Should American Students Learn Spanish or Chinese?

With China on track to secure a position as a leading economic force in the 21^st century, schools across the United States are beginning to offer Mandarin Chinese to prepare American students to deal with the Asian powerhouse. While there’s little doubt that fluency in Chinese will provide a competitive edge in the future, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof argues that, first and foremost, American children should be studying Spanish.

He notes that the “everyday presence” of the Spanish language in the U.S. as well as the country’s increasing economic integration with Latin America makes learning Spanish an imperative. Those with Spanish skills will be able to capitalize on business opportunities in the region, which will continue to see growth in the coming years as economies in places such as Southern Europe stagnate under the weight of the enduring financial crisis. In addition, Spanish is far easier for children to learn than Chinese, and students can attain a level of proficiency in Spanish by the time they graduate from high school that would be impossible with the more complicated Mandarin.