Language is an important part of daily life, it is how we communicate, but it is not necessary to force students to pick up a second — or sometimes third — language. Not only is it time consuming for students who have to worry about fulfilling their credit requirements, but they will likely not even gain proficiency in the language. 

The Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences requires all students to earn a passing grade in language Level III of a foreign language sequence at USC or its equivalent elsewhere. Each level takes one semester to complete, and students can take a placement exam or have prior language credit to skip levels.

The International Center for Language Studies explains that the Interagency Language Roundtable — the United States federal government’s measure of language proficiency — of Level Three requires the ability to: 

“Speak the language with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to participate effectively in most conversations on practical, social, and professional topics; Understand the essentials of all speech in a standard dialect including technical discussions within a special field; Read within a normal range of speed and with almost complete comprehension a variety of authentic prose material on unfamiliar subjects.”

Many majors under Dornsife study topics that would require more than the ILR Level Three proficiency to speak a foreign language in the workplace. For example, a human biology major likely will not learn the vocabulary necessary for the field within the three semester requirement. 

A Cambridge University Press paper that titularly asks, “How long does it take to learn a foreign language?” states that for teenagers with reasonable or basic access to resources and good teaching, and with low levels of motivation, it takes 150 to 200 guided learning hours to reach a Common European Framework of Reference level A1, which is beginner level. 

Taking into account that there are typically about 12 to 15 weeks of instruction in a semester and language classes meet two or four times a week for 110 minutes or 50 minutes each, respectively, the instruction time at USC over three semesters totals approximately 50 hours, which does not even suffice the basic level.

If USC’s purpose is to help students converse with others for their future careers, three semesters are not going to help prepare for that. On the other hand, it is useful to know the basic sentence structure and some vocabulary if students travel to countries that speak these languages. Learning a language should still be an option for students, but it shouldn’t be a requirement.

While language classes also help to expose students to different cultures, there are other ways of doing so that could be more efficient: for example, taking a class about Latin American culture or the politics of East Asia. We are part of a diverse community, and to respect each other’s perspectives on issues, we have to learn how their history and upbringing brought them to that conclusion.

Moreover, Massachusetts Institute of Technology News writer Anne Trafton describes an MIT study that shows children remain adept learners of language until the age of 17 or 18. It is “nearly impossible” for people to achieve proficiency similar to that of a native speaker unless they start learning a language by the age of 10. Students usually start college at the age of 18, which is already past the critical period for learning. Therefore, trying to force this process in college is often just a waste of time. 

Learning a language is a difficult task, one that certainly has its benefits, especially when introduced early on in life, but the current requirements do not allow students to actually become fluent or even proficient in a language. With these restrictions and alternatives in mind, it should be up to the student if they want to pursue learning a new language in college.