Question:
Most highly selective colleges recommend a second language course during
high school. But if your native language is not english (say, mandarin),
and you speak your native language at home, would the admission officers
consider that as a second language besides english?
Answer:
Hard to say. On the one hand, one reason for "requiring" a study
of language is because there is generally a complaint that US students
only know English, and by making the language requirement, it forces
students to learn about a different culture and language. In this
scenario, you wouldn't need another language, since you already speak
two. On the other, some may view the process of taking another
language, relatively late in life, as still something desirable. But
this would, for example, bias against Latinos in the US, many of whom
do speak Spanish, and whether they should be compelled to take, say,
French, even though they already know Spanish.
Here's the dilemma. In some grad schools, learning a foreign
language is a requirement. Some profs. don't like the idea of students
who already know a second language because they don't have to make
any effort to learn it, while native English speakers must struggle
to learn a new language, and thus some profs. want to see the
international student learn a new language, and struggle with it,
just as the native English speaker has to. However, this is not
a hard and fast rule.
I would try to contact the university you are applying to and see
what they think. I would think it would be OK not to take an
additional language, but it's hard to tell whether admissions officers
are directed to treat those who already know a second language as the
same as having taken a language course in high school
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