There are many factors that decide why students prefer to study Spanish than French. As Siskin has noticed in his article there are many reasons that contribute largely to the decline of French language in the American school including universities and colleges such as immigration, geography et food. (p. 50). He also underlines the usefulness of French. Many students considered French as one of the most usulness language. I found very interesting blog (http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t7099-0.htmin) where students share their opinion in this matter. One of them declares: “Well, I think that the languages of the future are Chinese, English and Spanish. There are several points to support that: 1. More spoken languages: Chinese, Spanish, English2. Most important languages economically: English, Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese 3. Languages of the future English, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic 4. Internet users by language: English, Chinese and Spanish.” The other one adds “The languages of the XXI century are English, Chinese and Spanish. Perhaps, Arabic and others too.” Does it mean that French is becoming an old fashion language? One can agree with this opinion if he takes into consideration the global economy and the economical role of some countries such as China However, Sinkin have also noticed that the “not all students perceive of French as useless” (p. 55). The chart (p. 46) shows that French is perceived as one of prestigious and beautiful languages. So, the main question is why French is still underestimated? I would argue that students perceive French as an inaccessible, too difficult and diplomatic /official language. It is inaccessible for “poor students” as French Haut Couture or gourmet cuisine for average people. We have to remember that French were used in the foreign relations – diplomatic field that have been reserved only for few and carefully chosen people. Therefore, if we follow this reasoning we could argue that the decline of French has psychological background. Students simply underestimate their linguistic capacities and they do not believe in themselves due to the reserved, snobbish field. Sinksin also states that geography and immigration are the next factors that contribute to the decline of French. I agree with this opinion. Students since their childhood have been exposed to Spanish. They have Hispanic friends, and even they receive Spanish phone messages /ads, most instructions are in Spanish. Hence, it seems that it is a very natural process. French is not still visible as Spanish is.
How to change this negative perception? In my opinion it is necessary to teach French as any other language and to combine various cultural elements to this teaching. We have to show the other side of France and its culture, from the perspective of an average student. It would be essential to combine students’ cultural interest with the French culture i. e. if they are interested in rap combine the French rap into the culture module etc. We have to attempt to apply a kind of understanding and kind of cultural progress and diversity into our teaching. French is not only the Haute Couture and restaurants from belle époque such as Maxim’s.
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Justyna, I agree with what you said; here I'm going to continue a train of thought I started in my last post, responding to Kelly's initial post on this article. I think perception is everything: it was evident in Kelly's post, and it is also evident in yours, and it's even evident in the article! Kelly talked about how Spanish is perceived by Americans to be the most useful and the most accessible - just as the students whose comments you cited from that website you mentioned (quite interesting, I might add, I'll have to check it out) in whic the student perceives that the languages of the futre are English, Chinese, Arabic, etc. Is this a proven fact? No: it is a perception influenced by being a part of American culture, and how American cultural attitudes towards the rest of the world shape our perceptions of them and the languages that come with them. Perhaps the decline in French can also be attributed to American perceptions toward the French due to the nature of American political relations with the French. If you look at Siskin's article, you will find that according to the survey, many students perceive the French language as one that is snotty, snobbish, haughty, condescending, etc ... these perceptions seem to have created imaginary labels attached the idea of the French language that, psychologically, makes it seem less appealing. I think that languages could also be equated with the people that speak that language: the French as people are perceived the same way, and this social perception spills over into the linguistic - a total artificiality, in my opinion. Claiming that French is a language for patronizing snobs is like saying Arabic is for radicals and terrorists. If we want to increase enrollment in French, we need to get to the root of the problem: changing perceptions (i.e. manipulating students' psychiology) via disovery in the classroom... a technique we have learned to implement as teachers of French, and that I think would be immensely useful in solving the problem of perception. If perceptions of certain languages like French aren't changed, the students will always perceive the language through a tinted filter - a filter that distorts reality, and which could be harmful to the learning process.
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