Why nobody needs Spanish...

Let me begin by saying both that I am a foreign language teacher, and this has nothing to do with xenophobia, racism, prejudice, or anything like that. This is a message to young people and parents everywhere and has everything to do with freedom.

What is it that students always hear when beginning to study a foreign language? They will instantly be told: "You don't need German, you'll never use French, Latin is a dead language, Japanese is too complicated." The one thing they are always told is "You should learn Spanish" or "You need to learn Spanish." In reality, Spanish is no more useful than any other language.

I grew up in Southern California. An area of one of the highest Hispanic populations in the country. Arguably, Southern California might be the place where Spanish would be the most necessary to learn. Suffice to say, apart from restaurant Menus and the dialogue of Speedy Gonzales, I never learned one word of Spanish. This has not impeded my ability to function in society whatsoever. I have never once experienced a scenario in which I was unable to achieve my goals because of my lack of Spanish.

Now, I am not saying that no one should learn Spanish, or that there is a language more important than Spanish. What I am saying is that young people should stand up for themselves, and actually choose a language that they want to study. If a student wants to learn Spanish, fantastic. The study of any language will improve a person's problem solving and critical thinking abilities, as well as providing a better understanding of English. The true crime is that there are students who don't want to learn Spanish, but they are told it is required, they are told it is a necessity, and many schools do not offer an alternative.

The usefulness of a language is all dictated by the learner. You will decide when or where you will use a language. If you want to travel in South America and work for an oil company in Colombia, Spanish will of course be the best to learn. If you want to work in the fashion industry, perhaps French would be the most useful. Are you an engineering student? It would probably be best to learn German or Mandarin. Would you like to work for the CIA? Arabic or Urdu will provide the most opportunities. This leads me back to say, nobody needs Spanish.  It is not a requirement in life.

Think about what you want to do with your life, and stand up for yourself. Study what you want to study and don't let people discourage you from that. Any foreign language is only as useful as you make it. Are you working in an emergency room in East L.A.? German might not help you there. Do you want to work as an investment banker? You probably won't need Spanish. Please study a foreign language, study multiple languages, but study what you want to study. Don't always listen to your teachers and parents. Do what you want to do and find a language you will need. Be it Spanish or not.