Most students at Lockport know that two World Language credits are required to graduate. Our school offers five languages: French, German, Japanese, American Sign Language, and the most popular, Spanish. Many people take it as “a default option,” but this begs the question – is it taken seriously?
Studies show that 75% of high school students in America take Spanish, compared to the 25% that take a different language. This leads to the popular opinion that taking Spanish will give them an easy A, leaving the students who take it seriously to be roped into the stereotype.
Spanish is the most chosen language because there are many Spanish speakers in America compared to other countries. Most large companies and organizations have Spanish translators working for them because many people speak it, and knowing Spanish would be a great opportunity to get a job at one of these organizations.
“I do plan to continue with Spanish since I know a lot of it from junior high and high school and plan to use it during my future careers. I already had taken Spanish class in junior high, so I had some background knowledge and wanted to build upon it,” freshman Katie Drake responded about why she chose Spanish. Katie saying that she plans to continue with Spanish which helps prove that there are students that take it seriously, and not all of them plan to just take the A and move on.
There are students who do take the class to improve their skills, but others may choose it for various reasons. “I chose it because I thought I would probably use it the most compared to other languages,” stated freshman Bridget McCombs. “I don’t care because I’m not really planning on going to a main Spanish speaking country.”
Bridget represents the majority of the students that only took Spanish because they are required to take a language. She says that she would only use it in a Spanish speaking country, which she doesn’t plan to go to.
Spanish class seems to only be taken seriously by the people who plan to use it in the future. Compared to the other languages, Spanish is the most practical and easy option for somebody who just wants to get their two years of language out of the way.
Since there are many people who actually want to use Spanish in their future careers, it is important that students begin to take the class more seriously. Spanish classes lead to opportunities in life that many people who only speak one language will not receive.
