By AARON ANDREAS and ANDRES DOWNEY
Throughout a high school career students are tasked with taking a foreign language class. However, there is one question: Spanish or French? We will provide the evidence, the facts, the so called “concrete details” to show you why you should take Spanish instead of French.
Did you know that Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world, while French, in its meager entirety, is only fourteenth on the list. While French is only spoken by roughly 76 million people in the world, mostly centered in France itself, Spanish is spoken by over 398 million people universally. If these numbers aren’t enough, our neighbors to the south can help provide more insight.
To the south of the United States lies Mexico, where 98.5 percent of the population speaks Spanish. Along with those numbers, a growing number of Spanish speakers are coming into the United States everyday. In fact, the United States has recently passed Spain in the amount of spanish speakers the country houses. The U.S. is now second only to Mexico on the list of countries with the highest amount of spanish speaking residents. There are currently 41 million native spanish speakers in the United States, along with another 11 million people who are bilingual and speak spanish. This shows the global reach Spanish has achieved, and that learning the language will benefit a student nearly anywhere they wish to travel, whether it be in the 24 countries that have Spanish as the official language of the country, or simply in your Southern California community.
Along with the researched facts, we interviewed Mr. Celano, a Spanish and French teacher at Redlands East Valley. When asked which language he thought students should take, he said “Spanish is easier to learn than French…Spanish has easier grammar rules and pronunciations.” Mr. Celano also talked about life in the United States; many Spanish cultural events and traditions have been integrated into society, and by taking Spanish you do not only learn the language, but the culture that surrounds it. Not only is Spanish more applicable to life in and around the United States, but it is also a more straightforward language to learn.
In conclusion, Spanish is simply a more valuable language to learn for life in the United States and beyond. Learning a second language can be a major benefit moving forward in life, and by learning Spanish, one of the most viable languages, we can destroy a crucial barrier hindering this world: language.
ETHIC NEWS 
Learning the French language, as any language, is equal in learning curve and difficulty. Although my viewpoint is biased as French student, it is important to remember that language is a unifier in any location. Of course Spanish will be spoken more frequently in our community, but that fact alone should not be sole factor in choosing a language in school. The French language offers unique opportunities within the field of international relations and is one of the most common languages besides English used in international diplomacy and business. (e.g. the United Nations, and Médecins sans Frontières).
Alas, the world is chock full of different languages and dialects. In fact, more than 1.1 billion people in the world speak Chinese, and another 366 million speak Hindi, with both languages not being taught by schools. To say that one language is more valuable than another is simply disrespectful to the vast culture the world has to offer. Instead of learning Spanish to break the barrier that is plaguing the world, perhaps we should be more cognizant of all the vast languages that make up our diverse society.