HS World Language
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Kierkegaard
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I took one low level language course in high school, which I doubt helped or hurt me. Foreign languages are great but rigorous STEM courses are definitely much better at preparing you for an academy education and are viewed as more important by the admissions board.
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So how many years of that language did you take?
Heatherg21
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Our 2024 appointee took 4 years of Spanish.
UHBlackhawk
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You know how much high math I used as a military officer? Very little. Actually, none. And I was a pilot.
But I did have to interact with many foreign officers. Wish I knew some French when I had to liaison with Moroccan brigade commanders. Or Spanish the numerous times I interacted with Spanish speaking officers. Then again... I was a German major and I could never get assigned to Germany.
I’m not suggesting you ignore STEM. Heck, maybe your career will be the opposite of mine and require a STEM background. Just try not to get too specialized at this point. Also, there are some amazing overseas study opportunities for Midshipmen.
But I did have to interact with many foreign officers. Wish I knew some French when I had to liaison with Moroccan brigade commanders. Or Spanish the numerous times I interacted with Spanish speaking officers. Then again... I was a German major and I could never get assigned to Germany.
I’m not suggesting you ignore STEM. Heck, maybe your career will be the opposite of mine and require a STEM background. Just try not to get too specialized at this point. Also, there are some amazing overseas study opportunities for Midshipmen.
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Memphis9489
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I think it depends on the language as to whether it helps or not.
I went to public schools in St. Louis when I was growing up. The government sponsored an experimental program (just in our district) to introduce foreign languages earlier than the first year of high school - which was the norm at the time (and, probably, still is today). As 6th graders, we did Language Survey. We all took a little Spanish, French, German and Russian. The instructors were government-provided instructors - not school district instructors. Based on our demonstrated aptitudes, one of those languages was selected for us to take for 7th and 8th grade. We didn't get to chose - they did. We could continue on into high school with that language if we chose - but it was optional.
I was selected to take Russian and I continued with it until the day I graduated from high school. Although I had good grades in high school, my SAT scores were probably only average compared to most academy applicants. But I was near fluent in Russian! This was in the mid-70s when the Cold War was still a thing. I'm convinced having the Russian language skills got me into the academy. I immediately validated four semesters of the language when I got there. I was the only one in the room during Plebe Summer taking a Russian language validation exam.
I majored in Aerospace Engineering at the Naval Academy but, looking back, if I had majored in Soviet Studies (which no longer exists) it would've been a cake walk for me. My senior year at the Naval Academy I took some high level humanity courses from the Soviet Studies department that, as a prerequisite, required a lot of Russian language courses, which I had already validated. It was comical showing up in that class with about five other midshipmen. "Who's this guy?" they had to be thinking.
So, this is a roundabout way of saying which language you are proficient in probably determines whether it really helps you in the admissions process. Taking a few typical high school Spanish courses is probably not going to help much. But what high schools offer Russian, Arabic, Farsi or Chinese these days? Probably very few.
I agree with others that STEM course are a much bigger deal - especially if you can take AP. Calculus, Chemistry and Physics are the gold standards.
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I had a kid for Senatorial Interview a couple of years ago from a very small private High School who'd had 4 years of Pashto which is definitely in the DoD wheelhouse but sadly, he was not a very strong candidate in a number of other ways and I doubt that he got in.
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Farsi though is interesting. As Youngster, I had a plebe classmate of yours assigned to me and he had gone to High School in Teheran and I later learned that he knew Farsi. I assume that you know who I'm referring to.
THmom
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I think the math/science is a given (or should be) in all applicants. Strong WL ability is not only a plus for your application and brain, but also any future military endeavor you may have. The fact that they’ll pay you extra to learn and be proficient in the critical ones tells you something. Do all SAs require at least two years, and if not, which ones do/don’t? USAFA wants four semesters, if I’m not mistaken, so taking as many years of the same WL will help you out, just like taking all the other advanced classes will. And they want to see you challenging yourself with the most rigorous classes available to you. If you skip out on WL, what does that say?
I'll take your word for it, but I can't believe a third and fourth year of French would preclude AP Calc, and AP Physics or AP Chem. In any event, if your heart is in the STEM go with that. If you are strong in Stem and your heart is with French go with that. If you go with the French, then you could start fresh with another Romance language at the academy or Plan B school, ace it in your sleep and have another language under your belt.
Being able to converse in a foreign language is the equivalent of Dale Carnegie/Toastmasters combination course in terms of helping self-confidence in meeting and speaking to new people. Given that Americans are famous for not speaking a 2nd/3rd language it can afford you a level of respect in many circumstances.
My DS, O-3 AROTC, is in his current position for only three reasons--he mastered his Communications MOS (the prerequisite), is in excellent physical shape, and he had languages that were integral to larger mission of the battalion that requested his transfer. As an O-2 he was made OIC on two different overseas training missions solely because of the language skills.
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Memphis9489
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I had a kid for Senatorial Interview a couple of years ago from a very small private High School who'd had 4 years of Pashto which is definitely in the DoD wheelhouse but sadly, he was not a very strong candidate in a number of other ways and I doubt that he got in.
.
Farsi though is interesting. As Youngster, I had a plebe classmate of yours assigned to me and he had gone to High School in Teheran and I later learned that he knew Farsi. I assume that you know who I'm referring to.
I had a '79 classmate who was a foreign exchange student from Iran. This was during the time of the Shah's regime. His name was Saeed Ahmadi. He was hilarious. He sat next to me in Calculus and his notes were in Farsi. He could speak excellent English but, when we were Plebes, he pretended he didn't speak English very well so the Firsties wouldn't yell at him much. Saeed would pretend that he didn't understand very well so they could hardly get mad at him. Curiously, once he became a Youngster his English improved dramatically.
Sadly, Saeed was killed during while on a naval vessel during the Iran-Iraq War shortly after graduation. I was told the vessel was strafed by an Iraqi fighter.
Memphis9489
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It's often said that Americans are lazy with languages. That criticism, in my opinion, is a little unfair. It's one of the world's most recognized languages and is spoken in many countries - particularly Europe. In Europe, if you drove a 100 miles in any direction you'd probably be in another country that speaks a completely different language. You may have three borders with other countries that speak other languages. Europeans get the exposure and there's the necessity. Consequently, they speak these other languages. If you grew up in Brussels you'd probably speak speak two or three of the following: Dutch, French, German or English. Also, there's great economic incentive to learn English. There's not much economic incentive to learn Tegali or Romanian.
In the United States, if you drive 100 miles in any direction, they would still be speaking English. Heck, you might still be in the same state! If those multi-lingual Europeans had been born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska - they'd be just like us.
MYTH: Children have a greater capability to learn languages than adults.
FACT: False! Adults actually have the capability to learn languages much faster. The stumbling block for adults is self-imposed. Adults are hyper-aware that they might sound silly speaking a language at which they lack fluency. They are afraid of making grammatical errors, using the wrong word, or saying something completely nonsensical and sounding stupid. Children have no such inhibitions. A 3-yr old, trying to convey a thought, will use whatever he/she has at their linguistic disposal to be understood. They make silly mistakes and we think it's cute. They're not even aware that they're making mistakes. They don't care! Nonetheless, they usually get their point across. If an adult could shirk their social inhibitions, they could learn the language much faster. That's easier said than done, however.
In the United States, if you drive 100 miles in any direction, they would still be speaking English. Heck, you might still be in the same state! If those multi-lingual Europeans had been born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska - they'd be just like us.
MYTH: Children have a greater capability to learn languages than adults.
FACT: False! Adults actually have the capability to learn languages much faster. The stumbling block for adults is self-imposed. Adults are hyper-aware that they might sound silly speaking a language at which they lack fluency. They are afraid of making grammatical errors, using the wrong word, or saying something completely nonsensical and sounding stupid. Children have no such inhibitions. A 3-yr old, trying to convey a thought, will use whatever he/she has at their linguistic disposal to be understood. They make silly mistakes and we think it's cute. They're not even aware that they're making mistakes. They don't care! Nonetheless, they usually get their point across. If an adult could shirk their social inhibitions, they could learn the language much faster. That's easier said than done, however.
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I think I met him at one time or another but I'm not talking about a foreign exchange mid, I'm talking about a US citizen who became a Naval OfficerI had a '79 classmate who was a foreign exchange student from Iran. This was during the time of the Shah's regime. His name was Saeed Ahmadi. He was hilarious. He sat next to me in Calculus and his notes were in Farsi. He could speak excellent English but, when we were Plebes, he pretended he didn't speak English very well so the Firsties wouldn't yell at him much. Saeed would pretend that he didn't understand very well so they could hardly get mad at him. Curiously, once he became a Youngster his English improved dramatically.
Sadly, Saeed was killed during while on a naval vessel during the Iran-Iraq War shortly after graduation. I was told the vessel was strafed by an Iraqi fighter.
THmom
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Respectfully, the brain’s plasticity declines with age, and so does its facility to learn languages. While it’s true adults hold some advantages for acquiring a second language over children, language transference of grammar for one, they’re still at a cognitive disadvantage. Add to this the very valid reason you gave, and you can clearly see why children are primed for language learning. Interestingly enough, those languages learned in adolescence and adulthood are actually stored in a DIFFERENT location in the brain than the first language. Finally, getting that accent to sound native is a lot more difficult after puberty, too.
This all does not mean it’s a lost cause for those of us who wait! It just means we have to work a whole lot harder and likely won’t ever sound totally legit. .....and that we need to start second languages a whole lot earlier than we do.
Brain's window for language learning open until adulthood
It has long been known that children learn language more easily than adults, but determining exactly when that ability declines has been something of a mystery. Researchers now report that prime language learning years extend approximately a decade longer than previously thought -- until 17.4...
www.sciencedaily.com
Memphis9489
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Respectfully, the brain’s plasticity declines with age, and so does its facility to learn languages. While it’s true adults hold some advantages for acquiring a second language over children, language transference of grammar for one, they’re still at a cognitive disadvantage. Add to this the very valid reason you gave, and you can clearly see why children are primed for language learning. Interestingly enough, those languages learned in adolescence and adulthood are actually stored in a DIFFERENT location in the brain than the first language. Finally, getting that accent to sound native is a lot more difficult after puberty, too.
This all does not mean it’s a lost cause for those of us who wait! It just means we have to work a whole lot harder and likely won’t ever sound totally legit. .....and that we need to start second languages a whole lot earlier than we do.
Brain's window for language learning open until adulthood
It has long been known that children learn language more easily than adults, but determining exactly when that ability declines has been something of a mystery. Researchers now report that prime language learning years extend approximately a decade longer than previously thought -- until 17.4...www.sciencedaily.com
Children have some advantages in learning languages that adults often do not. The child does does not possess some kind of innate advantage. As this TED talk speaker says, "We're smarter than them."
Children are always in an "immersion program" and it is their only way of communicating. Placed in the identical circumstances, the adult would learn faster.
"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart." - Nelson Mandela
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‘26 Hopeful
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The case at my school is that world languages are not Honors classes and therefore are weighted lower than Honors and AP, so for me dropping a language would allow me to take higher classes that would boost my GPA
What language are you currently in?
Not to derail, but that is what I hate about GPAs... At our local HS, AP classes require 2 slots. Any high ranking senior will choose a free period because AP wont fit and anything less will hurt their class ranking regardless if they make an A...
"Weighted GPA" needs to be on core set of classes only,with all the electives regardless of AP, Honors, or whatever be the same. Then maybe kids could take that extra language or an art or a shop class. Something that stretches their abilities.