The United States is a tossed salad of languages.

California's population has grown through immigration from all over the planet, and its students reflect that linguistic diversity. America's multi-lingual character has everything to do with the recent history of immigration.

Unfortunately, it has rather little to do with the education that children receive in schools.

Learning a language takes time. But few K-12 school systems in the US seriously embrace the work it takes for students to become proficient in a language other than English. For most American children, mastery of a second language is simply not expected.

This is quite a blind spot.

Patricia Kuhl Kuhl studies language acquisition in babies. She has found that children learn the sounds of language very early, and that the aptitude for identifying the sounds of language declines sharply with age. Her TED Talk on the subject is well worth watching.

Over a period of just a few decades, China transformed itself from being economically isolated to being vitally connected to every part of the world market, including America. A focus on language instruction was a big part of that transformation. Arabic-speaking countries have become vitally important to America, too. But few American students even have the option to learn either these languages during their pre-teen years, when they are linguistic sponges.

California requires zero years of world language instruction in elementary and middle school.

Research on language and brain development finds that until about age six or seven, children are “linguistic geniuses”, innately capable of discerning and reproducing the sounds of language with perfect fidelity and comparatively little effort. It is incredibly important to start learning a second language when young, because this ability steadily declines with age.

Most nations require foreign language instruction in several elementary and middle school grades, because that's when kids are good at learning them. Schools in America, unfortunately, tend to leave world language instruction to middle and high school years. California requires zero years of world language instruction in elementary and middle school.

Many California school districts require students to study a world language for at least one year, though the state does not require it. To qualify for a public four-year college in California, students must take at least two years of world language in high school.

Signs of Change: The California Seal of Biliteracy

Even though California's original state constitution was written in both English and Spanish, public opinion has not always embraced multilingualism. Proposition 227, passed in 1998, required that most classes in California be taught in English. This initiative was overturned by another, Proposition 58, in 2016.

When the ban on bilingual education went away, demand for multi-lingual teachers skyrocketed. School districts with large numbers of English Language Learners are recognizing the bilingual advantage and creating more dual language learning opportunities, a topic we explore in more detail in the Ed100 blog.

California is attempting to embrace second language learning. In 2018, the state passed a law to use the term "world language" in the education code. This change is a nod to the huge diversity in the state and an effort to be more inclusive. This change recognizes that there really is no “foreign” language in California.

The state took another symbolic but meaningful step to highlight the value of knowing multiple languages by creating The State Seal of Biliteracy. This program recognizes high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing one or more languages in addition to English.

In 2018, more than 55,000 students earned this seal on their diploma, but many more should have. Districts have been slow to implement the program. By 2030, the California department of education hopes to expand to 150,000 students through the Global California 2030 program. To request seals for graduating students at your school, ask your school district.

Speaking American

Almost all countries in the European Union require foreign language study beginning in elementary school

Outside the United States, multilingualism is widespread. In China, for example, students learn their local dialect as well as Mandarin and, more recently, English. Almost all countries in the European Union require foreign language study beginning in elementary school, and many choose English. Hey, why not just expect the rest of the world to learn English? (Yes, that was rhetorical.)

America has a long history of "assimilating" immigrant groups, including linguistically. Preserving the language skills that immigrant children bring with them has not been consistently viewed as important. For decades, "foreign" language instruction, when offered at all, was considered an academic elective.

For English speakers, some languages are more difficult to master than others. According to the Foreign Service Institute, which trains American diplomats, it takes an average English speaker 2,200 hours to become proficient in Mandarin or Arabic, but only 600 hours to learn Spanish, French or Italian.

And the hardest language in the world for native English speakers? Japanese. The written language uses ideograms based on Chinese characters, but the characters can be pronounced in different ways depending on context. It also features nuances to express humility and respect that flummox many Americans.

Next Steps

Learn more from these sites:

• The California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) provides great resources for parents and teachers.
• Some school districts in California have developed robust dual language pathways, including San Francisco Unified.
• Speaking in Tongues: 4 kids. 4 languages. 1 city. 1 world is a documentary that follows four San Francisco students as they become bilingual.
• The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages offers tips for parents who want to advocate for language programs in their communities.
• Looking for ways to support your student learning a second language? Check out this article from GreatSchools.
• More research on the benefits of bilingualism from the New York Times: The Superior Social Skills of Bilinguals.

Updated August 2017
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