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Testimony on the High School Graduation Requirement
Martin Smith

President & Advocacy, Foreign Language Educators of New Jersey
Edison High School
martin.smith@edison.k12.nj.us

I am here today to speak on behalf of Foreign Language Educators of New Jersey, the state wide professional organization that has represented the interests of language educators in our state for the past 85 years. When the State Board of Education adopted the core curriculum content standards in world languages in 1996 it set in motion a new vision for the importance of the study of world languages for all New Jersey children. The standards recognize the need to start the study of world languages when a child enters the school system and to continue this study throughout the student's K-12 experience. If brain research and best practice have taught us anything, it is that to begin the study of a world language in high school is a waste of time. The number of individuals who successfully attain proficiency in a world language when they begin this study in high school, is woefully small. In order to develop a citizenry that is capable of fully participating in our multilingual, global society we must begin early in a child's life and this must continue uninterrupted in a well articulated sequence of language learning.

While there are challenges to meeting the vision of the standards, to stop the forward momentum of the past five years would be a tremendous tragedy for New Jersey's students. Many districts throughout New Jersey have begun the task of reconceptualizing their world language programs and have made significant progress towards developing a long sequence world languages program. To send the message now that districts should put on hold the work they have done is the wrong message to send. Most fundamentally, it is wrong for our students.

While we all recognize that it is difficult to find well-qualified world language teachers, there are many options available and districts that report being unable to find teachers have often not availed themselves of these options. While the shortage of math and science teachers is at least as great as that of world language teachers, we don't hear anyone presenting the position that we should abandon these programs.

When the vocational education people argue that their students should not have to study a language, what they are really saying is that they don't believe that their students are capable of learning a language. It is time to put a stop to the myth that world language study is only for the college bound. All students can and should benefit from the study of languages other than English.

While FLENJ can support delaying the implementation of the high school graduation requirement until the students presently in elementary school reach high school, FLENJ cannot and does not support sending the message that world language education can start at any level in a child's educational career or that only certain children are capable or need to study a world language.

We must continue the work begun in 1996 and continue until all students have access to a quality world languages program. Given the proper start and good quality instruction, all students can benefit from the study of world languages. We at FLENJ look forward to the day when we can say that a generation confronted the challenges in making the study of world languages part of the core learning for all students and have achieved this vision. We look forward to the day when a generation of students is ready to enter the world able to participate fully in helping to achieve global peace and prosperity. Currently our nation is unready and our future success or failure in international endeavors will rely almost entirely on the global competence of our people. We at FLENJ ask you not to continue to perpetuate the myths that have surrounded the study of world languages and to fully embrace the vision of world language study for all New Jersey students.

This testimony is available at the FLENJ website and is reprinted here with permission.

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