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Research says elementary students learn a second language better than older students.Research says people who learn another language are smarter.Demographics are changing in our country, and we are now living in multilingual, multi-cultural communities.

Foreign languages should be taught at the elementary level because it helps with literacy in English, it enhances problem solving, attentional control and the ability to switch tasks, but most importantly, young children are intrinsically better language learners, and will, therefore, become more proficient and retain more as early exposure will increase the amount of input.

Since the 1960s, studies have shown that the best time to begin the study of a foreign language is in elementary school. Because children at this age show better mental flexibility, more creativity, divergent thinking skills, and improved listening and memory skills, kids are able to process language early on. Additionally, according to Tagliere, “strictly from a logical point of view, beginning a foreign language earlier would allow for a longer sequence of instruction, increasing the likelihood that a child would achieve true proficiency in a language.”

What researchers found in the New Mexico district was empirical evidence of another benefit: graduates of the district who earned a seal between the 2017-18 and 2019-20 school years were more likely to enroll in a four-year college, and they were more likely to be enrolled full time when compared to peers who did not earn the seal.

French
The latest projection is that French will be spoken by 750 million people by 2050

New York State has the largest population of native French speakers in the US.

French appears among the top languages sought in the U.S. for increasing employability.

French appears among the top languages sought in the U.S. for careers.

French appears among the top languages sought in the U.S. for its standing as a global economic power.

French appears among the top languages sought in the U.S. for national security.

There is a need for French proficient U.S. Border and Customs officers for NYS’s northern borders.

French has around 71.5 million native speakers. Close to 20% of people in the European Union speak French as a native or second language. French is also the second most-taught language in the world behind English.

German
German appears among the top languages sought in the U.S. for its standing as a global economic power.

The second most spoken language in Europe is German. There are around 97 million native German speakers. They mostly come from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, but you can also find some in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Lichtenstein. Even though it’s the second most spoken language in Europe, German is actually the most spoken language in the European Union (EU).

Germany is the fourth-largest economy in the World by nominal GDP and the largest economy in Europe. The country is the world’s third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Being a part of the European single market, Germany has access to more than 450 million consumers. It is predicted that the German economy will grow by 3.6% in 2022 and by 2.6% in 2023.

The United States is the leading source of non-European FDI in Germany. In 2020, total U.S. FDI in Germany was $162 billion. The key U.S. FDI sectors include chemicals ($8.7 billion), machinery ($6.5 billion), finance ($13.2 billion), and professional, scientific, and technical services ($10.1 billion). From 2019 to 2020, the industry sector “chemicals” grew significantly from $4.8 billion to $8.7 billion. Historically, machinery, information technology, finance, holding companies (nonbank), and professional, scientific, and technical services have dominated U.S. FDI in Germany.

Italian

The Italian language is the fourth most studied language in the world.

There are approximately 17 million Italian-Americans in the US.

Italian appears among the top languages sought in the U.S. for its standing as a global economic power.

Italian is the fourth language on the list and there are around 65 million native speakers. It’s the official language of Italy, San Marino, and the Vatican City (along with Latin). There are also quite a few Italian speakers scattered around the globe, including 700,000 in the United States.

Portuguese
Portuguese appears among the top languages sought in the U.S. for its standing as a global economic power.

There are around 10 million native Portuguese speakers in Europe, mainly in Portugal. It’s also one of the most spoken languages in the world due to Portugal’s former colonies.

Russian
Russian appears among the top languages sought in the U.S. for its standing as a global economic power.

The Russian language has about 160 million native speakers. It is the official language of 4 different countries (Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan).

Spanish
Spanish appears among the top languages sought in the U.S. for its standing as a global economic power.

Most native Spanish speakers come from the Americas, but there’s still an astounding 47 million of them in Europe.

In virtually any career field, Spanish can come in handy and help you advance. However, there are some careers that actually require Spanish language skills.

Arabic
Arabic appears among the top languages sought in the U.S. for its standing as a global economic power.

Hindi
Hindi appears among the top languages sought in the U.S. for its standing as a global economic power.

Japanese
Japanese appears among the top languages sought in the U.S. for its standing as a global economic power.

Korean
Korean appears among the top languages sought in the U.S. for its standing as a global economic power.

Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin appears among the top languages sought in the U.S. for its standing as a global economic power.

Latin
60% of the English language is derived from Latin. A knowledge of Latin applies directly to almost all fields of study. It is used in the courtroom (over 200 legal phrases), in the medical field, and in the naming of plants and animals.