Learning a Foreign Language Holds Benefits for Students

“Education officials: Foreign language studies prove benefits for children in early years”, published by The Exponent Telegram is an article issued on September 10, 2017, by Kailee Gallahan. This article demonstrates the numerous benefits of learning a foreign language early on and brings to our knowledge the status quo of foreign language studies, and how it should be changed.

Studies have shown that there are several benefits to learning a foreign language early on in school. First off, knowledge of a second language allows us to use other parts of our brain that would be unused otherwise. As a result, we are able to perform better in other subjects as well, including math and music, according to Dr. William Brustein. Debbie Nicholson says “Research shows that students studying a foreign language over an extended period of time have performed better on standardized tests than other students.” Furthermore, there have been studies performed showing that bilingual individuals make an average of $128,000 more in their lifetimes than people who speak only one language. However, it is also important to start out early, as research shows that students are able to learn a foreign language much easier early on, such as in elementary school as opposed to the middle or high school.

After establishing the numerous advantages of learning a foreign language early on, the article goes on to say that we should spread the Foreign Language in Early Schooling (FLES) Program across the US. As of now, the majority of students have little to no exposure to a second language. For example, foreign language studies are only established in three schools in West Virginia and is not a graduation requirement by the state. However, students engaged in the FLES program have shown signs of improvement in contrast to those who aren’t. Students in the US need to be exposed to a foreign language to compete with other countries with more students exposed to a second language, such as Europe and Asia.

I completely agree with the message conveyed by the author of this article. I have prior knowledge of a related psychological concept called critical period, which refers to the idea that language is most easily acquired before a certain age. Reading this article has both entertained me and expanded my knowledge about the benefits of learning a foreign language. I am also grateful to BASIS for providing us with the opportunity to take a foreign language as a subject. This article has also convinced me that we should provide all students with the same opportunity to expand their skill set by taking a foreign language.