English alone won’t cut it in a global economy

Like most American kids who endured years of Spanish class, I have little to show for it. Stock phrases like “¿Cómo estás?” or “Where is the library?” don’t open doors in the Spanish-speaking world — much less jobs.

In Europe, students routinely graduate their version of high school fluent in two or three languages. They don’t wait until college or rely on expensive immersion programs to acquire skills that fuel cognitive growth, global awareness, and career opportunities. For them, bilingualism is expected. For us, monolingualism has become an international stereotype — and a joke.

American schools pride themselves on preparing students for the global stage. But how can they claim that when graduates leave fluent only in English?

Schools treat language learning as an elective you can c