by Susan Klatz Beal

Created on: March 29, 2009

There has been a tremendous decline in the study of French as a foreign language in this country, and it seems to be a trend that is not just restricted to French. The decline has spilled over into all foreign language study except for Spanish. Because of our ever increasing non-English speaking immigrant population, the knowledge of Spanish is more crucial than it ever was before.

French is one of those foreign languages that seem to be geared towards more upper middle class and upper class people. It is a foreign language that one studies both for academic reasons and cultural reasons, but it isn't something that is or probably ever will be considered an important part of the basic education system in this country.

Over the past several decades, the value of education for its own sake has diminished significantly. Fewer and fewer families can afford to send their children to college, and the scholarships that were once so plentiful and readily available have all but ceased to exist.

People no longer see the value of foreign language study at all. There was a time when a knowledge of one of more foreign languages could open doors to a world of employment that could provide one with job security for many years to come. It was a time during which companies everywhere sought to do business with American countries. It was a time during which a knowledge of French was beneficial because just as French is considered one of the primary languages of the Olympics now, it was considered a primary language in much of the business world decades ago.

The economic situation in this country is so serious that virtually all non-essential areas of education have been almost completely eliminated from the curriculum of school districts everywhere. The study of French has gone by the way side, falling victim to the same circumstances that have eliminated other "non-essential" areas of the humanities and arts.

Music, art, drama, dance and other "elective" areas of study no longer exist. These subjects have been removed from the entire curriculum whether it be elementary, middle or high school. The money isn't there to pay teacher's salaries, buy the necessary equipment, maintain facilities, allocate space that could be used for other things and much more.

There is no longer any need to study French, unless, of course, someone decides to take it to fulfill a college or university foreign language requirement. But even then, those who do study it do so not because of a genuine desire

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