Is studying a foreign language part of your high school curriculum?
Posted by Dwashelle@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 364 comments
For instance, in Ireland we learn the Irish language for the duration of our primary (elementary) and secondary (high school) education. Once students begin secondary, they have a choice of learning either French or German in addition to Irish. Are you required to take languages in the US?
Tiana_frogprincess@reddit
Yes, we start with English when we’re 9. We can also choice a third language in high school (when we’re 13) most schools offer French, Spanish and German.
BellaLeigh43@reddit
We were required to in Oregon. My small school couldn’t afford a dedicated foreign language teacher, though, and none of our grade 7-12 teachers in other subjects spoke another language. Our solution was a Spanish “correspondence course” over satellite (it was the 90’s), where a remote teacher was live-broadcast to different schools, which called in on speaker phone. My class was “supervised” by one of our English teachers, who monitored the actual classroom and facilitated homework submissions (mailed). Our class of 20 was in the same “course” session as 4 other schools, so there was very little actual interaction with the teacher and delays in written feedback. It sucked. But hey, it met the state’s requirement, right? To this day, I’m fully fluent in written Spanish, but can’t fully understand it spoken at real-time speed, or carry on a conversation well. I’m trying to remedy that through Duolingo and attempting opportunistic conversations when possible, but there’s a huge disconnect between the written and spoken language in my brain!
uhbkodazbg@reddit
I took 2 years of French. My teacher was good and I probably could have picked it up pretty easily had I had the opportunity to practice it outside of class.
Avbitten@reddit
yes. we all take spanish starting in 3rd grade but its basic stuff like colors and numbers, not real conversation. In highschool you get the option of learning spanish, french, german, or asl. You had to take 2 years of spanish, french, or german to graduate. ASL didnt count because it wasnt a foriegn language but at least it was offered as an elective. If you wanted an advanced diploma(basically a requirement to get into college) you needed 3 years of one language or 2 years of 2 different languages for a total of 4.
I took 7 years of spanish classes in public school. I could not speak spanish when i graduated. i could just list a bunch of foods in spanish. I didnt actually learn spanish until i worked in an enviornment with a bunch of latinos for 5 years. immesion works, go figure.
citrusandrosemary@reddit
In my highschool you had the choice of Spanish, French, or Latin. You had to take 1 year to graduate.
You need 2 years for university, not community college, but then you were required at my university to take a 3rd semester of a language to graduate.
So most kids take 2 years in highschool and will have to take a 3rd semester when they get to college: high school French 1 and 2, college French 3.
RainBooksNight@reddit
Yes, in the US most schools require you take a foreign language. Some schools begin very early (my daughter did in pre-K). When I was going to school we had to choose in 7th grade.
FutureHot3047@reddit
It wasn’t a requirement for my school, but we were advised to take at least 2 years of foreign language if we wanted to increase our chances of getting accepted into colleges.
stellacoachella@reddit
Yes at least 2 years are required to graduate, usually Spanish, German, French, and Hmong are common languages to take in highschool
Avasia1717@reddit
everyone had take two years unless they could show proficiency (test out).
the choices were spanish, german, and japanese.
HughLouisDewey@reddit
Yes, though which languages are offered will vary from state to state and from county to county.
Every (or nearly every, though I've never heard of an exception) school offers Spanish, which is probably the most helpful foreign language for an American to know. Bigger, more well-off school districts will offer things like French, Mandarin, Latin, etc.
When I was in high school our options were to take Spanish in-person or take another language online through the state's official online school. I took French online, and that was dumb.
Dan0321@reddit
Do counties run schools where you are from?
HughLouisDewey@reddit
Yes, I thought that was the case everywhere. I mean, we have a state department of education and there's statewide standards and testing and all, but those standards and testing are mostly in regards to the main core areas (math, social studies/history/economics, English, and science). I believe every school has to offer a foreign language and things like P.E., but for the most part the counties get to decide how that's done within their schools.
Dan0321@reddit
Here in New England, counties pretty much just run a county jail and courthouse. Each town runs its own government. Counties don’t really have any control over anything.
blondechick80@reddit
We also have a regional county government!! Don't ask me who is on it or whatbit actually does though..
beenoc@reddit
That's pretty much only a thing in New England. In (as far as I know) the rest of the country, counties are meaningful and powerful local government entities. In NC, the county generally has more power than the municipal government - they're in charge of education, zoning, public services and infrastructure, parks, and can levy taxes, in addition to the sheriff's office/jail and courthouse.
PersonalitySmall593@reddit
"I believe every school has to offer a foreign language and things like P.E."
PE wasn't a thing at my school.
EatLard@reddit
My state has school districts that are separate from counties and cities. The school district where my kids are enrolled is basically the whole city I live in, which sprawls over two counties. Some smaller towns combine students from three or more towns into one school.
LiqdPT@reddit
School districts here in WA too
Dan0321@reddit
Many towns have a town meeting once a year, where we vote on the school budget and elect members of the school board that administers the local schools.
blondechick80@reddit
Yeah, it's individual cities/towns here (MA). I know in PA the township manages the schools
wolfmann99@reddit
counties, townships, etc. depends on where people are and where the schools were built. population changes determines a lot of it.
fragrant_basil_7400@reddit
Eons ago when I was in high school I took 4 years of Latin. I think it really helped with my SAT language scores since so many words have Latin base. Believe it or not, 50+ years later I was able to read some of the inscriptions when I visited the Roman Forum.
TSSAlex@reddit
Four years of Latin, two years each of Greek and German. That was 45 years ago.
My wife is a Classics major. I covered one of her classes when she was pregnant. Told the professor before class so no confusion. Class was reading a few lines each - person to my left read, person to my right stopped. Prof had to do introductions, then asked if I wanted to try. So I read off my three lines. Rightie picked on my pronunciation. Prof said I neglected to tell him I understood Latin, and laughed when I said I’d be pretty useless as a note taker if I didn’t. Then he solved the pronunciation problem by asking if I learned at a Catholic school. Apparently I speak Church Latin.
Head_Spite62@reddit
I took Latin too. Many people think it’s pointless, but my vocabulary and grammar improved more in one semester of Latin than in four years of English.
MomRaccoon@reddit
4 years of Latin here too!
marenamoo@reddit
We had to take 2 years of Latin and 4 years of either French or Spanish.
Great education and yes Latin makes you unbeatable at vocabulary
HughLouisDewey@reddit
My years of French in high school (and Italian in college, I have no idea why I steered so far away from Spanish) have helped me to basically be able to watch stuff in that language with subtitles, read the subtitles and say to my wife "Yep, that's basically right"
Unable-Arm-448@reddit
Greetings, fellow Culture Vulture! I, too, am a survivor of four years of HS Latin. It definitely helped me with SAT vocabulary, and has benefited me in various ways over the past few decades as well ♡
crown-jewel@reddit
Language options can even vary within the same school district. One of my friends opted to go to a different high school in our district because they were the only one in the district with the language she wanted to learn (Mandarin).
blondechick80@reddit
I think French and Spanish are the most common offerings in the US with those being the next closest languages by neighboring countries.
My high school had the option of Spanish, French, or Latin, and 2 years was required
Longjumping_Event_59@reddit
It’s usually optional. And no, nobody can speak fluently by the end of it.
Slight_Literature_67@reddit
Yes. We had the choice of Spanish, French, or German. I took French.
kidfromdc@reddit
I live outside of DC, so they put a big emphasis on the federal government’s critical languages. Most every school had the usual French, German, Spanish, Latin, but different schools also offered Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, and Korean. You could take a bus to whatever school offered the other languages for that class. I took a few years of French until it got boring and then switched to Russian
Kineth@reddit
Same, though I want to say that Latin was an option too. Regardless, I took French as well, which was sort of dumb since I'm in Texas, but whatever.
elphaba00@reddit
My son went to the same high school as me. German was the only choice. They've had a vacancy in Spanish for 4 years. When I was there, it was either Spanish or French. I went with French. He actually made it to a French-speaking country before I did.
I think it's pretty soon, but Illinois is going to start requiring foreign language in high school.
No-Conversation1940@reddit
French only at the high school I went to in very small town Missouri, because the school district needed to find someone who would teach a foreign language at their high school and the one they found knew French.
We weren't in the part of the state that had the mines and the old French speaking population, either.
Rhomega2@reddit
Took 2 years of French. Then I moved to a rural school that only offered Spanish. I dlready had my graduation requirements, so that was it for me.
Not_Cool_Ice_Cold@reddit
It differs regionally. There are many schools out West that offer Japanese because we're so much more likely to interact with a Japanese person than, say, a French or German person. Out West, Spanish is of course the most popular language for native-English-speakers to learn.
Slight_Literature_67@reddit
I would expect it to vary regionally.
Corryinthehouz@reddit
Some places also teach ASL, Mandarin, etc.
famousanonamos@reddit
Same with my high school. My daughter's high school only has Spanish.
Alternative-Law4626@reddit
I had French in Kindergarten, 4-8, 11-12 grades. First chance I had to use it was when I visited Paris for NYE 2 years after high school. I did ok. No bad interactions with the French. Helped some other Americans out with the language ordering, getting metro tix etc.
Slight_Literature_67@reddit
I have basic reading and comprehension. I wish I learned French sooner so it would have stuck. I struggled learning it, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. I'm considering relearning it (and learning Italian and Polish, my mom and grandparents' first languages) so it doesn't completely disappear from memory.
crispyrhetoric1@reddit
I work in a school we require three years in middle school and then three more years in high school.
But language instruction in starts for us in kindergarten - Spanish and French. They choose which one to specialize in starting in 1st. In 6th they can opt to continue or start Latin or Mandarin.
StutzBob@reddit
I think it's common to require 2 years of language in high school, or at least it was when I was in school. We had Spanish or German. My kid is lucky enough to be in a school with K-8 language. He has a Mandarin class a couple times a week, with Spanish the other option.
Prometheus_303@reddit
While I was there, my high school offered 4 years of German and Spanish for those in 9th through 12th grade.
They were just part of the pool of electives you could sign up for (along with art, band, choir, wood shop, various home ecs, & tech courses etc). There was no actual requirement to take either.
There were two Spanish teachers (vs a single German teacher) so I assume it was probably the more popular choice. But at least the German 1-3 classes I was in was full (20-30 kids). Though my senior year there were only like a dozen of us max in the single German 4 section. I'm not sure how that compared to Spanish 4.
They were offering Latin as well. But the Latin teacher retired after my Freshman year (iirc) and it was dropped so it wasn't much of a thing for us.
They started to phase German out a couple years after I graduated. They stopped offering German 1, and let those who had already started continue the full program (should they desire) before axing it all together.
courtnet85@reddit
My state (Florida) requires two years of foreign language study in secondary school. My school offered Spanish, Latin, and French. The school where I taught offers Spanish and, just recently, American Sign Language (ASL). Nearly every school in my state offers Spanish (there are a number of Spanish-speakers here, so it’s the most useful second language to study and also the easiest to get teachers for).
HeddaLeeming@reddit
In England I had to take French and Latin. There were other languages available if you went that route. My mom took Russian and German (in the early 60's).
I moved to the US in 1978 at 13 and there was no foreign language requirement at all. German, French, and Spanish were offered. Latin for 2 years but the teacher left and that was it. I took German and Latin but it was by choice.
Madreese@reddit
Yes. We had Spanish, Italian, French or German to choose from. Now I see the local schools offer Mandarin Chinese and Sign Language in addition to German, Spanish and French.
sics2014@reddit
I was required to take Spanish at my school for all 13 years, in fact.
machuitzil@reddit
Just curious, outside of "donde esta la biblioteca", did you retain anything? If you read a random news article in Spanish right now, could you more or less follow along?
It's interesting to me as a gringo who speaks sort of passable Spanish, I've studied it, traveled, used it. Like, I'm reasonably proficient, but I've noticed that at times my knowledge of the language isn't much further advanced than other white people here in California who have never studied it, but have still acquired a good deal of the language just through osmosis, and being exposed so frequently.
I dunno, it just seems to me that a lot of us know more Spanish than we're necessarily aware of or acknowledge.
alextoria@reddit
also in california and i’m 10 years out of high school now and still have a pretty passable spanish vocabulary. i can understand 95% of a conversation if they’re not speaking too quickly and i can do things like order a breakfast burrito with no cheese and i was able to negotiate with a cab driver in cabo and was able to ask what was in each pastry at a coffee shop in costa rica. i really liked spanish though and did very well in the 3 high school classes i took so i think i’ve retained more than someone coasting through.
Thin-Bill4533@reddit
In high school we had a choice Spanish French
Busy-Enthusiasm-851@reddit
From just about every person I've met in the modern era, he or she took English and one other language. I have not encountered many Americans that really got much out of their studies. Then for those that didn't take or pass the AP tests, they had further language requirements at the university level, which is a giant distraction if you could have just learned right earlier. Then, the folks with a university GE requirement who take more, tend to still not know a foreign language after years of study. This is generally the product of US education.
eeekkk9999@reddit
Yes it is a choice but you don’t have to take one
callmeKiKi1@reddit
We had to take Spanish.
thunderthighlasagna@reddit
Yes, it was required. My school offered French and Spanish, I chose French but if I could go back in time, I would have taken both. French was one of my favorite classes!
Jealous of the people whose high schools offered Italian, I have family that speaks it and it’s hard to study language on your own sometimes.
Consistent_Damage885@reddit
Every place can set their own requirements. But it is common for students to take some foreign language at some point. It is typically not required for graduation but required by some colleges for entry. Spanish is almost universally offered, and French and German are fairly common. Some schools may have other choices like Latin, Mandarin, Japanese, or others that reflect local diversity. Many kids only take a year or two. But some may take six years or more.
Capable_Capybara@reddit
2 years of foreign language are required to graduate from high school in most states. Some states may not require it.
Occasionally_Sober1@reddit
Yes. We had to take two years of a foreign language. My school had Spanish, French, Italian and I think Latin. I took Spanish because did already taken a year of it in middle school. (I still had to do two more in hs though.)
Some states including Michigan have just started computer programming count as a language.
johnlocklives@reddit
In my state you can select the type of diploma you want to earn. There is a standard diploma and it doesn’t include any foreign language requirements. If you go for an advanced diploma you are expected to take a certain number advanced and/or AP classes as well as a minimum 2 years of a foreign language.
This is for our public schools, the ones that are funded by the city and state and are free to attend. Private schools, ones you pay tuition monthly or yearly, may have their own requirements. Although, to be an accredited school, they must meet the minimum state standards. Many hold students to a higher minimum standard and may require all students to have at least two years of foreign language.
ariana61104@reddit
In my state it is mandatory to go to university. Every school has different languages available. I did online school and we had Spanish, French, Latin, Chinese, ASL, English and Hebrew. Spanish is the most common language to find in a high school in the U.S.
TrillyMike@reddit
In my school it wasn’t required but a significant portion of people did it. My school offered Spanish, French, and Latin. I only know of one person who took Latin but presumably he wasn’t the only person in that class lol
Mental_Freedom_1648@reddit
Yes. In sixth grade (which would be age 11/12), we were required to take three different languages. Then in seventh, we had to choose which one we'd stick with for the next six years of schooling.
Prinessbeca@reddit
We had a similar system! We could take one quarter each of Spanish, German and French in 8th grade (fourth quarter was sex ed) OR We could take the full year of just one language to get a jump start. (But then you'd give up another elective for your sex ed, like an art class or computers or something).
In high school the kids who did the full year in 8th grade would start on level two and go up to AP. The rest would start on level 1 and take at least through level 2, but most who intended to go to college would do all 4.
The high school also offered Latin and Japanese, but just 4 levels of those, no AP.
I took two years of Spanish and two years of Japanese, because I found out that none of the colleges I was applying to cared one bit about the makeup of my high school foreign language credits.
My kids' school only offers Spanish, and I'm not actually sure how many levels they have or when they start.
palibe_mbudzi@reddit
That's a pretty cool system. Better than starting in high school anyways.
EnigmaIndus7@reddit
We are. The usual foreign languages are French and Spanish (some schools offer other languages).
My high school did Spanish, French, and Latin. I chose French.
Fearless-Boba@reddit
It's required in NY for graduation requirements. Depending on where you are in the state usually French or Spanish is offered and in more urban areas you could also learn Italian, Chinese, Arabic, etc depending on the neighborhood and schooling available.
In some.states foreign language is optional...so is world history and culture. Really depends on the states graduation requirements.
Rredhead926@reddit
Foreign languages aren't generally offered as a part of public school until high school. There are some public charters that are language immersion schools, where kids learn in a foreign language - usually Spanish or French, but I have a cousin who went to one that taught Mandarin and another cousin that went to a school that taught German.
I believe that only 2 years of a foreign language are required in California. I know that my son was only required to take 2 years, but he took 4, as did I, back in the 90s.
happyburger25@reddit
The high school I attended offered Latin, German, Spanish and Chinese. I took Latin
inchworm907@reddit
Language isn’t a requirement for high school graduation in Alaska. Many schools are so small that having a teacher who could teach another language would be unlikely and/or expensive. Plus many rural students are Indigenous. Some learn their Indigenous language in school but that’s not available everywhere. Because of this, the state universities also don’t require a second language.
WildRicochet@reddit
I was required to take foreign language in 9th and 10th grade, but you could take it 11th and 12th as well. My high school offered Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Mandarin. Most people took Spanish. I took Italian since my father and grandparents spoke it, plus i still have family in Italy. I also had to learn a small amount of Greek and Latin (mostly reading vocabulary, not really how to speak or write it).
CrashDisaster@reddit
Yeah. I remember picking between Spanish or French in 7th grade. I took Spanish from 7th grade to sophomore or junior year of high school.
Zingobingobongo@reddit
I’m British in California. Had an American throw his hands up in horror that in UK we rarely learn Spanish. I was er, no most Brits will only ever need “Dos cerveza por favor”. Our go to languages are French & German.
tdpoo@reddit
When I was in high school in the 80s, we were required to take a foreign language to get into university so lots of kids did. At my school we had Spanish, German, French and Japanese. I took Francais.
Rogerdodger1946@reddit
Back in the 60s, it was not required, but suggested if you were going to college. I took 2 years of Latin and don't regret it.
Karen125@reddit
Mandatory Spanish plus the options of French, German, or Russian.
Zealousideal_Cod5214@reddit
My school had the option to learn Spanish, French, and Japanese.
teacuperate@reddit
From grades K-6, there were no available non-English classes. For grades 7-8, Spanish was an optional elective. For grades 9-12, 2 years of a non-English language were required to graduate, but students could take up to 4 years. My school offered Spanish and French.
Responsible-Gear-400@reddit
I lived in an area that required two years in high school of a language. I have heard as short as one semester required. They were in the same state too!
MegaMiles08@reddit
I'm Gen X and started taking Spanish in 6th grade through high school. It wasn't required but was offered. It probably wasn't required at all. My son is wrapping up his junior year 11th grade). Foreign languages weren't offered until high school (9th grade), and only 2 years was required. The options were Spanish, German, or French. I was pretty disappointed and felt like Spanish should be offered starting in elementary school. We're in Texas so there are a lot of opportunities to speak Spanish here.
Sunflowers9121@reddit
I took German and French in HS, but it wasn’t mandatory. I wish I would’ve taken Spanish. German (and the Latin I took in college) helped in my nursing career. French not so much.
kartoffel_engr@reddit
Yes. In HS we had to take a foreign language. Our HS offered Spanish, French, German, and Russian. I took German 1 and German 2. You could then continue in college and minor, or major, in a foreign language.
In hindsight, I should’ve taken Spanish.
Shellsaidso@reddit
Yes. This was in the 90s, Spanish was the only foreign language available. Nearly 30yrs later- I can’t speak Spanish at all, and I passed the class with a B.
manderifffic@reddit
Yes and no. It wasn't required to graduate, but the local colleges require at least 2 years of a foreign language to get in, so most kids took foreign language classes. The options were Spanish, French, and German. Once in a blue moon Mandarin or Japanese was offered, but never at my school.
aud5748@reddit
Spanish and French were the options at my western NY high school circa 2002-2006 -- we had to take one in 7th and 8th grade but if I recall correctly they were electives in high school. Offerings vary dramatically depending on the area of the US and what languages are useful there. Portuguese and Armenian, for example, are popular in some of the towns near where I live now in the Boston area.
Rk12989@reddit
My primary school had all the students take Spanish from 2nd-8th grade. In high school I had the option of Spanish, French, Latin or Italian. I took 3 years of Italian.
SamEdenRose@reddit
In the US foreign language starts in middle school, either 7th or 8th grade. Usually French it Spanish. Sometimes Italian is offered. Sometimes they learn a few worlds in various languages jn elementary but the main classes is middle and HS.
Minute_Box3852@reddit
Texas. Had to take foreign language in high school. Options were French, German, Latin, Spanish.
Dry_Okra_4839@reddit
Ja. Ich habe Deutsch studiert.
KoalasAndPenguins@reddit
We had to do 2 years of Latin and 2 years of another foreign language. We could choose from Spanish, French, Chinese, or German.
hydrated_purple@reddit
Yup, we had to take two years. Spanish and French I believe we're the options, since I went to a small school
D-ouble-D-utch@reddit
We were required to take two years of a foreign language. 90s FL.
PrestigiousMind6197@reddit
It was mandatory for us to study with three languages with equal fluency. And then we had the option of learning another language so most people in my city are fluent in at least 3-4 languages.
jennyann726@reddit
I graduated in 2000. We had to take a foreign language. Our school offered French, German, and Spanish.
whyamionthisplatform@reddit
we all took spanish in elementary school, but in middle/high school we could pick between a few other options. i took french and a little of it stuck even years later!
SurpriseEcstatic1761@reddit
In high school we had a choice of Russian, French, Spanish, Greek or Latin. 3 semesters of any one of your choice. I took Spanish, barely learned any. It's not my teacher's fault. I was quite resistant to education.
20frvrz@reddit
At my school we had to take at least 2 years of a foreign language, and our only options were French or Spanish. I took 4 years of Spanish. My teacher told us regularly that she wasn't trying to make this hard, that we could get out of it what we wanted to. If we just wanted to pass and not remember anything, we could. If we wanted to learn, we had to put in effort. I know almost zero Spanish to this day.
whip_lash_2@reddit
I had two years of mandatory foreign language in high school, choice of Spanish, French, or Latin. I took four years of Spanish including AP (college credit) Spanish. Two more years of credits were mandatory in college for my degree, with the AP high school credit getting me out of the first year and into the second.
D3moknight@reddit
Yes, at least at my highschool you are required to take at least two years of foreign language of your choice. The two most common are usually Spanish or Latin when I was in school.
Crayshack@reddit
It wasn't required, but my school offered Spanish, French, German, and Latin. I took German.
Far_Silver@reddit
It wasn't required for graduation, but most colleges/universities required it for admission, and most students took a foreign language. I don't know if it has changed since I was a student.
SBingo@reddit
Yes. I attended private school. We were required to take two years of high school credit foreign language, but they encouraged us to take at least three. In my K-12 education (5-18 years old), there was only one year where I did not take at least one foreign language (second grade). I took Spanish for six years when I was younger. I took Latin for four years and French for six years to finish out high school.
thebwags1@reddit
My highschool had passing a Spanish proficiency exam as a graduation requirement
sgtm7@reddit
I remember French, Spanish, and some other language I don't remember. I took French. In hindsight, I should have taken Spanish. Very few chances to use French, but I have actually dated women that only spoke Spanish.
ImprovementLong7141@reddit
Yes. It depends heavily on school district though. When I was in elementary school and prepping to take electives in middle school, I got the options of German, Latin, and Mandarin. Then I moved across the state to a town with roughly the same population and we didn’t do second language until high school, where the options were Spanish, Spanish, and More Spanish.
Head_Spite62@reddit
Yes. In my school system you needed two semesters of a foreign language to graduate. Our requirements were based on the requirements to get into our state university system.
I went to a large school so we had a variety of languages: Spanish, French, German, Russian, Latin, Italian, and American Sign Language. We also had Swahili for a while, but only level one, so you still had to take two years of something else.
Ok_Remote_1036@reddit
Yes, we offer Spanish and Mandarin beginning in middle school and through high school.
I wish foreign language instruction began in elementary school. Middle school students are self-conscious in general which makes it harder for some to try speaking in a new language.
Foreign-Marzipan6216@reddit
Yes, we had a choice of French, Spanish, German or Latin
Hij802@reddit
English was required every year from Kindergarten to 12th grade.
We were taught minimal Spanish throughout elementary school.
In middle school, at least in my school, we had to choose two languages in 6th grade, either Spanish, French, or Italian. Then we chose one of those two for 7th and 8th.
In high school, they added Latin as a 4th language choice. But you were only required to take 2 years of foreign language (although they offered classes for all 4 years).
As to the effectiveness of this, I personally cannot think of anyone I know who genuinely learned a second language semi-fluently by the time we graduated high school. Second language learning should begin early and be taken seriously. I think our school district had a single Spanish teacher for all of the elementary schools, so I only saw her like once a month. At least do it once a week. It shouldn’t have taken 5 years to learn colors, numbers, days of the week, and basic greetings.
PersonalitySmall593@reddit
Depends. It was a choice but not a requirement in my school.
Oomlotte99@reddit
Yes. Staring in middle school we began Spanish, French, German, or Japanese. In high school we could also choose from Latin as a language elective. I took Spanish and then Latin…. Idk why I took Latin, lol.
Parking_Champion_740@reddit
I can’t speak for every state or school system but in my area yes, it’s required for 2 years. We have Spanish, French, Chinese and Latin offered at my local school
iAmAmbr@reddit
It depended om the curriculum you decided to go for. Basic - no.. Advanced - yes.
qu33nof5pad35@reddit
Yes, my HS only had Spanish.
YoshiandAims@reddit
Yes. It varies regionally, state, county, and school
We were a small rural school so we had very basic French or Spanish.
My cousin in a smaller city school had a choice of French, Spanish, Latin, and I think German.
Another went to a private school in a major city and had a whole catalog, and options for a more intensive language instruction.
Difficult_Chef_3652@reddit
In California it depends (or it did when I was in school) on whether you're on the college track. Colleges and universities require a few years of a foreign language. Don't remember seeing anyone who wasn't college track in those classes. The usual choices were French or Spanish, though some schools also had German.
Escape_Force@reddit
2 years of Spanish were required. The teacher was a native speaker and tried her best, but with all the rowdy students, I probably could have come away with a better understanding with 8 weeks of light self-study.
Efficient_Wheel_6333@reddit
It depends on the school and school system. I went through Catholic schooling through 12th grade (18 years of age). Most schools where I live do Spanish through 8th grade (age 14)-I only had Spanish through 7th grade because the teacher who taught Spanish moved to the high school to teach an entirely different subject (she was also our Choir teacher and musical director) and the school elected to hire someone to teach music at the time. Once I got to high school, taking a foreign language was recommended, but not required-I have at least 1 friend who got through high school without taking either foreign language offered, which was French and Spanish. Get to college/university and I had to take 2 semesters of a foreign language.
lydiar34@reddit
My (5.3k student, suburban)had the choice of Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Latin, Chinese, Hebrew, and ASL. They added Arabic (and I think something else) within the last few years since I graduated. At least 3 years of foreign language was required for certain diploma tracks, but not the basic one. We also had Spanish, German, and French as options in middle school (6-8th grade, age 11-13/14). I had Spanish for a few years of elementary school (kindergarten-5th grade, age 5-10/11) but that was replaced with computer classes
Elegant_Bluebird_460@reddit
There is no federal standard curriculum. A basic set of requirements is determined by each state, and then further refined by individual school districts.
In Massachusetts where I grew up we were required to do two years of the same foreign language. Offerings were Spanish, French, and Latin.
aWesterner014@reddit
Not required, but strongly encouraged to take 2-3 years if we wanted to pursue a college degree.
Trick_Photograph9758@reddit
It depends on the high school. If you're in a wealthier area, high schools are more likely to offer languages. Spanish and French are the most common by far. If you're going to a rich private school, you may even get latin.
Miserable_Smoke@reddit
The colleges in my state require you to have taken a language for admission, so yeah, all high schools are required to teach foreign languages.
Otherwise-Badger@reddit
It isn't mandatory unless you are planning on going to a university. Personally, I think we should all learn a second language.
GrandTheftBae@reddit
Depends on the school district. High school graduation requirement for LAUSD is 2 years of a foreign language or test out of it
emueller5251@reddit
When I went to school it was standard, but you could skip it by taking other electives. I flunked out of French and took auto shop instead.
Valuable_Tomorrow882@reddit
Yes, but I think we were unusual. My school required French from 4th grade through 8th grade. Starting in High School you could choose from French, Spanish, German and Latin. We weren’t that far from the U.S. border with Quebec & French was considered the most practical language for everyone to have some knowledge of.
therese_rn@reddit
Yes, our options were spanish, french, and japanese
Danibear285@reddit
Hell no. Got through just fine knowing nothing other than English
Roboticpoultry@reddit
It was. I don’t remember any of it
wapera@reddit
Growing up in the states at least in my town/state foreign languages were available but it wasn’t required. Doing a language was purely an elective class and I personally preferred doing something more fun like theatre/arts courses for my electives. The languages offered were spainish, German, and French. ASL also!
We also had TRASH language teachers. My family hosted an exchange student and she took French and told me that the teacher was always saying wrong things. My brother got in a fight with his spanish teacher because he corrected him. The teacher asked my parents to come in to have a conversation about my brothers behavior only to also be corrected by my parents who are native speakers…
AccreditedMaven@reddit
Yes and it has been since the 1960’s based on my personal experience .
Flashy_Watercress398@reddit
My two youngest had a year of Spanish in elementary, which was a new/nice thing that got fubared by Covid.
A college preparatory diploma in Georgia, USA requires at least two years of foreign language. I don't think the vocational prep diploma has that requirement, but I could be wrong.
bellegroves@reddit
Yes, but only one year of a foreign language was required when I was in high school. Even so, a year of beginner German gave me enough German to get by in Germany and Austria, and even to get the gist of a Flemish conversation in Belgium. More should be required, but any is better than none.
Space-Robot@reddit
Well Spanish was but I was in Miami so it wasn't foreign
tabidots@reddit
Yes. In my school district we had the choice of Spanish, German, and Japanese. Spanish and German may have been available in middle school too; I can't remember, because I took Japanese. But only Japanese went up to "Japanese 6," so if you wanted to go all the way, you had to start from 7th grade.
They briefly tried to introduce Spanish (non-elective) at our elementary school as well, from the time I was in 3rd grade. I can't remember how long the sessions were, maybe a half hour? It didn't last more than a couple years though.
webbess1@reddit
We had the choice of French, Spanish, or Italian.
DizzyLead@reddit
Yes. The selection seems to vary by school/district/location. In my time my high school offered Spanish, French, and oddly enough, Latin. Most of us chose Spanish as we lived in Los Angeles and therefore had to deal with the language a lot; I would hazard a guess that French might be more popular in the Northeastern US.
TheOnlyJimEver@reddit
I have been out of school for some time, but, yes, it was. Beginning in middle school, we were required to take either French or Spanish. I went to a small school, so those were the only two options, but larger schools had more.
washtucna@reddit
I was taught some french in elementary school. I believe that was a requirement of my private school, but in public high school, I was not required to take a second language, but it is required for most colleges. So most students in my highschool took the required 2 years of a foreign language.
chihuahua2023@reddit
We had the usual choice of French Spanish German, my son’s school also offer Mandarin and Latin, my friend’s kid’s school offered Russian and Cantonese and Italian
iftair@reddit
In NYC, it depends on the school. I studied French for 2 years in middle school (only Honors and Regent students - creme de la creme academically can take French), took the regents for it, aced it, then got placed into French in high school (the alternative language is Spanish). My middle sis' high school offered Mandarin.
allyache@reddit
I would say that, even though we do, it’s not as stringent as other countries. I took a mini language class one year in middle school where we had an intro to French, Spanish and I think Russian. In high school 2 years of a foreign language were required. The 1st school I went to offered Spanish, French, Latin, Russian, American Sign Language, and German. The second school (moved to different state) had Spanish, French Latin and maybe German. A lot of people (esp those who want to pursue law or medicine) studied Latin.
I feel like the offered language is almost always Spanish and French is common. It’s not a course that makes you fluent by any means though, even in college (1 semester requirement at my school) I feel like I really just learned terms, not how to be conversational if that makes sense.
DenverZeppo@reddit
It was not a requirement to graduate high school for me, but Spanish, German, and French were offered.
Time_Neat_4732@reddit
There was no option for me to study a language other than English until I was in high school. My options at that point were Spanish, German, French, and Japanese. I’ve heard Japanese is quite a rare option! I chose Spanish. All students were required to take at least one or two years of a foreign language. I took Spanish all four years.
Head-Impress1818@reddit
Yes! In my state (Virginia) is mandatory to take 2 years of a chosen language in order to be allowed to graduate. I chose Spanish and it’s helped me a lot in my chosen career path.
Jealous-Enthusiasm-9@reddit
In Ontario, Canada, in regular schools, we learned French from grade 4 (about age 10) -9 (age 15). After that, it's optional. It was maybe 2 hrs a week, then in grade 9, maybe 5 hrs.
We do have extended French - half the day is French, the other half is English. Also, French immersion where it's all French, and then you learn English like they do in the regular English school. Going by my experiences and kids, friends, etc. none of it works well unless the parents speak French or the student really wants to learn.
Some high schools do offer other languages.
We also have Saturday school where, for example, Greek families can send the kids to learn Greek reading and writing. That offers at least 50 different languages, including ASL.
There are about 200 different languages spoken in Toronto, so unfortunately, it doesn't cover them all , just the most common.
Tommy_Wisseau_burner@reddit
Yes. French, german, Spanish and Italian are all but universal. Then other languages are offered depending on the school
AgathaM@reddit
I don’t know if it is required for graduation but it is required for admission to college. If you don’t take two years of the same language in high school, you have to take it in college.
anonymouse278@reddit
Yes. Virtually every high school offers Spanish, most also offer French, some offer German. A few offer things like American Sign Language, Latin, or Mandarin but that is not nearly as common. Most colleges require at you to have taken at least two years of a foreign language for admission (ASL usually counts).
Spanish is overwhelmingly the most common choice though, with French a distant second.
KR1735@reddit
There's no national curriculum. The individual states set the standards and the localities (school districts) manage the details.
Foreign languages were not a requirement when I was in high school in the 2000s. But most people did register for one because the alternative would be something else, and foreign language classes are a welcome change from book topics like history, chemistry, and literature.
My school had French, German, Spanish, and Ojibwe (Native American language). I took French. My sister worked in the local schools from 2015-2019 (about 10 years after I attended). She told me that they had tried introducing Mandarin Chinese, but too many kids struggled with it. So now they offer it as an online course and kids go to the computer room or the library during that hour. Apparently there are other classes like that, too, that have too small a demand to hire a teacher. So now the computer room has a dedicated staff member to supervise and make sure they're getting their work done and not goofing off.
Palaeonerd@reddit
We have Mandarin and Spanish. French was removed this year. It’s not required for graduation but a couple big in state universities require two years of the same language.
dragonfayng@reddit
we only had Spanish available when i grew up in southern Nevada
lefactorybebe@reddit
Yes, in the school I work in now and the school I went to you had to take four years of a language in middle school and high school (middle school was one, the other three in high school).
The language options will vary by district. In middle school you took a trimester of each for a year, then chose between German, Spanish, or French. In high school you could choose from Spanish, German, French, mandarin, Italian, or Latin. I took German in middle school, Latin and Spanish in high school. I did extra though, three years of Latin and one year of Spanish.
Ok_Buy_9703@reddit
Yes I took Spanish for 3 years.
Corryinthehouz@reddit
We all learn English through high school, but we also have the option to choose a second language to learn by around grade 9. Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, ASL (American Sign Language), and others are all options based on what the school offers.
I chose Spanish (popular among non-Hispanic students due to our large Spanish speaking population) and spent 3 years learning it
Western_Nebula9624@reddit
My daughter's school requires two years from this list: foreign language, music, art, business, family and consumer science, industrial tech. They offer Spanish, French and Latin, but I think Spanish is by far the most popular. Kids who are in 5th grade this year will be required by the state to pass 2 years of foreign language when they start high school.
eyeroll611@reddit
In Colorado, one year of a foreign language is required for graduation.
Pburnett_795@reddit
Yes. Was required for both my High School diploma and for my University Degree.
TheLurkingMenace@reddit
In American high schools, they typically offer Spanish, French, and German. I wanted to learn German since it was the only one culturally relevant to me. Nobody else in school wanted to speak German, so instead I got yelled at in Spanish by a Cuban immigrant.
FlyByPC@reddit
Yep. Three years of one language, or two of two.
I took four years of French, and then picked up Spanish in college.
CrimsonRaven712@reddit
For my school two years was required. We had the option of French or Spanish. They offered up to 5 years of at least French, I took that 7-11th grade. It may have also been available for Spanish but I'm not sure.
The class was also available to be taken for college credit. We took the class same class as everyone else in high school, but if we paid an extra fee to the local community school that class earned us college credit.
honorspren000@reddit
We had French, Spanish and Latin in high school (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grade)
Middle school we had “FLEX” which we touched upon a bunch of different languages.
mvuanzuri@reddit
Yes; we had mandatory Spanish until the 7th grade (12 years old), at which point we could choose between Spanish, French, and Latin.
Blue387@reddit
Yes. In my school, we had the option of French, Spanish and Italian. I chose Spanish and it was one of the more popular choices. In recent years, I believe they have added Mandarin Chinese.
machuitzil@reddit
I've got a friend, who's white, who is from SF and just happened to attend a Chinese primary school because he lived nearby. He's fluent in Mandarin, it's bananas.
I took German in highschool, which seemed useless until I got to college and studied Spanish. Having had that primer in how to learn a language was a great benefit.
ImportantSir2131@reddit
Started with French in 4th grade, so age 9. In high school there was a choice of continuing French, or taking German, Spanish, or Russian.
IntroductionFew1290@reddit
Yes. My school had French, Spanish, Portuguese or Latin. (1998 grad) my sons took Spanish and Latin, German is also offered. Depends on the school in our county which languages are offered but you are required in most places to take 2 years of a language—3 is recommended
DrunkCommunist619@reddit
It's typically not mandatory, but some languages are offered as optional classes.
dirty_corks@reddit
Yes. Spanish, French, German, or Latin, starting in 8th grade. I took 4 years of Spanish in 3 (skipping the third year is common), then jumped into second year French and finished with fourth year French. In fact, my written French final (there was a spoken portion done several days before the written) was the last exam I sat in high school.
comrade_zerox@reddit
I have long since graduated, but I took Spanish all 4 years of high school (honors in my final year). While I'm not fluent, I'm certainly proficient and use it regularly.
Most schools require 2 years of a foreign language, and many people drop it after that requirement is met.
Spanish is the most common second language in the US, French is also a popular choice in schools. Aside from that you might see German, Mandarin, or Latin (especially if it's a catholic school) as options, depending on region.
ASL (American sign language) is an increasingly popular choice that can count as your foreign language credit in some schools.
JeremyAndrewErwin@reddit
yes, but they don't teach them well.
macoafi@reddit
Yes, I was required to take 3 years of a single language.
I had one of Spanish, which was very boring after already having 8 years of it and being dropped back into Spanish 1.
So then I took 3 years of Japanese.
They also offered French and Latin.
Whether it’s required or not varies from town to town.
notthelettuce@reddit
Yes. Our state curriculum said you needed to take 2 years of a foreign language in high school. My school only offered Spanish. I also took a Spanish class in college voluntarily. I can speak conversational Spanish but I don’t claim to be bilingual or anything.
Ozone220@reddit
I think at mine you technically only have to take one for 2 years, though I could be wrong it might be required for all 4. 4 years at least definitely more expected, and the choices are typically Spanish, French, maybe German, sometimes Latin, and at my pretty big high school also Japanese, Mandarin, Russian, and I've heard that you can take Arabic online
Key-Wallaby-9276@reddit
2 years of Spanish was required. It was the only option
maj--decoverley@reddit
From 'middle of nowehere' New Mexico: my high school offered Spanish, French, and German. I think there was another language, but I don't remember because it's been somewhere in the ballpark of two decades.
Fun fact: German was offered because the German Air Force had a presence nearby and we even had a Deutsche Schule (the largest outside of Germany!), and a yearly Oktoberfest on base.
JoePW6964@reddit
My High School required three years of foreign language. I like to say i failed Spanish 1 four times.
MrLongWalk@reddit
The particulars will vary with each district, but yes.
In my school system you could choose between Spanish, Latin, and French. After I graduated they added Mandarin.
Bushinkainidan@reddit
Public school in small rural town In the 60’s. We had mandatory French classes starting in 6th grade, through high school graduation.
Express_Barnacle_174@reddit
In middle school (12-14 years old) we had a choice of French or Spanish, at my high school (14-18) we had a rather large choice of Spanish, French, Japanese, German, and Latin.
I used more Spanish at my part time job in fast food when I was 16 than I did in 4 years of school Spanish (you had to take 2 years of some kind of foreign language to graduate high school in my state at the time).
wbrigdon@reddit
In my school we had Spanish, French, German, Chinese, and American Sign Language, though that last one is very rare in the US outside of education for deaf people
gyeran94@reddit
Just to add to the noise, I was required to take 2 years of Spanish. I took a third year because it converted to a college credit for me. We also offered German in my high school. My child is about to go to high school and he’s taking 2 years of Mandarin.
tous_die_yuyan@reddit
I went to a decently-funded school district in semi-rural New England with ~350 students per year.
In middle school, everyone took Spanish, French, or, if they were struggling, remedial English. IIRC there was no opting out.
In high school, we had Spanish, French, and German (in descending order of popularity). Foreign language courses were completely optional, but students were encouraged to take at least a couple years’ worth because it looks good on college applications. Very few people took them for all four years; my AP French class had around 10 people in it, and my AP German class had three.
theatregirl1987@reddit
Yes. In NY it is required for graduation unless you have an exemption due to a disability.
What language is offered depends on the area and the demand. My high school growing up offered Spanish and French. They used to have Latin but ended up with too small a class to justify paying a teacher so they got rid of it. They also had a pretty big Chinese program. I've also taught at schools that offered Hebrew. My dad took German in high school and will randomly use phrases.
The school I currently teach at only has Spanish. We are a pretty small school so we don't have the capacity to offer more than one language.
Hypnotiqua@reddit
Yes, we had to take at least 1 year, but it's kind of a joke how poorly they're taught. Mostly because you will almost never have a native speaker as the teacher. We had options between Spanish, German, French and Latin. I took 4.5 years of Spanish (2.5 of which were in honors Spanish), and I'm still barely conversational.
Dramatic-Blueberry98@reddit
It’s a requirement at both High Schools (we had German, Spanish, French, and Latin at mine when I went to it) and Colleges in my state (though I tested out of the required German courses to get my bachelors faster in college).
Though the Middle School (Junior High) I went to had Spanish and required it to be able to graduate in fact (not that I’ve really had to use what I learned then all that much).
Callaine@reddit
My high school offered Spanish, German and French. I took German.
GrayMareCabal@reddit
It probably varies by state, and it's been a while since I've been in school, but I'm pretty sure my state required two years of foreign language in high school to graduate - my school offered Spanish, French and Latin at the high school level.
But also I was in a jurisdiction where advanced students could start learning foreign languages in 7th grade (two years before high school). I went all in on Spanish and pursued an undergraduate degree in Spanish and graduate degree in Latin American Studies that required proficiency in Spanish (and also taught me Portuguese). I am not fluent, but I'm proficient and have used Spanish in multiple jobs, including ones that had me traveling to various parts of Latin America. I still always say that I'm out of practice though, because at this point it takes me a couple of minutes to get back rhythm of the language...
notthegoatseguy@reddit
Indiana does not require a foreign language as part of the "core 40" high school diploma.
It is required to graduate with Honors though
AffectionateJury3723@reddit
Yes. I took French and Spanish.
DegenerateCrocodile@reddit
My high school didn’t require a foreign language to graduate, but the local university required 2 years to in order to apply, so my high school offered Spanish and French. Some others offered German, albeit rarely.
I cannot speak Spanish after 2.5 years of classes.
you_know_who_7199@reddit
I ended up with 3 years of French and 2 years of Latin (?!)
Jojowiththeyoyo@reddit
We were required to take Spanish or French. Unless you were in band.
Cruitire@reddit
Don’t know what it is like now, but when I was in high school in the 80s it was optional, sort of.
My state had two different kinds of high school diplomas. Not sure if they still do this but at the time they did.
A regular diploma, and a Regents diploma.
The regents diploma was more rigorous and was intended for students intending to go to college. It involved taking specific classes beyond what the regular diploma required and taking special exams.
One of the requirements was taking four years of a foreign language. I took French.
In college it was a requirement to take at least two full years of a foreign language. But I was minoring in linguistics so I actually took four different languages over the course of my undergraduate and graduate studies. Italian, Mandarin, Japanese and Irish.
I never developed any real degree of fluency in them, although I’ve used my mandarin in China and actually got by well enough with it. It was more for studying the structure and phonology of different language families. But while I’m not going to be reading any in depth treatises in any of them, I am occasionally surprised that I can still understand a fair bit of all of them.
OceanPoet87@reddit
Yes. Most schools teach Spanish but you can choose to do French or another language if available. Some schools may teach American Sign Language (ASL). Some others may do Japanese or some other language. Basically the only language that is guaranteed is Spanish but many schools have a second option.
HidingInTrees2245@reddit
Yes. I took two years of French, got an A in both, and barely remember any of it. The problem here in the US is a lot of us don't get that much chance to actually use a foreign language enough to become fluent, or even to retain it. I did travel to Europe, but we only spent one day passing through France. It was the only time I ever had an actual chance to use what I learned.
Limp-Anteater-7364@reddit
My sons’ high school offers French, German, Latin, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, and American Sign Language
Odd-Help-4293@reddit
When I was in high school, we were expected to take at least two years of a foreign language. You had a choice of Spanish, French, or maybe one or two others depending on the school.
palibe_mbudzi@reddit
Yes, I think my school district required two years, encouraged 3, and offered 4. There were the typical Spanish and French foreign language classes, and then native Spanish and Hmong speakers had the choice to take Spanish/Hmong literacy classes to fulfill the requirement.
I took 4 years of Spanish and was so annoyed that I couldn't speak it I decided to take Spanish at university until I could speak it and ended up majoring in it.
TokyoDrifblim@reddit
Yes, we were required to take at least 2 years of a foreign language but were recommended to do three. We had Spanish French and German offered and I did French
TopperMadeline@reddit
We were required two years of a foreign language in my HS. After that, it was by choice if you wanted to continue with the classes.
Cat_herder_81@reddit
I was in high school 20 years ago.
Back then, in my state, you only had to take a foreign language if you were on the college prep course. (We had 2 courses paths; college & tech. The former prepared you for college & university; the latter for vocational school and blue collar jobs.)
The high school I started in offered Spanish, German, and French. The one I finished in only offered Spanish.
When my nieces graduated a couple of years ago, they weren't required to take a foreign language class at all.
crazycatlady331@reddit
My nieces are in MA. They do some type of Spanish in elementary school there because at Christmas one year they were referring to milk as 'leche'. I'm not sure the extensivity of the program.
My oldest niece starts 7th grade in the fall. I'll ask her what language she's taking when I see her.
Gini555@reddit
It was offered when I went to school (70's & 80's) but not required. The small school I attended only offered Spanish as a choice.
Years later when my son was in school, he had a choice of Spanish, Russian, German, French, and Japanese. Choosing one was required. (He picked Japanese)
SnowblindAlbino@reddit
In the US education policy is managed at the state level, with implementation at the local level ("school districts"). There are just over 16,000 school districts in the US today, and every one of them is different to some degree. That said, there are also many common factors that are evident almost everywhere. Some school districts do indeed require second language instruction, while others do not. In my experience, as a college professor, it's most common for students who are seen as "college bound" to take 2-4 years of a language in high school, while those who are steered toward the trades or military might not take any at all. Some schools require everyone to take a minimal amount of a second language to graduate, while others (mostly poorly-resourced schools) might not offer any non-English instruction at all.
In my high school anyone who was on the "college track" would take two years of language-- which was all that was offered, Spanish or French. Where I live now students have access to four full years of instruction, and in more languages (including Chinese), but it is not required at all to graduate.
Key_Figure9004@reddit
In my hometown, we could choose between Spanish, French, or German (the cool kids took German, the Hispanic kids took Spanish, and I took French).
The district I now live in, not too far from where I was raised, only offers German and Spanish. But next year they are getting rid of German and adding French. Locals seem upset about having to pay for a French teacher, even tho they’re losing the German teacher? It’s kind of a bad school district in this area.
FruitSnackEater@reddit
Yes, we had to take 4 years of a foreign language. They had Spanish, French, Latin, German, Mandarin, and Japanese.
ExtremeIndividual707@reddit
Yep. Texas, here. Usually Spanish, French, or German are offered, but in lots of places it's just Spanish or French, or just Spanish.
NinjaBilly55@reddit
2 semesters total of Spanish or French from grades 9-12 is all you needed..
Fun-Yellow-6576@reddit
It depends on the school. Not all schools require it and most public schools don’t even offer it
manicpixidreamgirl04@reddit
In my state, kids need to either take 2 years of foreign language before high school and one year in high school, or two years before high school and pass a proficiency test. Schools can choose to require more than that. We have a lot of bilingual elementary schools where classes are taught in another language for half the day. It's also possible for students with disabilities to get an exemption. The most common foreign language is Spanish.
FunProfessional570@reddit
Yes, usually 2 years and if you’re in a college track they encourage more. It kind of depends on the region/how big your school is/resources as to what languages are offered.
Most offer Spanish and French. Then probably German.
I live in Midwest now and my kids had option of Spanish or French and they added Japanese as we had a huge Mitsubishi plant in our town so Japanese was an option for a while. Now Rivian has taken over the plant since Mitsubishi left.
I don’t know what languages are on offer as my kids are grown now.
liziguana@reddit
We could choose French, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, ASL, maybe another? Required to take at least two years
Due-Introduction-760@reddit
32 years old. It was mandatory. We had French, German, and Spanish. I was a fucking idiot and enrolled in German instead of Spanish. Forgot everything I learned. When the fuck would I ever use German?
Shot_Construction455@reddit
Yes, 2 years were required to graduate
Jdawn82@reddit
When I was in high school 20-something years ago, we were required to have at least one foreign language credit. I got 2 credits in French.
GobelineQueen@reddit
Yes. Common HS language options where I live, depending on the school, might include Spanish, French, Latin, Mandarin, Japanese, Arabic, and sometimes American Sign Language.
Lovebeingadad54321@reddit
Not required, but elective, and most of the college bound kids took a foreign language.
This is my recollection from the 80’s anyway. We had French and Latin, and I took German, but that was phased out when I graduated as the German teacher retired and they had a new Spanish teacher.
Girl_with_no_Swag@reddit
My experience in Louisiana:
K-5 grade: I had French for 4th & 5th grade, but it was only once a week for about 35 minutes. So essentially it was useless.
6-8 grade: we could choose between French, Spanish, & German, but had to take a foreign language all 3 years.
9-12 grade: we had to take a foreign language for 2 years. We could choose between French or German.
My kids in California: there are some schools designed to be dual language schools, but my kids did not go to those.
In our district there are no foreign language classes offered for k-8 grades. There are some after school extracurricular programs offering language classes on campus after school, but parents have to sign up and pay for them.
In 9-12 grade, 2 years are required, but students that choose to take 4 years and do well can graduate with the State Seal of Biliteracy. My son did this. He took Spanish for 4 years in high school and earned this recognition. His end results after 4 years in Spanish was far far above my results after 7 years of French. He can carry a conversation with a Spanish speaker with no trouble.
His high school offers 4 years of each of the following: French, Mandarin, Korean, Spanish, as well as Spanish for Spanish Speakers.
SirTheRealist@reddit
I would say most do. The High school I went to taught French, Spanish, Italian and I think the other one was German, I’m not sure. I took French for 2 years and failed miserably because I didn’t even try. So they but in Spanish because you needed at least 2 language credits to graduate and I barely passed it.
Hikinghawk@reddit
My school called it "Modern Language" (even though Latin was an option), most kids did French, Spanish, or Mandarin Chinese. Required from middle school to high school.
GOTaSMALL1@reddit
"Puedo ir al bano por favor?"
Yep... 4 years of High School spanish right there.
UraniumRocker@reddit
It was mandatory to have at least two years of language classes to graduate high school. The only ones offered were spanish, and french though.
theniwokesoftly@reddit
We had to take either Spanish or French in eighth grade, which is age 13-14, the year before high school. For most everyone it was their first time studying a foreign language and that’s really late for that. In high school we could continue the one we’d started the year before or switch to German or Latin. I chose to take French for five years, I earned an IB Certificate, but still speak French only moderately.
TK1129@reddit
Graduated high school in 2002. We had to pick either Spanish, French or Latin in 8th grade and take it to 11th grade. I went with Latin and took the AP exam (Advanced placement offered by the College Board for credit). The test gave me more than a semesters worth of college credits while in high school. My younger brother is 10 years younger than me and graduated from the same high school but the Latin teacher had retired by then so his choices were Spanish, French or Italian.
RealAlePint@reddit
You’re not required to, but most students aiming for university definitely do.
frank-sarno@reddit
Yes. Two years of foreign language was required. I ended up with three years of Latin.
jezreelite@reddit
Yes. My school had Spanish, French, German, Russian, and Latin. I took Latin.
About all of it I remember, though, is "Caecilius est in horto."
ExpressionCivil2729@reddit
I took German in middle school and the first part of high school, and I took Latin for the last three years because my school offered it. Foreign language study was a graduation requirement where I was in California.
One-Warthog3063@reddit
To graduate from HS in the US, I don't believe that it is a requirement to take a foreign language, or at least not universally required.
If a US HS student wishes to get into a college or university, they're expected to to qualify for college or university admission at most of them.
AwesomeOrca@reddit
Requirements vary by state and school district. In IL, where I went to high school, two years of foreign language is required to graduate.
My district also required a third and fourth year if you didn't take take double English your junior and senior years.
languagelover17@reddit
It isn’t required in every school, no. All 3 high schools I’ve worked at in my state haven’t required it. I think in Wisconsin it’s an elective.
JanaKaySTL@reddit
Yes. I actually took a year of French in 6th grade, then switched to Spanish, all through middle school, high school, college. (Illinois and Iowa)
kilroy-was-here-2543@reddit
Yes, I’m high school you had to take two credits of a foreign language or ASL. I chose ASL
lsp2005@reddit
Yes. For my kids it is: Spanish, French, Italian, Latin, American Sign Language. When I was a child it was: Spanish, French, or Italian.
GoodbyeForeverDavid@reddit
We had Spanish, French, German, and Latin. Mostly just in high school. I took German and was awful at it. I was never so happy to be done with a class in my life.
Strong_Arm8734@reddit
It is for my state. It's a minimum of 2 years requirement.
zgillet@reddit
It's mandatory, and nobody actually learns anything.
animepuppyluvr@reddit
At my schools in California it was mandatory in middle school, mandatory for 2 years in high school (I took 4 years) and one of the language options at the community College i went to. We usually had Spanish, French, and German but the year I left middle school I heard they started offering italian. College had more options. Most of the Spanish classes were half white kids (and half Mexican kids thinking they'd get an easy A lol). I took spanish and know very minimal and random bits of rules, and each teacher taught a different version of Spanish (Mexico, Spain, etc.) so lots of it blends together and I get mixed up if I try to speak it. I've had teachers tell me that "v" sometimes makes a "b" sound but others tell me that's wrong all at the same school! Just awful education in foreign languages lol
MarkNutt25@reddit
Yep. IIRC, we were required to take 2 years of a foreign language. We had a choice of Spanish, French, or German.
I picked Spanish, because it seemed the most likely to be useful in my life. But from the moment I finished my second year of Spanish until now, I have basically never spoken a word of Spanish. So now I've forgotten almost all of it.
But, hey, if I'm ever in Mexico, I can ask "dónde está el baño" like a total pro! Not that it'll do me any good, of course, since I won't be able to understand their answer...
HereForTheBoos1013@reddit
Yup.
Most common language to take is Spanish, though French becomes way more common in New England as you get toward Quebec.
TNTmom4@reddit
In SoCal. Spanish is usually taught. My daughter did Spanish and Mandarin. Started studying Korean in the third grade.
coopasonic@reddit
Spanish in High School, German and ASL in college. Never used any of them and remember just enough Spanish to embarrass myself plus a couple German minor swear words.
ComprehensiveHome928@reddit
Yes. I took French all four years (plus two in middle school) and one semester of Latin.
Top-Comfortable-4789@reddit
Yeah, I had to take 2 levels of language classes. I also had multiple years of Spanish in elementary school. In middle school language was not a requirement though.
In my high school Spanish, Chinese, and French were offered.
InterviewLeast882@reddit
It’s pretty typical. Many people take Spanish but it doesn’t usually stick.
Balticjubi@reddit
In high school we could take French, Spanish, or Latin. I started with French and after my first year the teacher retired 🫠 I switched and did 2 years of Latin. This was all after a HUGE argument with the guidance counselor because I was not that great at math. (I ended up being fine with math I just had like 2 shitty teachers in a row) She thought I had to take Spanish because I wasn’t good at math so therefore I wasn’t going to be capable of learning any other language. Ended up getting Cum Laude on the National Latin Exam. It was just me and one other person who did that well in our school. 🤷🏻♀️
Combined with Uni I’ve had 3 years of French and 3 of Latin. I can read a French menu and can recite the first verse of the Aeneid in Latin is all that’s left 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
TheLastLibrarian1@reddit
I took French in middle school and Latin in high school but French and Spanish were also options. Middle school in my current town offers French Spanish and German. I know the high school offers French, Spanish, German, American Sign Language (ASL), and Mandarin, possibly additional languages as well.
DameKitty@reddit
When i was 6 I attended a school that started teaching Spanish to us. We moved, I changed schools, they didn't offer a second language learning choice until grade 9. I went to private school for half a year when I was in grade 6, we were learning Latin and Greek as part of the curriculum.
Went back to public school for grade 7 -12, chose Spanish for my second language.
So AFAIK, most Americans take a second language for a few years in school. How many years and when it starts depends on the school.
Delicious-Ad5856@reddit
My district offered Spanish, French, and German. In sixth grade, we took a semester of each. In seventh grade, we chose which one we wanted to take. I took Spanish. The college I went to offered way more, including non Indo European languages. I took two more semesters of Spanish there.
ArcadiaNoakes@reddit
It was required. 2 years at the minimum. The choices were Latin, Spanish, French, or German
mst3k_42@reddit
In my high school it was optional. We had Spanish and German. My undergrad and grad schools both required at least 4 semesters worth of a foreign language, or you could take a proficiency test instead. I ended up taking 4 years of Spanish in high school and 3 and a half years in undergrad. It was one of my minors.
The_Ninja_Manatee@reddit
I took two years of high school French, and the only thing I remember is that bibliothèque means library.
jrhawk42@reddit
It's going to vary on being a requirement for schools by state/district. My school had a requirement for 2 years foreign language study, but you could get out of it by taking choir for 2 years instead.
CommitteeofMountains@reddit
You heard it here first, folks. Those damn Hibernianists should go back to Southie, where they came from. Bunch of colonizers.
Any-Concentrate-1922@reddit
I took French starting in 8th grade (the first year it was offered) and through the end of HS, so 5 years. Then I took an additional year in college. I can't really speak French due to lack of practice/natural opportunities to speak it. And I was never very good at it.
Ohhingerrr@reddit
For me it was not a requirement to graduate high school, but it was a requirement to attend a university. My school ONLY offered Spanish. So I took 2 years of ASL at a community college when doing pre reqs
The_Ri_Ri@reddit
We had Spanish and French options in school. My kids started taking Spanish in their 3 year old pre-school program and have had Spanish since. In 9th grade they will have the option to take Spanish, French, German, or Latin.
Silly-Resist8306@reddit
Our school offers German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Latin. It’s not required for graduation, but most students take at least two years of one language. (Ohio).
AtheneSchmidt@reddit
It wasn't required in high school but it was offered, and most colleges required that you have foreign language credits in high school, or that you take at least one year of one in college.
In my area, French and Spanish were offered at every high school, and an additional language was also offered. At my school it was German, but nearby schools offered Japanese, Latin, and Mandarin.
I took 2 years of Spanish, and probably couldn't reliably ask someone where the restrooms are in it.
Aromatic_Bridge4601@reddit
Donde esta la biblioteca?
Tia_is_Short@reddit
My high school required 2 semesters of a language, but one of the options wasn’t foreign: Spanish, French, and ASL. I personally did ASL
TheGabyDali@reddit
Yes. We had to take at least two years of the same language.
SomethingClever70@reddit
Two years of a foreign language (my kids’ school offers several) is currently a graduation requirement from California high school. And back in the 80s, two years were required for eligibility for University of California applicants.
Puzzled-Register-495@reddit
Yes, though how much depends on the school. I took Spanish K-4, then the school I was at added it for 6-8 when I was in 8th grade. I do not speak Spanish but understand some and can read a bit.
In high school, everyone was obligated to take three years of one language, but you could opt for four. Our choices were Spanish, French, Latin, or Latin and Greek. They have since added Mandarin as well. Those were pretty common language options where I lived, some schools also offered German, Japanese, or Italian, but I think there's less of that now.
Shoddy-Secretary-712@reddit
Yes. We had to do two years of the same language. We could start in middle school. I did Spanish in 8th and 9th grade.
We had a lot of choices of what types of classes we could take in high school, beyond the core classes, so I also took two years of Latin.
I_need_to_know27@reddit
Yes. I took 4 years of French.
crazycatlady331@reddit
In 7th grade we started studying a foreign language. My school offered French or Spanish. I took Spanish through 11th grade.
I'm by no means fluent in Spanish but I understand enough and could have a very basic conversation (enough to point the person to someone who speaks better Spanish than me).
EatLard@reddit
My school district had Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, American Sign Language, and Latin. The latter three were only offered at one high school each and you had to travel across town for them.
sto_brohammed@reddit
Do keep in mind that education in the US is extremely decentralized. It's nominally the responsibility of the states but most states decentralize it even further.
When I was in school a couple of decades ago we weren't required to take any foreign languages but we had the option of French or Spanish. I took French.
h8mayo@reddit
We had the option of Spanish and French, German was taken out of the curriculum just a year or two before I started hs which was a missed opportunity. I would have liked to take German. Too lazy to start it now.
alwaysboopthesnoot@reddit
It was in one of my high schools in my day (I took Latin, the only language offered and only offered for 3 years, when the specially funded program ended), but not in all the public schools I attended. And they were offered in none of them, before grade 9.
My kids started foreign languages in preschool and continued with different ones all the way through grade 12.
Pretend-Response-247@reddit
yes but only 1 class where you barley learn anything
101bees@reddit
Spanish was required for a year in middle school and in high school a language was required for at least 2 years I believe. The choices were French, Spanish, German, and at one point Mandarin.
I got pretty good at French but the problem is I don't use it regularly in the US, so I forgot most of it.
Fluid_Anywhere_7015@reddit
We studied Spanish in elementary school for a year.
In my Jesuit High School, I chose to take four years of Latin. People always laugh at that, but that led me to double up on passing both Spanish and Italian, and led me to be able to read and write in French.
When I got to college, I decided to study Japanese in the late 80's and early 90's - just because no one else was interested in it at the time.
I don't think my experience is very common in America, though. And I think that's pretty damn unfortunate.
Live_Ad8778@reddit
During my HS time: Spanish, French (which I took), German, and ASL. I think my district was about to offer courses in Mandarin and Vietnamese
DryFoundation2323@reddit
It's not required but the vast majority of high schools offer one or more foreign languages. In my case I took two years of high school French. At my school, Spanish and German were also offered.
Gallahadion@reddit
Yes. At my high school, we had to take at least 2 years of French or Spanish, but I already had a few years of Spanish under my belt thanks to the school I attended before high school requiring either French or Spanish every year.
DOMSdeluise@reddit
yes but what languages are available is going to depend on school and district. In middle school I had the choice between French and Spanish, in high school I had those two plus German and Latin. I took French in middle school and German in high school. Then I ended up studying Russian in college lol.
Avery_Thorn@reddit
At my high school, it was required that I take at least a year of a foreign language. I took 5. Spanish.
I can barely speak Spanish now.
A mi colegio, nosotros necessitadad estudiar un lingua segunda para un anos. Yo tenenge estudiar espanol para quatro anos.
Mi espanol es muy mal.
Sledgehammer925@reddit
Yes. I was required to take Spanish in elementary school, Jr. high and high school. We weren’t offered a choice, probably because I grew up on the Mexican border.
dgmilo8085@reddit
Yes, at least in CA it was. I took Spanish. My son has taken it a step further and attends a dual immersion school, so his entire curriculum is taught in Spanish.
Queen_Aurelia@reddit
I studied Spanish for 6 years in school.
gavin2point0@reddit
My elementary school was entirely in Spanish K-6 then I had Spanish classes through high school. Which is by no means the norm but it's also not uncommon
-Random_Lurker-@reddit
It depends on the state. When I was in school, I had to take at least 2 years to graduate. HS classes are not very good though, so 2 years only gets you to A2 at best. Those that choose to go 4 years might be able to get to B1. What languages are available depends on what teachers the local school can find. In my school, I had the choice of French, German, Spanish, or Latin. That's an uncommonly large amount of choices for an American school, it's not uncommon for schools to only have two choices, and small schools may only have one. Japanese is a popular class in the few places that offer it.
Most Americans forget everything eventually because almost nobody speaks those languages in daily life.
HappyVermicelli1867@reddit
In the U.S., foreign language requirements vary by state, but most high schools require 1-2 years of a language, usually Spanish or French. It's not as strict as in Ireland, where learning Irish is part of the whole education. Some schools let students choose, while others make it mandatory for graduation.
zombiemiki@reddit
My school had French, German, Latin, and Spanish. I introduced Japanese while a student there and the school went through two teachers before they dropped it, well after I graduated.
Sassifrassically@reddit
Yeah, we could choose from German, Spanish, French, and Italian. we had to take two years of one of them (I did 4 of German and remember practically none of it… though I did a little Duolingo as a refresh). The year I graduated my German teacher retired and I don’t know if they replaced her. I heard at some point after my graduation they had Japanese.
Sapphire_Dreams1024@reddit
Yes, but sometimes the choices are dependant on what school you go to. My high school offered Spanish, French, Latin, Japanese, and Italian
GlobalTapeHead@reddit
Yes. French, German or Spanish were the options.
L_Is_Robin@reddit
Typically yes, though the languages your school has varies. Most common is Spanish and French. My school only had those two
Successful-Growth827@reddit
Yup. Our choices were Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, and Chinese. According to my sister, after I graduated high school, they added Japanese, Korean, and Polish as well.
ApatheistHeretic@reddit
In the mid 90s, you needed a year of foreign language to be in Honors. I took it anyway.
vamothgirl@reddit
Not required for high school itself, but the universities I wanted to apply to required two years of a foreign language in high school. I took three just in case
Littleboypurple@reddit
Depends on the School District but, for the most part, a Foreign Language is required for graduation. My high school required 2 years to count for it. It varies from school to school what is offered with Spanish and/or French being the most common. German and Italian can be seen as well. Personally, I took 3 years of Japanese in High School. I can still pronounce things decently but, fuck having an actual conversation or writing in Japanese. Been over a decade so I'm surprised I even remember that much
Pitiable-Crescendo@reddit
Yeah it was. At the time, they only offered French though, in my school
Icy-Whale-2253@reddit
I studied French in high school because I didn’t want to take Spanish (which I felt is always forced upon people).
At this stage in my life I’d consider myself semi-fluent in both.
boxorags@reddit
Yes, we got to choose between Spanish, Chinese, and Latin
EUGsk8rBoi42p@reddit
Spanish was mandatory, and I never really got it even after like 10 years of classes. Started French in college, and it actually made the Spanish stuff click a bit better for me. Makes a huge difference having a choice which language to go with, but also I watched French tv as a little kid, so I liked the noises, Spanish just didn't click the same.
EloquentRacer92@reddit
we only learn foreign languages in high school, im in middle school so idk the language options
i did see the required credits and you can replace the language with job training
hurtingheart4me@reddit
I did in high school - I took 4 years of Spanish, including AP, ended up majoring in Spanish for my Bachelors.
My kids all went to private school (K-12) so it’s not required by law, but they had to take Spanish every single year K-8, then 9-12 required at least 2 years of any foreign language - the choices were Spanish, French, Mandarin or Latin.
Funnily enough, even though I only started taking Spanish at age 14 I ended up being good enough by senior year to test into 300-level Spanish classes as a freshman in college.
My kids, who have taken Spanish since the age of 5, and hear it from me often, could literally care less and MIGHT test into Spanish 101, lol.
biddily@reddit
I had to take six years of Latin and four years of either French, Spanish, German, or mandarin.
I took German.
JNorJT@reddit
Yeah
Bright_Ices@reddit
Yes, most high schools require at least some foreign language classes. I took Spanish from 7th grade (age 12) through either 11th or 12th grade (age 17 or 18). Other options at my school were German, French, and eventually ASL (American Sign Language). I definitely didn’t attain fluency in Spanish, but it gave me a basis for learning more later, when I taught in an elementary school serving lots of Spanish speaking families.
forgotteau_my_gateau@reddit
We were required to take two years of another language in order to graduate high school
brzantium@reddit
We had three different tracks for graduating high school. If you were on the bare minimum track, you didn't need to take a foreign language. The other two did. I took two years of French.
Independent_Prior612@reddit
I know my home high school offered Spanish and French. I believe the magnet school* offered Japanese, Italian and German. There may have been more languages I was unaware of, as this was 30 years ago.
The magnet school was a school you went to for only part of the school day if you wanted to take classes not offered by the home school. Accelerated courses; child care courses; nursing courses; certain trades you couldn’t get at the home school. You would do a half day or so at the home school and the rest at the magnet school.
Lemmingmaster64@reddit
Yes, for example here in Texas you are required to take two years of a foreign language. The choices may vary by school district but at mine the choices were Spanish, French, German, and Latin, I personally took German.
GulfofMaineLobsters@reddit
It was when I was on school, I "learned" French, but it was very different from the Quebecoise I already knew, which led to some interesting discussions in class, Quebecoise has some pretty solid differences from Parisian French!
shadowdragon1978@reddit
In the laye 1990's it was
ExtremeZombie4705@reddit
My high school required 2 years (could do more, I did 4 years). The language options were Spanish and French.
OsvuldMandius@reddit
I was in primary school in the late 70s and high school in the mid 80s. We this was in rural middle America. We did not have language classes until you got to grade 9, at which point most college-aspiring students would take 3 or 4 years of a foreign language. The choices for me at the time were French, German, Latin, or Spanish. Since those long ago days, the school district has expanded both the available languages (Italian and Japanese last I checked) and the year when can take the elective. I think maybe as early as grade six? Not really sure
melissa3670@reddit
My daughter began Spanish in grade 8 and took it all through high school. She is now getting her Masters in English as a second language at a university in Madrid.
StatusDiamond339@reddit
Yes. 4 years of accelerated German. Our school also offered Latin, which is rare.
TexasRed806@reddit
Yes but it there wasn’t much involved in it tbh. In middle school there was only Spanish class and you only had to take it for about a year. In high school they offered Spanish, French and German and you could take them all year every year if you wanted to but all that was required was like 1 year of one them. My Spanish teacher was also the coach of the football team and didn’t give a shit about how we were progressing or if you turned in assignments. We spent probably 80% of the time watching movies with Spanish subtitles or dubbed and the rest of the time taking a quiz that he would just give you a 100% for taking it to his desk lmao
Then_Increase7445@reddit
I graduated 20+ years ago, but in my very rural school, two years were required (I think) if you wanted to go to college. Otherwise no, and Spanish was the only language offered. Even that was only available starting in 10th grade.
jreashville@reddit
We had to take one year of either Spanish or French in high school. I remember very little of it.
fakesaucisse@reddit
I took Spanish throughout elementary school. Spanish, Latin, and French in middle school. Then French all of high school. I used to be quite good at French but I didn't enjoy it and never have really wanted to visit France (I know, scandalous!) so I didn't really keep up with it after then. I could probably read a menu in French though.
Responsible_Side8131@reddit
Most schools that I know of here in the US require at least a couple years of foreign language in high school. Some but not all do a small introduction in middle school (around age 11-13 ish). Most schools offer Spanish and French, and some Latin or another language that might be common locally (for example my hometown has a lot of people from Portugal and Brazil, so Portuguese is offered).
Lizzyd3@reddit
Required no but our school offered Japanese, French, German and Spanish.
Dolphopus@reddit
My elementary and middle school had no options (it was small and didn’t have the funds), but my high school offered French, Spanish, German and Latin. You were required to take two years of one to graduate.
bowtiesrcool86@reddit
Not when I was there at least,
richbiatches@reddit
Yes, if you call Latin a foreign language.
Leucippus1@reddit
We are, but somehow we manage to do it universally badly. You can't effectively teach language (or math) in little 42 minute to 1.5 hour blocks. At least, we can't. If you really want to learn a language you have to do it DLI (defense language institute) style, all day every day. The only thing you do is speak, read, write, and have sex, in your foreign language.
ohemgee112@reddit
I took 4 Spanish classes in high school and college. One each from a teacher who respectively spoke Spanish from Mexico, Spain, Puerto Rico and Argentina.
The language was so different from each learned nothing.
azuth89@reddit
Yeah. never had much cause to use it but I took French.
EUGsk8rBoi42p@reddit
That's pretty cool!
CowboysFTWs@reddit
Yes, Spanish was required in 8th grade. Spanish or Latin was offer in high school.
Fatbeard2024@reddit
Yes we were required to take foreign language classes
BriLoLast@reddit
Yep. We had to take 3 years mandated by the state in high school. My school only offered Spanish,
junkmail0178@reddit
In the US, the most common foreign languages in high school are Spanish, French, German, and Latin. There are schools that offer Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Arabic, and other less “popular” languages.
GuttaBrain@reddit
Not require for a Core 40 diploma, but for honors, yes.
wookieesgonnawook@reddit
We had Spanish, German, or French in my high school and had to take 2 years. That's too late to be of any use in my opinion, no one actually learns to communicate in the other language because they're too old at that point and there's no opportunity to actually use it anyway.
BionicGimpster@reddit
Required to take a language in HS. Spanish, French and Latin were offered. I took Latin since no one will ever ask to speak with you in Latin. Took 2 more years in college.
brizia@reddit
Yes. When I was in school we picked either Spanish, French, or German when we were 11 (6th grade). Once you got to high school, you had to take 2 additional years, but could chose from those 3 plus Italian, Latin, and Mandarin.
EvaisAchu@reddit
In the state of Texas, at least when I graduated (mid 2010s), it was required that you had a minimum of 2 years of a foreign language to graduate high school. I took 3 years of Spanish because I wanted to graduate in the "distinguished" category which required an additional year.
We did learn some Spanish in elementary school but it was not one of the main focuses.
sociapathictendences@reddit
Yes, available languages will vary but Spanish is most common. I moved during high school so I went to one high school that offered Spanish, German, Latin and Mandarin Chinese. The other High school offered Spanish, French, Japanese, and American Sign Language.
Acrobatic_End6355@reddit
We had French, Spanish, and ASL. I took ASL.
purpledrogon94@reddit
It was an elective but most kids at my school choose to at least take 2 years. We either got German or Spanish. I chose German and even did a summer abroad my junior year!
Thowaway-ending@reddit
I wouldn't call it studying, but we do learn some basic vocab and grammar of another language, but not enough to communicate with anyone.
craftycat1135@reddit
At my school we only needed one year offered in high school and they only offered Spanish.
phred_666@reddit
When I was a student we had to have at least one year of a foreign language. My high school offered Spanish, French and German. I took three years of Spanish and know just enough to get me in trouble.
Left-Star2240@reddit
In high school we had the option to take either Spanish or French.
holdingpessoashand@reddit
It was required from grades 6-12 where I live. At my school, our choices were Spanish, Italian, and French, but some of the other schools in my city had offerings like Russian, Mandarin, and Hebrew.
PearlsandScotch@reddit
Yes we had a mandatory 2 year requirement. We could pick French, Spanish, German, or Latin. If you wanted a different language then you could take it at the local college and they would accept it but it’s not free.
elunabee@reddit
20 years ago when I was in high school, a foreign language was a requirement for graduation. My small rural school only offered Spanish, and the Spanish teacher was barely conversational herself. I never took it because band and chorus both counted towards the foreign language requirement (learning to read music, I guess??) and I was in both. I did end up taking two semesters of Japanese in college, first to fulfill a humanities credit and then because it was fun to learn.
OrdinarySubstance491@reddit
Yes. Here, it's starting in middle school.
Outisduex@reddit
It was required for me. I took 5 years of Spanish.
ReadinII@reddit
Many schools require it, some make it optional, but whether required or optional most schools don’t do it seriously enough to make the lessons useful.
Yankee_chef_nen@reddit
Gen X here, I was required to have two language credits to graduate. I took German and American Sign Language. I remember more ASL than I do German.
cathedralproject@reddit
For me it started a little earlier. I went to a parochial school, and we had to take Latin in 6th and 7th and 8th grade, Spanish was also required in 7th and 8th grade. Then when I got to High school we had to choose Spanish, German or French.
Subvet98@reddit
Nope. I went to the county vocational HS. It wasn’t required or available. The local HS high school had it. Not sure if it was required.
Sabertooth767@reddit
I took Spanish for most of my education.
I know fuck all, because 99% of it was forgotten as soon as it was learned as I had no use for it whatsoever. I was probably taught the colors five times.
Shot-Artichoke-4106@reddit
For us, foreign language was optional to graduate, but anyone on the college prep track had to take at least 2 years. I took German and Spanish. French was also offered.
nomoregroundhogs@reddit
As with most things school-related in the US, there’s not going to be one single answer that applies everywhere.
But personally yes it was required at my school. The options were Spanish, French or German. Elementary kids also took Spanish in 4th-6th grade and there were electives available but I don’t believe it was required in middle school.
Forward-Wear7913@reddit
We started to learn Spanish in fourth grade.
At the time, they were introducing it to all students from kindergarten to sixth grade.
I also took Spanish in junior high and high school and college.
It was a requirement to take a foreign language.
starlessnight89@reddit
It depends on the state really but at my high school we were required at least two years of a foreign language. Our choices were Spanish and French. They offered German up until the year before my freshman year.
BoseSounddock@reddit
Yes. At my school we were required to take 2 years, but could take up to 7. Our options were Spanish, French, German, Italian and Mandarin
Ok-Breadfruit-1359@reddit
I grew up in NY. Took French in middle and high school; I could choose between French or Spanish. In CO, my kid is learning German - foreign language is required
briefadventure999@reddit
I want to a public school in California 20 years ago and a foreign language was optional. Only Spanish and French were offered.
SonuvaGunderson@reddit
Yup. Four years of Spanish and three of French. Some of those ran concurrently so I was taking two at a time.
Gold_Telephone_7192@reddit
Yep. We have to take 2-3 years of a foreign language in high school. My school had the options of Spanish, German, Italian, French, and Japanese