The role of Spanish in U.S. Schools is undisputed. However the numbers of programs, as well as the opportunities for students to reach high levels of proficiency in Spanish or other languages, are inadequate. (Nancy Rhodes and Ingrid Pufahl)
The position of the Spanish language in the world today remains strong. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language around the world, after Chinese
the most common language, spoken by approximately 38 million people (United States Census Bureau, 2012). Not surprisingly, Spanish is also the foreign/world language most often taught in public and private schools in the U.S. Although the selection of languages to be taught in schools sometimes appears to be politically motivated – schools change the languages they offer according to major world events and sociopolitical contexts – Spanish has been the most widely offered foreign/second language in U.S. schools, kindergarten through twelfth grade, for many decades (Draper, 1991). By the 1970s, it became the most frequently studied foreign/second language in U.S. colleges and universities, when Spanish overtook French (Modern Language Association, 2013).
Read the whole report in the attached file (Informes del Observatorio)
