<div dir="ltr"><h1>Should Foreign Language Classes Be Mandatory in College?</h1>
    
  





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  <h4 class="gmail-nytint-sectionHeader">Introduction</h4>

  <div class="gmail-w380 gmail-right"><img src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/12/21/opinion/RFD-foreign-language/RFD-foreign-language-sfSpan.jpg" alt="foreign language at Princeton"><span class="gmail-caption">Students at Princeton may soon be required to take a foreign language.</span> <span class="gmail-credit">Mark Makela for The New York Times</span></div>

<p>A <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/11/02/princeton-proposal-would-require-all-students-even-those-already-proficient-study">Princeton University proposal</a>
 would require all general-education students to study a language other 
than English, even those already proficient in a foreign language. As 
American college students increasingly <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2016/11/in_defense_of_the_college_foreign_language_requirement_which_may_well_save.html">balk</a>
 at foreign language requirements, many institutions are no longer 
requiring it, and those that still do often let students test out. 
Should the study of a foreign language be mandatory in college?  </p>

  
          <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/12/28/should-foreign-language-classes-be-mandatory-in-college/learning-to-think-is-more-important-than-learning-a-language" class="gmail-nytint-enter-discussion">Read the Discussion »</a>
  
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    <h4 class="gmail-nytint-sectionHeader">Debaters</h4>

    <ul class="gmail-nytint-participants gmail-nytint-extended gmail-clearfix"><li class="gmail-nytint-bylines-1 gmail-bl-hot" style="height:195px">
                <img alt="Cassandra Chanen" class="gmail-nytint-photo-1" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/12/21/opinion/Cassandra_Chanen/Cassandra_Chanen-thumbStandard.jpg">
        <h3><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/12/28/should-foreign-language-classes-be-mandatory-in-college/learning-to-think-is-more-important-than-learning-a-language" class="gmail-bl-bigger">Learning to Think Is More Important Than Learning a Language</a></h3>
        <p class="gmail-nytint-bylines">
            Cassandra Chanen, high school senior
                </p>
                  <p class="gmail-nytint-excerpt">I want to be challenged in the way I think about an issue, not in the way I express that thinking.</p>
      </li><li class="gmail-nytint-bylines-1 gmail-bl-hot" style="height:195px">
                <img alt="Betty Berdan" class="gmail-nytint-photo-1" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/09/30/opinion/Betty_Berdan/Betty_Berdan-thumbStandard.jpg">
        <h3><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/12/28/should-foreign-language-classes-be-mandatory-in-college/studying-a-language-in-college-should-depend-on-your-interests" class="gmail-bl-bigger">Studying a Language in College Should Depend on Your Interests</a></h3>
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            Betty Berdan, high school junior
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                  <p class="gmail-nytint-excerpt">Learning another language takes time 
and dedication; it’s hard and if you don’t want to do it, you’re 
probably not going to. We'd be better off making it mandatory in 
elementary school.</p>
      </li><li class="gmail-nytint-last gmail-nytint-bylines-1 gmail-bl-hot" style="height:195px">
                <img alt="Taylor Doyle" class="gmail-nytint-photo-1" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/12/21/opinion/Taylor_Doyle/Taylor_Doyle-thumbStandard.jpg">
        <h3><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/12/28/should-foreign-language-classes-be-mandatory-in-college/americans-today-cant-afford-not-to-know-another-language" class="gmail-bl-bigger">Americans Today Can’t Afford Not to Know Another Language</a></h3>
        <p class="gmail-nytint-bylines">
            Taylor Doyle, high school junior
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                  <p class="gmail-nytint-excerpt">Universities need to mandate the study
 of a foreign language so that Americans are able to compete in a 
growing, competitive job market. </p>
      </li></ul>


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