... In this country, most students get to choose which language other than English they want to learn.
Really? What country do you live in? Here in America, kids generally learn the language the school district decides. My kid is learning Spanish, just like I had to. No choice.
My high school offered Spanish, French, German and Mandarin Chinese.
My HS offered LESS foreign language classes than those of other HS's which had Hmong/Lao, Japanese, East Punjabi.
....and this was in "backwards redneck and illegal immigrant" central Fresno, CA. My school's per pupil state spending was like 1-2% below state average too. But its a low cost of living area with no more than 10% of students having problems at home.
To prevent easy A's for Mexican kids they simply had "Spanish for Native Speaker" classes to alleviate that concern.
