Foreign Languages In Public Schools

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ENG 101 Argumentative Essay Learning a Foreign Language in American Public Schools Learning a foreign can be an amazingly beneficial experience in many different ways. It opens up the eyes of the mind and allows a clearer view of the surrounding world. Countries such as Japan, South Korea, Germany and Russia, just to name a few, begin teaching English to their children in school at a very early age. These countries see the value of expanding cultural horizons and broadening their students way of learning. For this and many other reasons, foreign language courses should be a requirement in American schools. Numerous reports have proven that students who have studied a foreign language perform much better than their monolingual peers on many standardized tests, including all sections of the SAT. In fact, the 2007 College Bound Seniors report, issued by the College Board, which administers the SAT, vividly demonstrates the significant benefits of studying a foreign language. The report shows that students with 4 or more years of foreign language study score on average 140 points higher (out of 800!) than students with half a year or less experience on the Critical Reading section, and almost another 140 in the Math section and over 150 points higher on Writing. Foreign language skills could have a positive impact in uniting different races in America. America is already a melting pot of different nationalities and the truth is that they are rapidly becoming a collective majority of the citizens in America. The argument has been made that immigrants should learn and speak English instead of Americans learning theirs. There is validity to this point but the fact is, immigrants that learn English become bilingual while most American-born students typically aren’t. Students who learn the language of a predominant minority group in their part of the country can
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