BY ISABELLA LANZARA

With over 300 million people living in the Unites States and more than 900 million people who speak English in other countries, it is the second most spoken language spoken in the world. Since the U.S. is one the major powers on the globe, people strive to learn English language to communicate with Americans. People everywhere are learning how to speak English and incorporate it in their everyday life; yet, Americans don’t make this same effort.

I don’t think Americans understand the importance of learning a second language because it doesn’t only give you an opportunity to communicate with those who speak a different language, it also expands your cultural understanding. Other countries start learning English from a very young age- some start as early as elementary school and study it all the way through high school- meaning that by graduation they have more than eight years of English under their belt. Americans, on the other hand, decide not to be aware about the rest of the world, and that not only makes them selfish, it also make them ignorant.

Students struggle to even take two years of a foreign language in high school, and the majority of colleges don’t require much more than that to graduate. Maybe that’s why a lot of people aren’t motivated to learn a new language. American institutions of education don’t make it a priority. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the U.S., and one of the most spoken languages in the world; we need to try and learn it to communicate with everyone living in our country.

Just like other countries, America needs to teach it’s students a second language from a very young age so they can grow up with the key to communicate with more of the world. We can’t always expect others to adapt to our language. We need to make just as much effort as everyone else.