Every CHS student goes through at least a year of foreign language classes, whether it be Spanish, French, American Sign Language (ASL), or something else, with some even continuing with these courses throughout their entire high school career.

Unfortunately, many teenagers, CHS students or otherwise, drop out of their foreign language class long before they graduate, abandoning the course due to indifference to the topic or to pursue a subject more aligned with their interests.

But if given the option, should CHS students strive to go as far as possible in our respective foreign language classes?

In short, the answer is yes. Learning a new language offers nothing but beneficial and necessary career opportunities in order to thrive in a world filled with people who do not all speak with the same dialect or vernacular.

This is especially true here in the United States, with no official language, so it makes sense to expand on the boundaries of communication. With the ongoing increase in immigration and international travel to this country, one is practically guaranteed to encounter someone who does not speak the same language at some point in their life.

According to an October 2014 Washington Times article, close to a fifth of all U.S. residents speak a language other than English at home. This is a dramatic increase from only three decades ago, where this statistic applied to just about 10% of the population, and the numbers are still rising as time passes.

Along with the growing number of people communicating differently nationwide, the benefits of being a fluent bilingual or even trilingual person can be very apparent.

According to an Auburn University article written by their Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, understanding multiple languages improves analytical and business skills. Furthermore, it opens new opportunities in the fields of government and international relations, and in turn raises desirability to many different groups and organizations.

Ultimately, it is up to each individual student to decide what subjects they want to follow throughout their high school years. But as the number of spoken languages grow in both the CHS community and the nation, along with the favorable advantages it can offer, learning a new foreign language and sticking with it to achieve fluency is always a useful option.