In today’s global market, it cannot be underestimated how valuable it is to be bilingual. Whether you grow up in a bilingual household or are fortunate enough to have learned a language while in school or abroad, you certainly have a leg up on many potential candidates in the workforce. Many school districts continue to debate over just how much foreign language education should be available to their students. As schools scramble to find appropriate funding for all departments, its easy to push foreign language education to upper levels of education, to the chagrin of many linguists.The earlier instruction starts, the more likely students will become fully proficient and capable of proper pronunciation. I know for me, having taken French since 6th grade, I am orally proficient but lack the skills to pronounce certain sounds correctly. (If you know French, you know how difficult it is to pronounce the “r”!) Not only does starting earlier increase potential for fluency, studying another language can benefit a student’s  knowledge  and use of English grammar, and studies show that it benefits overall academic performance. Kids in other nations start learning another language, if not multiple languages, at the age of 6, whereas most students in the USA start at around 14. If the States want to continue to compete globally, greater emphasis should be placed on foreign languages. It would only benefit us.For more information or to get involved, please visit: http://www.actfl.org/

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