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Plans to Improve Language Education in the United States
This article is rated as being a stub article, meaning it contains little information on the article's topic. It was recently, as in these past couple months, added by a project group known as the Wiki Education Foundation. In order to improve this page, I plan to add relevant and unbiased information to give the article a solid foundation. As the talk page suggests, I will begin by adding the background on the history and politics surrounding language education. I will also relate it to today by adding statistics on foreign speakers in the United States and the current state of Language education. While the article has very little information pertaining to the topic, the information given is well cited. I quickly glanced at the given sources, and they seem reputable, but I will need to check them again before I begin to edit the article. There are only two other users on the article so far, so I will have to make sure that I give them a detailed review of everything I complete, as well as make sure I double check to make sure the information I add is unopinionated, shows all perspectives on language education, and all information is cited and comes from a reputable source.

In this last week before moving it out of sandbox, I need to finish my pragmatic debates section. I may add a section to talk about each states different requirements for foreign language education. I also hope to expand on the original ideas that are stated in the introduction. Finally, before I publish my article, I will recheck all the sources to make sure that my work isn't too closely related to the original sources and gives all needed credit. I will also have to slightly change the tone of my article so that it is as neutral as possible.

= Article to Improve = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Language education in the United States has historically involved teaching American English to immigrants and Spanish, French, Latin, Italian or German to native English speakers. Bilingual education was sponsored in some districts, often contentiously. Japanese language education in the United States increased following the Japanese post-war economic miracle. Chinese as a second language began to be taught more frequently in response to the Reform and opening of the People's Republic of China; this has included funding from the PRC Government. In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, US Senator Norm Coleman called Arabic "the next strategic language".

High schools in Oklahoma offer Cherokee and other Indian languages as second languages to count toward a foreign language requirement, and thousands of students, both indigenous and non-indigenous, enroll in classes. In North Carolina, the North Carolina House of Representatives has passed a state bill which mandates the requirement of constituent institutions of the University of North Carolina to recognize Cherokee as a language for which a student may satisfy a foreign language course requirement for degree completion. The bill was introduced by North Carolina State Senators Jim Davis and Andrew Brock and was passed in the North Carolina Senate on May 13, 2013.

Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs) is a designation used for languages other than Spanish, French, and German, the three most commonly taught foreign languages in US public schools.

Introduction
Language education in the United States has historically involved teaching American English to immigrants and Spanish, French, Latin, Italian or German to native English speakers. Bilingual education was sponsored in some districts, often contentiously. Historical events have changed the way that foreign languages are taught in classrooms. Japanese language education in the United States increased following the Japanese post-war economic miracle. This was a period between the Cold War and World War II where Japan had the second largest economy in the world. In order to participate, the government increased funding to teaching Japanese in schools. Chinese as a second language began to be taught more frequently in response to the Reform and opening of the People's Republic of China. In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, US Senator Norm Coleman called Arabic "the next strategic language”.

Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs) is a designation used for languages other than Spanish, French, and German, the three most commonly taught foreign languages in US public schools.

Language as Defined in Education
Language is traditionally defined as a way of communicating through vocalizations, symbols, or movements. In a classroom, this definition had to become stricter in order to set guidelines for what can and cannot be taught. Language, in this circumstance was given a set of guidelines that stated it must be productive, have the ability to produce an infinite amount of sentences that cover every available topic, and introduces, uses, and relates symbols, This definition also needed to be broadened in order to accommodate for the thousands of different dialects in every given language. This was needed because every person possesses a unique dialect that slightly varies from others, This standard allows for the grouping of dialects into groups. These groups make up a "language" such as English, Spanish, and French. Language in classrooms in generalized into one category in order to offer and exposes students to the basics and variety. Some classrooms may focus on one area on a "language" while others show multiple aspects of each one.

Debates on Language Education
Language Education in the United States has brought multiple debates on the topic of teaching foreign languages to native English speakers. Cognitive arguments are used to prove that the teaching of foreign language is useful. Studies have shown that over the duration of learning a second language, a student’s cognitive functions are enhanced. This includes the improvement of critical thinking, mental creativity and flexibility, and mental discipline. These results are most prominent in SAT scores. Benefits such of these, that have been suggested by scientists studying cognition and second languages, have pushed for education being an education benefit. States that have adopted a type of requirement for foreign language include: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The most common languages include Spanish, French, German, Latin, Russian, and Italian.

In a foreign language classroom, one aspect of the curriculum is the teaching of the culture behind the language. This is input into classrooms in order to give students a deeper meaning of the language. In order to fully be able to communicate to someone with a different background, one must have insight into their lives and communication aspects. It is also used to preserve a long standing set of traditions with indigenous people. A unique case of this was seen in High schools in Oklahoma. These high schools began to offer Cherokee and other Indian languages as second languages to count toward a foreign language requirement, and thousands of students, both indigenous and non-indigenous, enroll in these classes. In North Carolina, the North Carolina House of Representatives has passed a state bill which mandates the requirement of constituent institutions of the University of North Carolina to recognize Cherokee as a language for which a student may satisfy a foreign language course requirement for degree completion. The bill was introduced by North Carolina State Senators Jim Davis and Andrew Brock and was passed in the North Carolina Senate on May 13, 2013. It is predicted by the Committee on Education and the Workforce that in 2050, only 20 languages from native people around the world. This was presented to congress, which has decided on a plan of action that will work on recovering and saving aspects of these languages and cultures by teaching them in classrooms.

Another debate considers the pragmatic aspect of language education, meaning it focuses on the political aspect of political aspect of it. The reasoning for the government promoting foreign language education among native English speakers comes with the concerns for national security, economic needs, and the requirement of a second in workplaces. It also stems from the necessity of bilingual employees in work occupations. With a remarkably diverse country, the United States workplaces have begun requiring education of a second language, and this extra education increases the chance of a person getting a job. A person only able to speak English is unable to serve and communicate with customers that speak another language. Schools are more likely to teach a foreign language if there is a higher concentration of native speakers in the area. This allows these teachings to remain useful to students and help increase your eligibility for future careers. By becoming bilingual, a person is able to fully participate and understand the world. There are more people currently speaking mandarin than English in the world, but in the United States, less than 15 percent of schools teach it. This percentage shows that the United States does not fully acknowledge other languages, and hold a mono linguistic ideology. In adopting this practice of solely teaching English, we are unable to communicate with 80 percent of the world.

Jasmine's Log

 * February 24 2019- Evaluated multiple choices and decided I could most improve "Language Education in the United States". I checked the sources, tone, and information in the article as well as found my own sources that I plan on using to add to the article. (2 hours).
 * February 27, 2019- Used meta cognitive logs to find evidence to support the article in The Future of Foreign Language Education in the United States and Language, Education, and Ideology: Mapping the Linguistic Landscape of U.S. Schools. I found two more sources that will help me improve the article.
 * March 3, 2019- Began to compose a subtopic on the debates having to do with Language Education in the United States.
 * March 16, 2019- Added the subtopic "Language as Defined in Education" and defined and discussed the standards for language in a classroom.
 * March 17, 2019- Added the Introduction title and placed citations based on the sources given on the original article.
 * March 30, 2019- Added cultural debates to the debates section and removed the excess material from the introduction.
 * March 31, 2019- Changed my article to fit all provided suggestions and added my final hopes for this week in the second paragraph in my plans.
 * April 7, 2019- Finished my contributions to this article! Added one more paragraph to show the pragmatic debates, as well as details on a few events that have changed or influenced language education in the introduction. I also double checked my use of language and changed a few things to make it unbiased. Also double checked all citations.

Heather's Comments
2.27.2019- This looks good! Keep it up!

3.25.19- Wow, you wrote a ton. I would say your contribution is almost complete. A few questions, though: What is the source for this?: "Cognitive arguments are used to prove that the teaching of foreign language is useful." Is it also source #11? If so, mark it as such. Consider rewriting the part beginning, "Because of these benefits..." with a more general statement. Lots of foreign languages are taught besides Cherokee (an odd and very specific choice.) You might see if prep school who want MORE of these cognitive benefits have more robust language programs (robust=french, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and many levels of each...)  Also "Another debate..." needs its own paragraph and a little more developing. What are those national security concerns? Does knowing Chinese help our economy? (Since so much business is done with them...?) Here you might bring the Cherokee bill back in since it doesn't (probably) enhance our economy to have more people speaking Cherokee, but it certainly contributes to cultural preservation and language diversity. Make sense? Please make some changes and I'll give it a final look before you move it to main space. :)--

4.4.2019- Looks good...though I didn't see specific answers to my feedback. Please move what you have added to the mainspace by 4/7/2019. :)