In seventh grade, I started taking Spanish classes, having studied Chinese in elementary school back in China. Spanish was to be my third language. Learning English was not as difficult as learning Spanish because I started learning English at age nine, whereas I did not start Spanish until age 13. 

However, most of my high school classmates did not start learning a second language until middle school, and some did not start until they reached high school. In fact, my home state of New Hampshire does not even require foreign language education to graduate. 

In a world where international communication has become increasingly critical to our work and success, knowledge of foreign languages is more crucial than ever. Especially in America, where a culture of immigration brings together citizens of numerous languages and backgrounds, foreign language knowledge—especially in Spanish—is particularly important. According to the Migration Policy Institute, immigrants formed 13 percent of the United States population in 2012, or 40.8 million people. Of those immigrants, 21 percent did not speak English at home. Since many immigrants arrive with limited to no knowledge of English, people who are bilingual in English and the immigrants’ language would be best prepared to help them. 

To promote higher-quality foreign language knowledge in America, second language education should be made compulsory in public education, and should begin ideally in elementary school.

According to Britain’s National Centre for Languages, the younger a student is when they begin learning another language, the more easily they can both understand and speak it fluently. During childhood, the brain is at its most optimal period for learning languages since it is still developing and retains the best capacity for building a language base. 

Bilingual children have also been found to perform better than monolinguals on many intelligence tests—both verbal and non-verbal—according to a landmark study by Elizabeth Peal and Wallace Lambert. Learning a new language requires years of education and practice, so children who start early can utilize a longer educational period to study the language. 

With the U.S. increasingly partnering with other countries in business, economic, political and security initiatives, knowledge of other languages has greater importance in continuing America’s success. Although English remains the most commonly spoken international language, communication abroad through a counterpart’s native language fosters the respect and understanding that help to build success in international pursuits. Such communication also demonstrates a dedication to better understand the local region and its people. Even if the region has a heavy international influence, the dominant language a person is exposed to will still be that area’s native tongue, so it is a relevant skill for any international businessman or politician.       

In 2010, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan highlighted the abysmal state of American second language education and knowledge. As of 2008 statistics, only about a quarter of American elementary schools taught foreign language classes. In the early 2000s, less than 33 percent of elementary schools had foreign language classes, making this a troubling downward trend. Furthermore, only 10 states have mandated foreign language education as a high school graduation requirement. 

Compared to Europe, where a diverse array of languages is spoken and where 53 percent of people report being bilingual or multilingual, only about 18 percent of Americans can speak a second language and beyond.  This year, foreign language education became mandatory for all students ages seven and older in the United Kingdom. British students have a variety of languages to choose from, such as French, German, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Latin and Greek. 

In New Zealand and Singapore, students begin learning second languages at age six, and Hong Kong mandates English language education upon entering elementary school. Some of these countries additionally have more than one official language. Thus, students have even more exposure to an even wider language base while the U.S. is still falling behind. 

Compulsory elementary foreign language education is more critical than ever in closing the gap between the U.S. and other countries and even in helping America understand its diverse culture as a nation of immigrants. Implementing such a requirement in the U.S., however, may be difficult. State and local governments, rather than the national government, determine the K-12 curriculum requirements. Funding shortages have also compounded the difficulties of providing second language education. 

Given these difficulties, the best option currently is to incentivize implementation with funding assistance from the Department of Education. With the department so woefully underfunded, more resources need to be allocated to support its functions. This means reassigning funding from other programs and raising tax revenues if necessary. Wasteful spending on overfunded farm subsidies—which cost nine billion dollars per year according to the Environmental Working Group—could be rededicated to the department to help fund the initiative. 

A potential policy could be to offer federal funds to those states that include a foreign language graduation requirement. Once this condition is met, funding may then be extended similarly to hire specific foreign language educators in elementary schools, so that children can start learning early on.

This kind of massive policy chance will likely have its enemies. Some may say that foreign language education should not be forced upon students, especially at such a young age. 

Fiscal conservatives may also protest the increase in government spending that this initiative may cause. 

The unavoidable truth though is that in today’s globalized world and diverse America, where about one-third of the nation’s population may speak Spanish at home by 2060, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, foreign language has become as necessary as any other compulsory school subject. 

If one chooses a field of work that requires foreign language expertise, especially when interacting with America’s non-English speaking populations, they need to start learning early to master the language. 

Inevitably, projects that seek to improve a situation need funding. Although schools need not offer every language in existence, they should pay greater attention to those that Americans will most commonly use and which suffer shortages of speakers, including Spanish, Chinese and Arabic.  

Math and science education are integral to a full worldview and successful career and take years to study and fully understand. Foreign language education is the same. Thus, education needs to start early on to yield success. The late South African President Nelson Mandela once said that “[i]f you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head, [i]f you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.” Needless to say, opening up a foreign language means opening up another person, and another world.