My brother and I are almost fluent in Spanish, which is our second language, largely because our parents both speak fluent Spanish and we have traveled to a lot of Spanish-speaking countries in our lives. Many native English speakers do not have the opportunity to travel and don't have parents who speak a second language, so they rely on their schools to teach foreign language. That is unfortunate, because in my observation, it is very difficult to reach any real proficiency in a second language from our public school foreign-language curriculum.
As far as I can tell, learning to speak a foreign language is not a serious priority in New York City's public schools. There is no expectation of fluency, or even mastery. Second language is not taught at all in many elementary schools. At my old middle school, M.S. 51, language classes covered the same things three years in a row. As former M.S. 51 student Abby Beatty said, "In eighth grade I was still learning "¿Quien cocina el taco? Mi mama cocina el taco." ( Who cooks the taco? My mom cooks the taco.) Many high schools, including my own (LaGuardia), only require one year of language.
The idea that learning another language is not as valuable as doing math or studying history is a bad message to send to kids. Learning to speak another language is beyond valuable, it is essential in a city as diverse as New York, and in a world where students in other countries begin to learn English in grade school. New York leads the world in art, fashion and commerce; why can't our schools lead the country in foreign language education?
[Editor's Note: State and city graduation requirements mandate a single year of foreign language instruction in high school, no more.]
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