At Walpole High School, students are given the option to study Spanish, Latin or French to earn credits for their world language core requirement. The requirement consists of completing one year of study in a world language, although two is strongly encouraged. Thus, once this requirement has been completed, it is common for some students to drop their language class. However, completing all four years of a language class is something students should take advantage of, as it can boost an individual’s all-around academic performance, make them more competitive in college admissions or in the job market and set them up with skills necessary to make an impact in the world outside of their world language classroom, no matter their future plans.
Quite frankly, learning a new language is difficult, and being responsible for knowing the proper conjugations and particular verb tenses can be daunting. So, having the freedom to put an end to studying a new language is certainly an appeal to busy students who may find their strengths and talents in other subjects. But, giving up the study of a different language also means saying goodbye to sharpening one’s problem-solving skills that can be employed in pretty much any academic subject or real-life scenario an individual faces.
“To master [Spanish], it takes time, discipline and perseverance to learn the specific grammar rules and vocabulary,” WHS student JJ Butters said. “Building confidence in my ability to persevere through difficulty is something that translates to any higher level class, but will also be necessary for me at college and any place of work in the future.”
Yes, learning a language in your spare time can essentially improve your critical thinking skills, but having a high school transcript that reflects four years of a study in a world language has exclusive perks. Many top colleges and universities, such as Harvard University, Brown University and Dartmouth University require at least three years of study in a foreign language in high school, but strongly encourage four years of study to be competitive against other applicants. Even if an individual does not have Ivy League aspirations, having completed four consecutive years of studying a foreign language in high school automatically gives a student an upper hand in one area of the competitive college admissions process.
“Studying a language for four years in high school definitely helps [students] as far as being more competitive for colleges or jobs,” WHS Spanish teacher Kathryn Bacon said.
Outside of the classroom, learning a new language can diversify a person’s overall way of thinking and living. Having access to new perspectives, from how speakers of a different language properly structure their sentences to the ways members of different cultural societies live their lives, develops an individual’s adaptability and forces them to think about things in a new way. Also, it connects them to a whole new world of people, no matter if they chose to enroll in college or decide to enter the workforce straight out of high school.
“Being able to take any world language is just so good for a human being to understand that their way of thinking isn’t the only way,” Bacon said. “If you’re out and you hear somebody speaking Spanish at your job, for example, just being able to start the conversation on their terms in their language really breaks the ice.”
