Due to the floundering economy many schools around the country have been having to make tough decisions about where to make cuts. One popular and unfortunate choice is that to limit, cut back on, or simply cut out foreign languages. Many superintendents feel that the large amounts of money spent on foreign language classes could be better spent going towards the core subjects and so many teachers are being laid off. Some schools are cutting back on the number of languages they offer while others are not providing the classes to younger students anymore.
Some schools have found new and cheaper ways to teach foreign languages rather than completely cutting them out. For instance, some fired their teachers and replaced them with the with Rosetta Stone, an interactive computer program, that while expensive costs a lot less than multiple teacher salaries. The problem here is that many people believe that no matter how good a computer program is, it will never replace having a real teacher. Personally, I'm taking Italian as and independent study this year and am one of the first students at Watertown High School to use the newly bought Rosetta Stone software to learn Italian. I've only just started the class but I have found the software to be a great way to learn the language. It makes learning fun but at the same time it really is necessary to have someone to ask questions and get help from.
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