The Huffington Post – Kassandra Fotiadas
“According to a study conducted by the Modern Language Association, enrollment in foreign language courses has recently decreased. While it increased from 1995 to 2009, enrollment has dropped by 6.7 percent since then. Furthermore, about 100,000 fewer students took college language classes in 2013 than did in 2009. Meanwhile, though, more and more campuses are offering up-and-coming languages like Arabic, Chinese, and Korean, while more traditional languages like German and French are declining in availability. Even though more languages have become available, the desire to study language has declined. What is the cause of this foreign language deficit in America? It’s illogical — common sense alone tells us that foreign language knowledge is essential in the modern world…I can’t help but discourage anyone who plans on dropping a language in high school or even in undergraduate university. I’ve come to learn that you never know when you’ll need to speak even a few words in a language you picked up years prior…Or even when you’ll need to be bilingual to get a job, any kind of job. Language knowledge is absolutely vital in being a global citizen, which is not only something I identify myself as, but also something that everyone should aim to be.”(more)