Albany- The Defense Department is calling the nation to improve its foreign language skills. It's a call being heard by many Southwest Georgia elementary students and students at Darton College.
"If the military finds it important, and the government is supporting it, shouldn't that give us a clue," said Spanish teacher Beth Parr.
Elizabeth Rollins, a student from Texas who is minoring in Spanish says, it's a necessity.
"I mean there's so many people that speak it, it's a part of everybody's life and so just the culture and everything, I think it will be a big help," said Rollins.
It's helping Timmy Hayes, of Albany, both at school and at work.
"It's actually a requirement for my major, but working in the construction field, I feel it's also necessary for me to be able to communicate with a lot of the Hispanics I work with," said Hayes.
It's becoming a necessity in many states and career fields.
"In North Carolina, they require nurses and doctors to have Spanish, not necessarily Spanish courses but they have to have occupational or professional Spanish," said Parr.
She agrees with the government that in order for the U-S to remain a global power we need to adapt.
"We've demanded that the people who come into this country speak English. They're coming so fast now, that they don't have an opportunity to learn to speak English," said Parr.
She teaches both adults and kids and says the earlier you learn, the better off you may be.
"The more that we can teach our children to respect and even admire people who speak other languages, I think the better our world is going to run," said Parr.
This fall, Darton College plans to offer a Spanish certified program for health professionals.
Darton College currently offers classes in French, German, Spanish, and Japanese. You can also take online Russian and Chinese at Darton through the University of Georgia.
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