High school students in Illinois could soon be able to choose if they want to take a career and technical education or a foreign language class.
The current law requires students to take at least two years of foreign language classes but that could change if the governor signs a bill that unanimously passed the state legislature. Career and Technical Education [CTE] are classes that prepare students for future careers like engineering, computer science or health care.
Bloomington-Normal's school superintendents are somewhat mixed on the bill, but said it's more realistic for schools and students.
District 87 Superintendent David Mouser said he supports teaching a foreign language in schools but there are not enough teachers to meet the current foreign language requirement.
“I can tell you when I worked at a rural district it was very difficult to do, and there are a lot of rural districts right now that are using online learning to be able to meet that requirement,” Mouser said.
Mouser said he has concerns about online learning because it could be ineffective if not done correctly and wants students to have a teacher in person.
“When I think about career and technical education and what we need in terms of our economy is and what I see kids, particularly my district, doing — we see a lot of kids going down that path and then being very interested in having a lot of opportunity there,” Mouser said.
Mouser said this will allow students and parents to make a pathway that is best for them by finding what they enjoy.
Unit 5 Superintendent Kristen Weikle also supports the bill because the school district was having trouble hiring certified teachers for foreign language.
“That is a much more realistic option for our students,” Weikle said. “We have students with varying interest, as well as abilities, and while I understand the intent and desire for everyone to have two years of foreign language it’s not always the most appropriate for all our students.”
Weikle said universities — including the state's top teaching school, Illinois State University [ISU] — are not graduating enough certified teachers to meet a foreign language requirement in schools.
Weikle said Unit 5 is already allowing students to choose between a foreign language or CTE course, “trying to get them into courses they are interested in either getting exposure to or pursuing a career in that or preparing for college,” she said.
She added they will continue to make sure students meet all state graduation requirements.
Support for biliteracy
Others are seeking solutions for filling the gap in qualified teachers. Juliet Lynd is chair of the department of languages, literatures and culture at ISU, which prepares foreign language teachers to teach across Illinois.
Lynd previously told WGLT most of their students are able to find a job because of the high demand, and the program is offering foreign language endorsements to teachers preparing to teach in different subject areas.
Lynd said she went to a multicultural fair at District 87. District data indicates about 800 of its students speak a language other than English at home, with more than 40 languages represented.
Lynd said there is a need for bilingual people in all industries and foreign language classes in schools promotes biliteracy.
Career-focused education
Republican state Rep. Travis Weaver, representing a rural area between Peoria and the Quad Cities, supported the bill that passed.
Weaver said he sponsored multiple bills that would allow students to take a CTE course with their additional elective.
“I'd rather see us be higher prioritizing things that will enable students to quickly earn money and those typically are more [Career and Technical Education] based programs,” Weaver said.
Weaver said he does not want to get rid of foreign languages, but he wants families to have more control over what classes they take in high school.
Illinois does require other classes, like math, without any alternatives.
Weaver said he believes students will get more benefit from learning math than a second language and that missing out on the basics of math will leave more students behind.
"I learned calculus and trigonometry. I never use calculus and trigonometry. The value of those subjects was to teach me how to learn," Weaver said.
Translation tools
Weaver said technologies like artificial intelligence [AI] and Meta glasses are making it easier to translate foreign languages, but admits AI is not perfect.
Juliet Lynd said AI translations can be a good tool because no one can learn every language, but there is still a need for people to learn other languages because AI can fail to understand nuances.
“AI is nowhere close to the level of empathy and human understanding that we need if I'm in a doctor's office and trying to figure out somebody's inexplicable symptoms. I want all the nuance I can get,” Lynd said.
Lynd said being bilingual is still necessary and can create a lot of opportunities in whatever career a student decides to go into.
Susan Hildebrandt, professor of applied linguistics and Spanish at ISU, similarly said translation devices do not get across emotions and could make it hard to understand another person’s culture.
“I don't think it ever can or should replace real human communication if we rely on AI. To translate the words of another, we lose some part of our humanity,” Hildebrandt said.
Hildebrandt said translation devices like AI can be used for tourism but you are still missing out on truly understanding the people around you.
Hildebrandt supported offering digital classes, particularly to rural schools.
She said online classes can fill gaps in districts that are having trouble incentivizing a teacher to work there. She said that would help each school offer more than just Spanish and French.
“We could get a critical mass across a [region] to have a Japanese class in a high school, and [digital courses] might capture some of those students who really don't want to take Spanish,” Hildebrandt said.
Hildebrandt said there are many languages that make up the U.S.
“We call, in the United States, languages other than English 'foreign languages,' where we don't have really great word for it. They're not foreign,” Hildebrandt said. “They're here with us. They've never been foreign. They were here before English was here, many of them.”
Hildebrandt said language helps us exchange ideas and learn empathy through communicating our experiences with other people.
