Pranay, Week 9: Elected or Forced
Spanish, French, and Chinese. These are some of the most common language electives offered across high schools in America. But is elective really the correct term if we’re forced to take a minimum of two years in order to graduate from high school?
Personally, I took three years of French starting in eighth grade. It was not by choice. Since elementary school I wanted to learn Spanish, but budget cuts removed the availability of Spanish for 7th graders. I was disheartened at first but remembered that I could just take Spanish in 8th grade. When I got my schedule for 8th grade, instead of Spanish 1 I saw Newspaper and Journalism, an elective that I had absolutely no interest in. After several phone calls to Thornton’s counselors, my mom got me moved from Newspaper and Journalism to French 1, the only language class that was still available. |
| Coffee Shop in Paris with my Family |
During spring break last year, my family took a trip to Paris. I was surprised by how useful being able to speak French was. Even though almost everyone spoke English and my French was by no means good, there was a noticeable difference in how people treated me when I spoke it. A short conversation in French, whether it was ordering a croissant or asking for directions, resulted in kindness. It was as if I had gained their respect simply because I could speak their language. And that’s when I learned the power of language, and its influence on people.
I liked the start of your blog with such an intriguing question. I have always been curious about why they call a world language an elective if it is a mandatory course. Unlike you, I had no interest in learning Spanish or any language, as I have always been bad at learning a new language. But because it is required for me to take a language, I choose Spanish. It's sad to know how you did not get your first preferred language and instead had to take French. Your experience learning French in online school is very similar to my experience. At the beginning of the year, just like you, I was also determined to learn Spanish but after the first few months, I lost the motivation and lost interest in learning. I regretted this only in sophomore year as Spanish 3 became very challenging, causing me to realize my mistake of not learning Spanish in the first two years. Throughout my life, I have not used Spanish in any conversation, so I never learned to appreciate learning a new language. But after reading your experience on how knowing French was beneficial to you on your trip to Paris, it made me realize the power language can hold as it helps individuals of different countries interact with one another. Your topic was unique, and your writing was thoughtful. The transition from a question to your personal experience to the analysis of the power of language was well written. In conclusion, your blog was thoughtful and well written.
ReplyDeleteHello Pranay, your blog was captivating throughout the end. Your determination to learn Spanish is admirable because it shows your interest in the language. I agree that language does hold a lot of power. I am Filipino, but I was born in America. Instead of being surrounded by fellow Filipinos who speak Tagalog, I was surrounded by Americans who mainly spoke English. However, even my small phrases of Tagalog impressed my aunties and uncles, and they showered me with praise because of it. Many of them were surprised that I, an Asian-American, know a good amount of Filipino. They showed me more respect, similar to your experience in Paris. I honestly have never thought about the power that language held until now. Reading your blog has opened a new perspective for me; it made me realize that language is a powerful tool for anyone to use. Being stranded in a foreign country and not knowing their language would be awful, so exploring different languages is vital; in case you are stuck in this situation. There are so many powerful benefits to language. Whether it is to communicate for help or gain the respect of an individual, there are infinite advantages to it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that languages are often forced onto highschoolers, which is interesting for couple reasons. One of the problems I have with the idea of mandatory foreign language is because it might not be beneficial in the future. Many of us will live most of our lives in the US, and although the skill is valuable, we may never have the opportunity. Another issue is one you mentioned in your blog, where you got French when you wanted Spanish. This highlights a lack of available choice with the already limited selection of languages. Students are forced to choose between three dialects, and oftentimes their preferred class is not given. Personally, when deciding which language to choose, I felt noticeable cultural pressure to pick Chinese because of my Asian background, despite not knowing the language. However, Chinese is much more difficult to learn from an English background, which leads me to the point, that the Chinese class is much slower in terms of achieving fluency. Four years of Spanish or French might allow you to understand a conversation in the language, however, in the same time period for Chinese you would still only understand the basics. There are some pros that you mentioned however. Understanding another culture is genuinely an invaluable skill that gives new perspective, and your trip to Paris reenforced the idea that knowing another language is useful.
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ReplyDeleteHi Pranay,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I enjoyed your question at the end of your introduction since it drew my attention for the entirety of the blog. I really enjoyed your blog since I related deeply to it. Going into highschool, I wanted to take Spanish 2, but our school did not approve my extracurricular classes, so I was placed in French 1. After breezing by the first two years, I only faced difficulty during French 3 with Ms. Barbu. She gave me the extra help I needed to make up for the past two years and I was able to significantly expand my French knowledge which I am grateful for. Over winter break, my family visited Quebec and I was able to understand some French information from locals. This ability gave me a huge sense of pride which empowered me as a student to continue learning so I could gain more useful skills, which is why I agree that language has immense power in its ability to administer belonging and pride within individuals.