not meet the language proficiency requirements that they should meet to do their jobs.” This is crucial information to the public because it shows how people aren’t able to get the help because officers do not meet language proficiency creating a language barrier with anyone who might need help or assistance.
Age is a great contribution to when it is ideal for students to begin learning a new language and as to why they should, it is ideal for students to learn a new language other than their primary language at a young age but it is also possible for them to do it when they are older and get to decide what language they want to learn. Stein-Smith, Kathleen, Foreign Language Classes Becoming More Scarce, 2019 also states, “A 2018 study found that this ability to more easily learn a language lasts until about age 17 or 18– which is longer than previously thought— but then begins to decline.” This is giving an understanding that according to this study their is a timeline as to when it is a good time for students to learn a foreign language and when it might become more of a challenge for them.

To summarize, it is important for the New York City school system to always work to find ways that they can improve the education they’re providing to students. Time and technology are evolving pretty fast and education seems to stay the same. Students can benefit from knowing and being fluent in more than English when they’re traveling to other countries, looking for job opportunities that require them to interact with people, and much more. It is a great skill that can be very beneficial to not only their opportunities in education and their careers but also to their brains and the way they’re evolving as they’re growing up and experiencing new opportunities

Work Cited –

Canton, Marcus. “Is It Fair to Require That All Students Learn at Least One Foreign Language?” The Paw Print, 22 Jan. 2023, ihspawprint.com/2023/01/12/is-it-fair-to-require-that-all-students-learn-at-least-one-foreign-language/. 

English, VOA Learning. “One School, Five Languages.” Voice of America, VOA – Voice of America English News, 9 Dec. 2015, learningenglish.voanews.com/a/dual-language-schools-popular-in-new-york-city/3094014.html. 

Stein-Smith, Kathleen. “Foreign Language Classes Becoming More Scarce.” American Academy of Arts & Sciences, 20 July 2023, www.amacad.org/news/foreign-language-classes-becoming-more-scarce.