Language programs: first to provide
opportunities, first to be cut Natasha Nader / News Editor
When school systems are forced to make cuts in their
budgets, the first programs to go are usually the arts and
language programs. With the current influx of Spanish
speakers into the United States, the issue of foreign
language programs in school systems continues to escalate.
According to Robin Woody, principal of Woodcrest Elementary
School in Elon, it has been at least seven years since the
foreign language programs in all Alamance county elementary
schools were phased out. He said the main reason why these
programs were dropped was to increase instructional time on
reading and mathematics. This is common in many school
systems throughout the country.
A mandate for elementary Spanish was passed in North
Carolina, but tight budgetary constraints limit the
realization of second language programs in the school system.
Donna Van Bodegraven, chair of the Foreign Language
department and associate professor of Spanish, said she feels
this is a dangerous thing. The fact that elementary schools
and middle schools throughout the country have cut foreign
language programs is an indication that linguistic diversity
is not valued enough, she said.
Jane Romer, associate professor of Foreign Languages and
Education, said the public is essential in bringing a change,
and if they realize the importance of foreign language study,
school systems will allocate the funds for foreign language
instruction.
"I think school systems do what they have to do within
their budgets,"
she said. "They do have to make choices, and it's
too bad the money is not there both for English as a
Second Language and foreign languages in the elementary
schools."
ESL is a program that Romer said has become a big need in
the school systems because of the large growth in the
Hispanic population. The reason why many foreign language
programs are being cut is to accommodate the need for ESL,
she said.
For Assistant Director of El Centro de Español Jonesí
Guzmán, English is her second language, and she still does
not consider herself to be bilingual yet. She is from Costa
Rica where, until two years ago, students did not learn
English in the school system until age 13. Now, she said,
they are introduced to English at age 7.
Romer said recent research has shown that to actually become
fluent in a language, many years of study is necessary. This
is why language experts advocate that students begin to learn
another language as young children.
The earlier children are introduced to another language,
besides their native language, the quicker they will learn
how to speak that language and reap the benefits of being
multilingual.
Junior Maria Interiano is from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and
she said being able to speak both English and Spanish is what
allowed her to come to school at Elon. She said that while
she believes the percentage of Americans who speak more than
one language is not as high as it should be, soon this will
change.
"I think people are going to start learning another
language on their own because they will start to realize the
advantages and will not want to limit themselves,"
Interiano said.
Van Bodegraven said the study of a foreign language
increases the ability of one's native language.
"It expands a student's perspective on the world,
making them theoretically see the rest of the world through
another person's eyes, more tolerant of other cultures
and more open to change," she said.
"It increases a student's ability to express
themselves in a variety of different ways."
She said if a student continues foreign language study in
college, it gives the student a competitive edge when looking
for a job or internship. This is true for Interiano, who said
being bilingual allowed her to get an internship at
Univision, the leading Spanish-language media company in the
United States.
The new language requirement that started at Elon in 2005
requires that all incoming freshmen take through level 122 of
a foreign language or place out of it in order to graduate.
Romer says that from the early 1970s until this year, there
was no language requirement at Elon. She says she personally
believes a stronger language requirement is needed.
Especially with the emphasis on international studies and an
internationalized campus, she says she believes that students
"would not revolt" if they had to take more than
through the 122-level.
Another main bonus of knowing another language is that you
can follow the news in that specific language, Romer says,
which is especially critical today.
"You always get a different point of view when you can
get the news about anything from another source in another
language," she says.
Romer says that there is still a push to increase foreign
language learning and it now seen as a National Defense need.
The Department of Defense, not the Department of Education,
is talking about the need to teach what Romer calls
"critical languages," like Arabic, Chinese and many
of the less commonly taught languages.
"The impetus is because of current events," she
says. "At least our federal government now is seeing the
need for foreign language study.
I believe that you will probably see within the next few
years new foreign language programs in schools."
Contact Natasha Nader at pendulum@elon.edu or
278-7247. | 
