Countless times, my sister and I have argued about how many years of Spanish she should take in high school. She completed the required two years and I pressured her into signing up again the third year. She enrolled in Spanish again this fall for her fourth year but hates me for telling her to do it because she is having a hard time applying the relevance of a second language to other areas of her life.

 

I stopped taking Spanish after the two years that Minnesota education requires because I wanted to make time for other electives, like drawing and painting. These classes seemed at the time to be way more helpful to my future “art career” (and more fun) than actually having to study and take tests. Well, my sister is in the same boat. She wanted to lessen the pressure of classes her senior year of high school and not lower her GPA if she doesn’t show as much enthusiasm about her Spanish class.

 

Although drawing and painting are among the most enjoyable classes I have ever taken, I enjoyed them so much because they were hobbies. As a college student, I reflect on the decision to take these classes and wonder why I couldn’t have drawn in my free time or utilized the studio space at school.

 

This argument is deviating however. I am not arguing that those electives should not exist. Rather, the influence of a second language should be expanded. Students should be brough out of their boxes and exposed to extensive language sooner than high school because the importance of learning a second language is lost among other electives and activities.

 

 

Why Learning a Second Language...

 

...Makes You Smarter

 

As an English major, one of my most prominent hobbies as well as obligations is to read more books, scholarly articles, blogs, magazines, poems, scripts, and comics than the average human. But those texts are in English. Going through the process of learning Spanish has allowed me to double my reading material possibilities. So much more information is at my disposal.

 

Learning a second language opens new doors and provides you with the tools to learn, to argue, to travel, to speak. These tools make your brain bigger in the sense that your cognition and promlem solving abilites improve because learning a second langauge pushes you to navigate a new system of reading and writing. Also, the world-your box- becomes bigger and there are many more opportunities to explore when you learn a second language, especially when you think about how sought-after bilingual employees are in today’s globalized world. 

 

...Is Fun

 

When I was young, my friends and I were obsessed with creating a secret alphabet that only we could communicate through. We would spend hours perfecting this alphabet and would compose notes to pass to each other in the classroom. We often got in trouble for this practice but the thrill was worth it when a teacher would open the note and shake her head because she was looking at nonsensical symbols. We were able to talk about things that only existed in our alphabet and ideas were shared quicker or in a more entertaining manner.

 

How does this connect with the ability of learning a second language to be fun? When you integrate yourself into a new set of words, images, and sounds you are stepping into a new part of the world- you are actually making you world so much bigger than what it was and you are able to communicate in a special way with new friends by sharing ideas that you were not necessarily aware of in your first language because language has the ability to shape your culture and your reality.

 

...Should Be Integrated Sooner

 

In the summer of 2015, I studied abroad in a foreign country where I had minimal experience with the language. As I mentioned about, I studied Spanish for two years and high school. I also studied the language for a year in college but found half of that time spent relearning what I had learned in high school. When I started classes in Costa Rica, one thing became clear to me right away- I was learning at a 1st grade level, in regards to reading and writing. My class was specifically a Spanish language-learning class designed for college study abroad students but we read children’s stories, played with picture flash cards and talked about simply subjects like what we ate for lunch the day before. I was so frustrated!! I felt years behind and I wasn’t the only one. We all wished we had been studying the language for more time than we had and at a younger age.

 

Additional info about learning a language at a youner age

 

Conclusion

 

We are holding students back from amazing opportunities when we focus our time on other matters. The education system is pressed to produce students who are proficient in other areas of studies but that does not mean that a little exposure to a second language cannot be incorporated into the classroom. Whether it be a mandatory half-hour session or an after school club that kids can volunteer for-the option needs to be there and the importance needs to be known. Our world is much more interesting when your box is bigger than the ones we feel we need to squeeze into.

 

Links for students

 

ISEP Study Abroad for College Students

 

Study Abroad for High School Students