Fluency or failure: The flaws in foreign language education

For the first few years of my life the only language I spoke was Spanish. I grew up in the U.S., but my parents are both from Argentina and we have always spoken Spanish at home. When I started school, I had to learn English. For so many others like me in the U.S. whose first language isn’t English, learning to speak it isn’t a choice, it’s simply something they have to do. 

But for most monolingual students in the U.S. learning another language is hardly a priority. 

I have many friends who get straight A’s in their Spanish classes but can barely speak the language. Students with monolingual upbringings in the U.S. see the languages they’re learning as academic and not as a way to communicate with others. In 2021, Preply, a language e-learning platform, surveyed 1,078 Americans about their foreign language education. 31% of respondents said they had only learned a foreign language because schools required it. 

I have taken both French and Spanish classes at school. In these classes, grammar and vocabulary have always been the main focus, rarely actually talking. While I understand that these language classes are mostly beginner, as a bilingual person, I believe that without actually speaking the language while simultaneously learning grammar and vocabulary, it is very difficult to become fluent. 

While teachers have always attempted to incorporate speaking into the class, the way our entire education system approaches learning languages is just not geared toward actual fluency. It’s geared towards passing tests and passing the class. 

I visit Argentina with my family every year, and the majority of my friends there have been learning English since they started school. However in the U.S., language education starts much later. A 2017 study from the Commission on Language Learning found that only 15% of public elementary schools in the United States offered language programs that weren’t English, while in Europe, data from 2018 showed that most students began studying a foreign language at school between the ages of six and nine. In Clarke County School District, I did not have a foreign language class until middle school. Even then, I had to take Spanish, a language I was already fluent in, because no other languages were offered. 

For the first few years of my life the only language I spoke was Spanish. I grew up in the U.S., but my parents are both from Argentina and we have always spoken Spanish at home. When I started school, I had to learn English. For so many others like me in the U.S. whose first language isn’t English, learning to speak it isn’t a choice, it’s simply something they have to do. 

But for most monolingual students in the U.S. learning another language is hardly a priority. 

I have many friends who get straight A’s in their Spanish classes but can barely speak the language. Students with monolingual upbringings in the U.S. see the languages they’re learning as academic and not as a way to communicate with others. In 2021, Preply, a language e-learning platform, surveyed 1,078 Americans about their foreign language education. 31% of respondents said they had only learned a foreign language because schools required it. 

I have taken both French and Spanish classes at school. In these classes, grammar and vocabulary have always been the main focus, rarely actually talking. While I understand that these language classes are mostly beginner, as a bilingual person, I believe that without actually speaking the language while simultaneously learning grammar and vocabulary, it is very difficult to become fluent. 

While teachers have always attempted to incorporate speaking into the class, the way our entire education system approaches learning languages is just not geared toward actual fluency. It’s geared towards passing tests and passing the class. 

I visit Argentina with my family every year, and the majority of my friends there have been learning English since they started school. However in the U.S., language education starts much later. A 2017 study from the Commission on Language Learning found that only 15% of public elementary schools in the United States offered language programs that weren’t English, while in Europe, data from 2018 showed that most students began studying a foreign language at school between the ages of six and nine. In Clarke County School District, I did not have a foreign language class until middle school. Even then, I had to take Spanish, a language I was already fluent in, because no other languages were offered. 

Statistics from the 2018 Eurostat database show that 92% of European students were learning a second language in school. In the United States, where most school districts only offer languages after elementary school, reports from the American Councils for International Education showed that only 20% of students were enrolled in foreign language classes. While it is possible to learn languages at a later age, starting early places more emphasis on the importance of learning a second language. 

English has become such a global language. For people in other countries, learning English is important in a much broader context than just for school. Learning English is seen as necessary for success. My cousin in Argentina is only three years old and enrolled at a bilingual school, yet my aunt constantly worries about her not being able to speak English. 

Since English has become more globalized in education and business, monolingual U.S. citizens do not view learning another language with the same importance as the rest of the world. In a 2016 Pew Research survey, only 36% of Americans viewed learning a foreign language as an important trait to be successful in today’s economy. 

I can say confidently that my friends in non-English speaking countries can speak English better than my English speaking friends here can speak foreign languages. This is partly due to the differences in language education and in part because of the role English plays in their lives.

I can say confidently that my friends in non-English speaking countries can speak English better than my English speaking friends here can speak foreign languages. This is partly due to the differences in language education and in part because of the role English plays in their lives.

Many people in non-English speaking countries use English to communicate with other people through the internet, or they interact with English media in ways that Americans don’t interact with media in foreign languages. While still learning English at school, students in other countries receive an added dimension to their learning that is completely unrelated to school. In contrast, with American students not interacting with new languages outside of an academic setting, students lose opportunities to communicate with actual people, leading to a flat, unexciting and purely academic way of looking at languages. 

A larger focus on actual communication in any language is crucial for improving language education. Studies by the Commission on Language Learning have shown international study abroad and cultural immersion programs to be beneficial for language learning, but these programs are not always accessible or a possible investment for many schools and students. Instead, U.S. schools could shift toward smaller-scale programs for students to speak with native speakers in the language, having students interact with more media in the language, or simply just talk more in class. 

I don’t know how to completely fix the flawed system that is our language education, but I do believe that a change in approach — from teachers, school systems and broader curriculums — could encourage monolingual students to learn languages for more than just academics, ultimately changing the way they view both language and the world. 

Statistics from the 2018 Eurostat database show that 92% of European students were learning a second language in school. In the United States, where most school districts only offer languages after elementary school, reports from the American Councils for International Education showed that only 20% of students were enrolled in foreign language classes. While it is possible to learn languages at a later age, starting early places more emphasis on the importance of learning a second language. 

English has become such a global language. For people in other countries, learning English is important in a much broader context than just for school. Learning English is seen as necessary for success. My cousin in Argentina is only three years old and enrolled at a bilingual school, yet my aunt constantly worries about her not being able to speak English. 

Since English has become more globalized in education and business, monolingual U.S. citizens do not view learning another language with the same importance as the rest of the world. In a 2016 Pew Research survey, only 36% of Americans viewed learning a foreign language as an important trait to be successful in today’s economy. 

I can say confidently that my friends in non-English speaking countries can speak English better than my English speaking friends here can speak foreign languages. This is partly due to the differences in language education and in part because of the role English plays in their lives.

Many people in non-English speaking countries use English to communicate with other people through the internet, or they interact with English media in ways that Americans don’t interact with media in foreign languages. While still learning English at school, students in other countries receive an added dimension to their learning that is completely unrelated to school. In contrast, with American students not interacting with new languages outside of an academic setting, students lose opportunities to communicate with actual people, leading to a flat, unexciting and purely academic way of looking at languages. 

A larger focus on actual communication in any language is crucial for improving language education. Studies by the Commission on Language Learning have shown international study abroad and cultural immersion programs to be beneficial for language learning, but these programs are not always accessible or a possible investment for many schools and students. Instead, U.S. schools could shift toward smaller-scale programs for students to speak with native speakers in the language, having students interact with more media in the language, or simply just talk more in class. 

I don’t know how to completely fix the flawed system that is our language education, but I do believe that a change in approach — from teachers, school systems and broader curriculums — could encourage monolingual students to learn languages for more than just academics, ultimately changing the way they view both language and the world.