Every Harvard Student Should Take a Foreign Language | Opinion

Harvard students might have four-year plans more rigid than ever — but a universal language requirement deserves a slot.

Coming into Harvard with six years of Spanish class, I was initially pleased to see my foreign language requisite automatically fulfilled. But as I explored the course catalog more closely, I found myself intrigued by the breadth of language offerings on campus — and wondering why every student isn’t made to engage with them.

Currently, the College allows students to test out of the year-long foreign language requirement by submitting an Advanced Placement score of 5 or an International Baccalaureate Language score of 7, or by taking a Harvard placement exam. At first glance, this seems reasonable — comparable to a student skipping Calculus I or II. But foreign languages aren’t calculus, where a student tests out with the goal of taking higher-level math classes earlier. A student who places out of the language requirement will never have to engage with language study at Harvard, devaluing what the College itself calls “an essential component” of the liberal arts.

In the 17th century, the University expected proficiency in both Latin and Greek, which later evolved into two years of required study for students who did not speak a foreign language — and finally, to the policy we have today.

Though the days of mandated Latin have passed, Harvard still offers language study — over dozens of world languages across 18 departments. What’s different, however, is the current policy that allows students to bypass a valuable experience.

Harvard students who don’t take a foreign language likely fall into one or both of two camps: those who completed significant foreign language coursework in high school, or native speakers of a language other than English, including international students who may have completed their secondary schooling in another language.

Regardless of each student’s unique background, no one should have this requirement waived. Students who learned another language in high school or native speakers of non-English languages still aren’t getting the cultural, linguistic, and social benefits of taking an unfamiliar language, particularly at the college level.

At Harvard, language study is a rewarding, worthwhile experience — even if only for two semesters. The College’s introductory Chinese class, for example, meets five times a week, and its Spanish, German, and American Sign Language counterparts meet four times.

A year of this kind of intensive language study can bring learners to conversational proficiency. But especially in the age of more translators than we have ever seen, several of them powered by artificial intelligence, students might reasonably ask what they stand to gain from a simple year of learning.

Nonetheless, the goal here isn’t perfection. Rather, it is to experience a new perspective — not to mention the proven cognitive benefits of learning a new language. Students will have significant new skills in something they may have started from scratch.

If a student chooses to engage with their native language here at Harvard, like I will be doing with Hindi-Urdu this semester, departmental placement exams are readily available for students with greater proficiency. But to ensure students experienced in a language have the opportunity to learn new material, those who test into the highest level on a placement exam should be required to take a different language.

With students already drowning in concentration requirements — often of the double, joint, or honors variety — adding another is likely to ruffle a few feathers. But I would urge us to remember that we are here at Harvard because we believe in the power of a diverse, exploratory education that will make us better citizens of the world. What is the study of foreign language but learning to understand more of the place we all inhabit?

Let’s stay true to our values — and adjust our course planning spreadsheets to include two semesters of foreign language study.

Ananya Gautam ’29, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Canaday Hall.