Learning a foreign language
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Speaking a Foreign Language
Up until the World War II, the United States had a policy of isolation, where it did not participate in foreign affairs and did not do much trade with other countries. After the war, the United States helped rebuild Europe and started trading with other countries. As foreign trade increased, our economy has gone global and is affected by what is going on around the world. Our world is getting smaller and we need to communicate and understand others. One way of communicating is through language. Schools have added to their curriculum the teaching of a foreign language. According to the National Center for Education Statistics1, the percentage of high school student who had completed advanced foreign language course has increased between 1982 and 2000. In 1982, 15 percent of high school graduates had finished some advanced foreign language course. By 2000, this number has gone to 30 percent. However, the percentage of graduates who did not take any foreign language course has decreased from 46 percent in 1982 to 17 percent in 1990...