Why aren't there more choices in languages for schools?

Question

In my household, the main language is of course, American (no, not English, we live in America and our version of English is different than the English spoken in England, thank you) but my stepmother is German so my half siblings are bilingual. I took Spanish for 4 years and now learning German. In most high schools (like mine), the languages offered are Spanish, French, and Latin. I wish there were more like Italian, German, Chinese and Japanese. I know it takes money to do that and to hire new teachers, but I think it would greater the diversity and help our school systems by being more likeable. Offering languages as early as elementary level greatly helps kids learn more. A new language brings them to a new level of intelligence that no amount of math or science can do. It widens their perspective of the world and creates a more thoughtful process in life.

Answer 1

I certainly agree with what Taivo says in his post. However, I look at it from a somewhat different angle.

The schools have always been backward in the curriculum that they offer in all subjects. In languages, they continue to teach French, Spanish and German even though the linguistic landscape in our world has changed. .

French and Spanish are languages which have passed their prime. It was in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. German has declined since World War II and it remains speculative as to whether it will ever have any kind of a revival in the future.

The most important foreign languages that the schools should be teaching are really Russian, Chinese and Portuguese.

Russian because it has largely replaced German in academics and the sciences. Chinese because China is a growing military and econmic power in the world today, and Portuguese because it is the language of Brazil, a sleeping giant which will probably someday become the dominant country in Latin America.

Portuguese is also widely spoken in Angola, Mozambique and Timor. It could some day become the dominant language of the southern hemisphere as well as Latin America.

Answer 2

It's all about money. School districts pay for your local schools through local property taxes mainly. Schools in wealthy areas can afford to hire a more diverse mix of teachers. Schools without those financial resources cannot. It is as simple as that. It doesn't matter how logical your argument, it comes down to what can your school district afford. Most high schools in the US do not offer Latin--the standard mix is French, Spanish, German, but many districts cannot afford three languages, so they usually drop German.

Answer 3

There has to be teachers in your school willing to take the time to learn the language for the school board to actually decide on creating the class. If there is no teacher who knows, or is willing to know Japanese, there will be no class available for Japanese. Plus there has to be funds available for new language books and to put the class into the curriculum

Answer 4

well in my old HS we have latin french and chinese up to college level, but in a newer HS we had jap. chin, germ, french. latin. fo up to 3 years.

strange that the HS in the small town has better language choices

Answer 5

From what I've seen on this site, I wish they'd teach English.