Should Learning a Foreign Language be Compulsary?

[Atlaerom]

As above.
I mean, look at how much smaller the world is growing - and at the rate it's happening.
It could really benefit the students greatly.

I really regret dropping Japanese (the language I chose, we had a choice between Japanese and German) in year 9.

What do you think?
Compulsary or optional?
What would you choose?

 

[Sam1]

Compulsory!

Although I find French quite difficult and I am now, I never used to be, one of the worst in the class- I wish I'd been learning since I was in year 5 (age 9)! I would, by now, be able to converse in a variety of different situations and my written work + reading would have been excellent.

Learning a language teaches you a lot about culture and it makes you understand that your country doesn't have the only ideas nor language. It's quite typical of New Zealand and Australia to not learn a second language but this isn't the same in England and I'd imagine, other parts of the world.

 

[Brentnauer]

Absolutely compulsory. I think the language should be the student's choice, but it should definitely be required.

I took three years of German and while it hasn't been overtly useful in day to day life, it opened me up to a culture and way of thinking I believe I'd be less of who I am without it.

 

[Hubok]

Theoretically, taking a language is compulsory, but only in some cases. Most public and private schools make you take a language in Middle and High School (or Year 5-12), otherwise you'd have a penalty for applying to colleges.

(Of course, the people with mental disorders get by this. Thank you Asperger's Syndrome and OCD!)

 

[Sam1]

Theoretically, taking a language is compulsory, but only in some cases. Most public and private schools make you take a language in Middle and High School (or Year 5-12), otherwise you'd have a penalty for applying to colleges.

(Of course, the people with mental disorders get by this. Thank you Asperger's Syndrome and OCD!)

Really? That's odd... At my school, only the top class was to required to take a language- and we still had a couple that didn't bother to.

 

[CHT]

Here where I am, we don't have compulsory foreign language, but have compulsory second language up to college level.