There are roughly 6,500 languages spoken around the world today. 40 percent of the world is monolingual, or only knows one language. The standard graduation requirement across the United States is at least two years of the same language. The goal of this is to encourage students to explore other cultures and give them skills that could help them communicate more easily with those from different backgrounds. But if that truly is the goal, why are there so few languages offered on campus?
At Steinbrenner High School, only two world language courses are offered on campus: Spanish and French. Florida Virtual School provides these and a few other options, such as Latin, Chinese, and American Sign Language. With so many languages to choose from, it makes sense to pick languages that are the most practical for students and are the most realistically likely to be useful to them in the future. Although classes on campus are most accessible, many students are deciding to take virtual or even college courses to get their required credits.
“I decided to take a language class not offered at Steinbrenner because I wanted to learn a language that was different from what others were doing.” said Megan Guthrie, a sophomore who takes American Sign Language through Hillsborough Community College’s dual enrollment program.
With so many students opting to take their language classes in a different way, it raises the question as to why Steinbrenner has not decided to implement more options into the everyday curriculum for the average student. With only two options written on their schedule sheets, many students might not realize that they have others available to them, which could change their choices. Depending on their backgrounds and their goals for the future, certain classes may be more beneficial to them than others.
“I think taking this course on sign language will be very beneficial to me as it will allow me to connect with more people in the future, and it looks appealing to employers the more languages you know.” said Guthrie.
However, that could be said for any of the available courses. All world languages offered, besides Latin, would allow students to connect with more people, and being multilingual in any aspect is a desired trait by employers for their employees. Many teachers also incorporate culture as a way to teach the language, including learning about food, activities, and clothing specific to the region of the world that the language is most prominently spoken in. With so many similar benefits between the classes, some might not see the point in adding new ones, even if it would open doors to diversifying our school.
“I already speak multiple languages, so taking French allows me to further broaden my knowledge on the world.” said Natalie Bello, a sophomore taking French on campus.
Diversity and demographics are key factors in schools today, so making sure that kids feel represented in the classroom is crucial. However, with only these two languages offered on campus, kids can start to feel limited and maybe even underrepresented. Even though students have the option of taking online classes, many will take the most popular course or the one that their friends are involved in over a course that they may be truly interested in taking. This could lead students to not fully understand the background that some of their peers may come from and could lead to miscommunication. However, if these other classes were more well-known and encouraged among students, these problems could potentially be erased.
“I would definitely recommend taking American Sign Language to other students because it’s super interesting to see how you can communicate and talk with others without actually speaking. It is super fun and the more effort you put in the easier it gets.” said Guthrie.
This encouragement to take other world language courses, even after students have obtained the two required credits for graduation, is crucial to reaching the goal of cultured and understanding graduates. The addition of new courses to our curriculum in the future would invite diversity and discussion in our classrooms and hallways. With only five out of 6,500 languages offered, the addition of new classes should not only be supported, but should be considered necessary.
Grace Barnett // Staff Writer
