Bellows Free Academy offers language courses like French and Spanish, but the graduation requirements do not make those classes mandatory. Learning these languages may be crucial, depending on work or even college life.   

Spanish teacher James Thurber discussed that learning multiple languages can be a critical tool not only culturally but also to understand other cultures when you travel to non-English-speaking countries. 

“The United States has the second largest population of Spanish speakers in the world (we are only behind México), so developing a basic proficiency in this language would be beneficial for various careers, such as healthcare, construction, etc.,” said Mr. Thurber, commenting on the importance of learning multiple languages.

To learn languages like Spanish and French can be crucial for careers that may require one to talk to many types of people. Careers like healthcare, especially ones near the borders, need people who can speak more than one language because it can sometimes make a difference. 

Some jobs, like border patrol, require people to take classes to learn multiple languages because it is crucial to understand the people they speak with every day. 

B.F.A. does not offer much in terms of giving its students exposure to other cultures to help entice them to learn another language. Although B.F.A. offers lunches like poutine, a popular dish in Canada, there aren’t really any other things, even just culturally, that they do for its students. 

There are many methods schools like Bellows Free Academy can use to make learning more languages more enticing. For example, offering more diverse food to their students so they can get a taste of what that country is like. “Any way to get kids interested in language learning is good, and food may be the easiest way to do it,” said Ms. Salemno spanish teacher at B.F.A. 

From many teachers and colleges, schools should make language learning mandatory, even if only for a semester, and attempt to entice students into learning multiple languages. Not only is it fundamental for the workplace, but also necessary in some colleges.