With social media and the internet as a whole connecting us all today, it is getting more and more likely that a person will come across a foreign language at some point in their life. Even at South, many people speak a language other than English as their first language. Though many students do not speak a foreign language, it is important to learn one to connect with others.
“I think [French] has enriched [my life] by just giving a different perspective looking at certain things either through the eyes of another culture or using that culture’s perspectives to look at my own life and our own American culture, and it just opens you up to difference,” Brenda Geist, French teacher, said.
A foreign language doesn’t just open more options either. Knowing a foreign language has many benefits in regular life, such as the ability to translate for others or travel more freely.
“Studies have shown that when you study a foreign language, it helps develop good memory. It also helps you with problem solving skills. You need those to learn a foreign language and so and there’s tons of more benefits too. It also enhances your opportunities for jobs in the United States,” John Hernandez, Spanish teacher, said.
Spanish is the second most common language spoken in the United States and is common to find. Many students at South High speak it regularly.
“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t speak Spanish with somebody, whether it’s a student here at school, or a parent, or the lunch ladies, or even, you know, out at the grocery store. I come across it quite a bit,” Tobi Adams, Spanish teacher, said.
There are many opportunities for students to learn a foreign language in and out of school. In school, both Spanish and French can be taken for all four years of high school. Outside of school, there are many good online resources that students could utilize to learn many other languages. Duolingo and Lingua are good free options, and Babble and Lingoda are good paid options. Youtube also offers many different channels that can teach foreign languages.
“But I think the most important thing, though, is that if somebody wants to just start off by self teaching themselves, that they have structure,” Hernandez said.
Knowing a foreign language can help students connect with one another and other cultures. The only downside is that they are time consuming to learn and you have to maintain them. Geist suggested just trying out languages until you find one that works for you.
“I would just encourage them to try, because you never know what could light a passion in you until you try something. And, you know, if you try one language and it doesn’t seem to be working or connecting with you, try another,” Geist said.
There are many good opportunities to use and learn a foreign language both here at school and in your daily life. Learning a foreign language opens people up to a whole other world.
“You can like, connect to my communities, like better. And I can also joke in class with my friends to speak Spanish and nobody else can understand. So that’s kind of funny,” Jose Pinedo De La Torre (‘26) said.
Pinedo De La Torre is a native Spanish speaker and comes from Mexico. He has lived in the United States for two years and did not speak any English when he came to the United States for the first time.
“It’s never detrimental to learn a new language, and even with Spanish, if you don’t know Spanish already, it’s like a lot of people who speak Spanish, Like even like here in Salina, like everywhere else. So they just, like adds more to your perspective of the world as a whole, because you can understand other cultures,” Pinedo De La Torre said.
Learning another language creates new opportunities. It is worth the time required.
