Georgia’s education leaders need to stiffen the requirements and broaden the offerings related to foreign languages in our schools.

As Georgia moves into the 21st century, it moves into a world economy where English will no longer be the only language spoken and where knowledge of foreign cultures will no longer be considered a bonus, but a necessity.

Yet ours is a state that lags behind others in the types of foreign language courses offered, as well as requirements to take them. In Georgia, only students who follow the college preparatory track are required to study a foreign language. Fewer than half the state’s students fit that category. As our state prepares to host peoples of the world for the 1996 Olympics, our schools must begin preparing students for the next century. All students, whether they elect to go to college or not, should be required to study another language. And such instruction should begin in elementary school, when children are most susceptible to learning it.

At the same time, state leaders must do a better job of making English courses available to the explosive numbers of immigrants moving into our state. In the past 10 years, the number of non-English speaking people has more than doubled to 285,000 – the largest increase of any state in the country.

Today, more than 116 different languages are spoken around Georgia dinner tables. Yet, English instruction is limited in Georgia, and only two classes in the state offer bilingual instruction. Adults who wish to learn English face waiting lines to get into already packed classes.

The failure to help them is shortsighted. For many immigrants, learning English is the first step toward self-sufficiency. As a state, Georgia should help them participate fully in the American lifestyle.

A bill to make English the official language of Georgia is not the answer, either. It ignores the state’s growing diversity and threatens efforts to attract international businesses here.

The world is shrinking. Georgia students – native and foreign-born – need to learn the languages that will help them live with one another, as well as compete in a growing world economy.



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