Let’s get more languages in our schedules! Screenshot courtesy of freshman Sean Williams.

  At San Luis Obispo High School, a student must take at least one year of a foreign language to graduate. To get into a UC or CSU, a student must take two years of the same foreign language. Only 21.6 percent of Americans are bilingual, while 64 percent of Europeans can speak at least two languages. 

  During all four years of high school, a foreign language should be required to graduate in the United States. 

   “I do think that every college-bound student should complete all four years of a language or the highest level offered, since it looks much better on college applications: it shows that the student has rigorous coursework on their transcripts, as opposed to stopping at the language at level II or III,” said Latin teacher Chad Timm.

  As students get older, it gets more and more difficult for them to learn a new language. That’s why it’s important for students to learn a new language before they graduate. Learning a second language also improves English test scores (English is mandatory for all four years of high school), long-term and short-term memory, better creative thinking and verbal communication. 

  “I don’t think language should be required for all years of high school because as a senior it gets stressful around college application time and having another core class would make it much more difficult,” said senior Dawson Nelson.

  If a student is able to take a foreign language course during the summer, it can make senior year easier. However, I don’t have any experience with college applications yet, so this might be a difficult decision for the school district to make. If four years of a foreign language is unrealistic, at least three years should be required. Then the fourth year is open to students who want to get ahead and look better to colleges.

  In the future, school districts can slowly start incorporating world languages more and more into the curriculum, start hiring more talented foregin language teachers, inspire students to take them, and eventually, even though it will probably take many years, make three or four years required to graduate. 

  While this option isn’t currently mandatory, students should take advantage of the languages offered at SLOHS, and aim to take language all throughout highschool. 

Sources: preply.com, responsivetranslation.com, gooverseas.com, actfl.com, slohs.slcusd.org