'Critical Foreign Languages' Taught In More Schools

"Everybody would love to be able to add foreign languages, but for whatever reason it's not supported," said Youngs, associate teaching professor of French and Francophone studies at Carnegie Mellon University. "Maybe it's going into the football program; maybe it's going into the fact that the (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, which does not test for foreign language skill) has become so mighty in the state."

To create or expand a program, a district must have community support, several educators said. Sometimes, even that isn't enough.

Both Franklin Regional and Mt. Lebanon school districts expanded their programs to lower grades in the past decade. Sixth-graders at Franklin Regional can choose French or Spanish; Spanish is mandatory in Mt. Lebanon from first through fifth grades.

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_561501.html