Foreign Language, Lengua Extranjera, e Lingua Straniera

Let me just start by saying that our country is a melting pot. In this melting pot, there’s no doubt that due to language barriers, we are not able to fully understand one another. If we don’t expose ourselves to other languages how is it that we can communicate with other people who don’t speak English? Nowadays, children are not exposed to English as their first language anymore, but whatever their ancestral language is.
For example, I was born in the 90s and even then, California, especially Los Angeles was a melting pot, so when I first started to speak, my first word was not in English but Spanish. I have three older brothers who were born in Los Angeles, and my parents were born in Mexico. You would think that with three older brothers and parents that had been living in the United States for more than fifteen years, my primal language would be English, but because my parents were still very fond of their mother country, they made it a point to maintain a certain level of culture in our family. If my family did this, then I am sure that there are other families who had this type of mentality as well.
It’s not a bad thing for people to know more than one language. I remember when I was a child one of the biggest rumors was if you were bilingual, you would get paid more at whatever job you would get. Apparently that rumor was true to some extent. So what’s the harm of knowing or at least getting a taste of another language through a foreign language course? Nothing! It’s a benefit to the person learning the language. Despite knowing Spanish, I took three years of it in high school and when I first started college I took a semester of Italian. These were two of the best choices I have made educationally. If students are able to speak or even slightly grasp an understanding of another language, then it will be easier to communicate not just in the local melting pot, but when traveling.
There’s something great when you encounter someone who doesn’t speak your language but are able to communicate efficiently because you took a semester or two of that language in school. If people can understand each other through language then they can understand each other on a deeper level as well. Being bilingual, even trilingual has its advantages and no real disadvantages. If colleges were to make foreign languages a requirement, students are not losing out on anything or even made to do something unthinkable. Colleges should make foreign language a requirement because in our ever growing society, it is evident that there are more and more people who speak a different language before they even start attending grade school. If colleges do not make foreign languages a requirement then it will be harder for students to communicate with other people who are fluent in their ancestral tongue.
I am not saying that English is not important; I am far from that; however, it would be beneficial for a college student to learn a language other than their mother tongue. Most college students in other parts of the world are fluent in up to three languages. Why is it that Americans are not usually first in climbing this educational ladder? It is time that we change that and teach our collegiate students that there is more to the world than just completing a foreign language requirement; but, learning to be a part of the world in a bigger manner by understanding through communication.