The Teaching of Languages
Roy A. Harrell, Jr., 32
6511 Lily Dhu Lane, 
Falls Church, Virginia  22044
        One of the long-held tenets of Scottish Rite Masonry concerns the
compulsory use of English as the primary language on instruction in
Americas public schools. There is the strongly entrenched feeling that
using English as the language of instruction demonstrates patriotism and
inculcates loyalty to the United States.

        Related to this issue is another important question which must be
asked, "Is using English really the best way to teach languages?" Based on
my experiences as a member of the Foreign Service of the Department of
State, where proficiency in a foreign language is a condition of
employment, my own belief is a categorical NO.

        The reason for raising the issue at this time is twofold. First,
the National Governors Association in 1989 called for a new emphasis on
international studies and the teaching of languages. Governor Thomas Kran
of New Jersey stressed that proficiency in a foreign language should be a
condition for college graduation.

        Of secondary importance for raising the issue is the dire situation
affecting Americas trade position. We must do something in order to
compete more effectively in the global marketplace. During my diplomatic
career, I observed that most countries of the world seemingly have no
trouble insisting that students learn English, French, or Japanese, and in
so doing these countries enhance their trading positions. Unless American
schools radically change their philosophies regarding the teaching of
languages, Americas competitive position in the world is either going to
stay static or perhaps deteriorate.     

        Let me state categorically that this American is very concerned as
to whether American schools are up to the job of training workers to fill
the jobs of tomorrow, especially those jobs in which dealing with the world
at large are concerned. Major corporations are having to get into the
education business by teaching the basics of reading and writing. Yet,
lets clearly understand that proficiency in a language cannot be obtained
in the same way as one learns driving through a drivers education course.

        Despite having grown up in a bilingual atmosphere, I still had to
learn French in order to enter the diplomatic service, and I found it was
not possible to acquire any degree of fluency by merely studying a language
fifty minutes a day, three days a week. In order to really acquire some
proficiency in a language, course work must be constructed to have students
actually communicate in the language, be able to ask for directions on the
street, attend a play, engage in conversation which necessitates a
knowledge of at least 1,000 words, and read a newspaper. The translation
method must be stopped, and indeed the classes should be taught in the
language concerned and only have English interspersed where total confusion
exists. Language teachers have long recognized this, and this is the way I
learned English.

        Yet another side of the equation has to do with geography. In
tutoring many students I have discovered to my shock and dismay that a
great number cannot locate Peru or China, or France, or even England. Thus
what many schools have concluded is needed is a curriculum which includes
more geography, world history, and foreign language.

        What to do?

        Build a national competence in all tongues, especially in the
"strategic" languages of Japanese, Chinese, Russian, and Arabic.

        Get more people abroad in order that their study can be practical
and they can hear the language and be subjected to total immersion.

        Inculcate geographic literacy and understand this to be distinct
from language, specially requiring students to demonstrate awareness of
other cultures.

        Abandon the idea that learning languages requires any special
talent. Language learners should study not only language but language
learning and learn how to think and learn in the language being acquired.

        These skills are extremely important in todays abstract and
technologically oriented workplace. Opportunities for this type of learning
should not be reserved for the affluent but rather for all children from
the first grade onwards. In so doing, the United States will be aligning
itself with most of the world.

        If we had to pick one or two languages, they might well be French
and Spanish. Both are derived from Latin, which is to say that they are not
all that foreign to Americans. Both have a wealth of good literature, and
both are spoken in the United States. Later on, students can move off into
other languages. And in so doing, students will acquire even better
knowledge of English.

        It is time for Scottish Rite Masons to rethink their earlier
admonitions regarding the use of English only and so cause a change in
Americas schools to the end that we can be more competitive in the world
marketplace.

        And a bonus is the fact that the opportunities for Fraternal
interchange can be enhanced as many foreign Brethren put us to shame by
easily switching from their own tongues to others, including English. Even
Lodge meetings are enriched by a knowledge of other languages. The time to
act is NOW. If we fail to implement these changes, America will fall
hopelessly behind, and our competitive position in the world will continue
to suffer.   s



Roy A Harrell, Jr., 

is a retired Foreign Service Officer. He is presently working for a
research firm and engaged in financial planning. A member of the Austin,
Texas, S. R. Bodies since 1957, he is an attorney and has a doctorate in
comparative political science from Johns Hopkins University







