Hemphill

This summer, I spent two months in Korea teaching English to college students. It was an experience I will never forget for more reasons than I have room to write. My students were excited about learning, and it made my job easier than I initially thought it was going to be.

But throughout the entire teaching process, I could not shake the thought that the reason it was so much easier for me as a teacher was not merely because the students simply wanted to learn the language, it was that they had a prior knowledge of the language that was essential to what I taught them.

The first day of class, I asked where they had learned English initially and the response that all my students gave me was that it was required of them from an early age to learn a second language.

From the time they are toddlers, Korean students begin the process of learning English at the same time that they are learning to master their native tongue. To me, this was not only inspiring, but also a difference in culture that stuck with me throughout the entire process.

What I thought then, and continue to think, is that America, being one of, if not the most powerful nation in the world, has somehow been convinced that learning another language is not beneficial or even necessary. This is a huge problem.

With the rapid globalization we are experiencing, having the ability to speak more than one language is an incredible asset. Language connects people. Being able to speak to person from a different culture in their native tongue will go a long way in terms of building a relationship with that person.

Korea is not the only example of this occurrence. When I studied in Europe, I found that not only did most of the Europeans I met know English as their second language, they were fluent or at least semi-fluent in a third language as well. It’s the norm in these countries.

America should be no different. For America to call itself the greatest country in the world, it needs to continue to be a place where cultures meet and blend, where people from any culture can find a home and feel like they belong. That is what this country was founded on. The Melting Pot must continue to be stirred for future generations of Americans to stand a chance.

It starts with the small things. Teaching other languages to young children is just one way that America can continue to carry on the spirit of multiculturalism that has somehow been lost along the way.

Elementary schools should implement foreign language curriculums nationwide. Learning another language should not be postponed until high school or college. It should not be considered going above and beyond what is required. Learning a foreign language from a young age should be the norm in this country.

The poet Ezra Pound once said, “The sum of human wisdom is not contained in any one language.”

Childhood is the beginning of the acquisition of knowledge. Why, then, is America trying to limit the amount of knowledge a child can learn from the very beginning?

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