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It is sad that the study of French has declined in the US in recent years. When I was in school, I remember being taught that there were 35 countries in the francophone world, which is why it was a valuable language to learn. However, today many students are under the impression that in this global society, where English is a power language, that they will not need French if they were to travel abroad. Since there is an influx of Hispanic peoples, Spanish would therefore be more appropriate to learn since it is considered to be more useful.

The weakness of that argument lies in the fact that many students in this country do not invest the time and care into foreign language that is needed to be fluent or even proficient. They take the minimum amount required by their high school and/or university and then they are done, forgetting it all within a few years.

If this is the most prevalent case, then it should not matter what language students are taking, and they should therefore not be pushed more towards one over another. Foreign language study in general is important to helping develop students who later become well-rounded, informed world citizens (one hopes). In fact, study of most other languages helps students to become better at English, but because of the emphasis that is usually put on grammar rules in foreign language teaching (and which is beginning to be lacking in the study of English by native English speakers).

Take for example the study of Latin. Many students in this country are still pursuing this dead language. While the practicality of learning it for oral communication is certainly close to nil (unless one is planning on taking up residency in the Vatican), many choose to study Latin for their interest in Roman culture and history and the place Latin has held in the history of languages.

The same should be held true for French. If students desire to learn about French culture and history and would like to understand the role of the French people and language in the course of the history of western civilization, they should be encouraged to follow their interests, not persuaded to pursue another language just because it appears to be more practical.

Learn more about this author, Erin Moss.
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