Language Profile

While looking at the past of language in my family, it is clear how different my life could be today if family members never abandoned their home languages. In a public elementary school today, only French is taught. Once a student reaches high school, there is a choice to take French or Spanish but neither of these classes is mandatory. It seemed to be a trend that students chose to not take an additional language because once high school began, French and Spanish class sizes shrunk. I find it interesting that French and English are optional in high school, but all English classes are mandatory regardless of ability. The possibility of offering other language classes in high school could be beneficial, however, I am unsure if the government would conform. Since the schools I attended were public, they were run and funded by the government. Perhaps, the government may not want to put more money in elementary and high school classes because the interest might not be high enough. Once an individual reaches university, more language classes are offered other than English, French, or Spanish. The university is also funded by the government, but the government may view it as more of an option to offer these classes in university. Once individuals reach university, they are mainly paying for classes that they want to take. The government might be more willing to fund additional language classes because some money will return from tuition. Additionally, to prevent language loss in the future, language policy changes need to be made. Perhaps, the idea of educating K-12 students on other languages in the classroom could be incorporated. Overall, my language profile is more detailed than originally anticipated and I can understand the power of the language policy in Canada. 

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