At South most students are required to take at least three years of a foreign language, but a number of students are actively learning more than one language.  

“Once you learn one language you can see how it’s kind of a window into another culture and how other people live, and I think as people get out in the world they realize it’s not just a school subject, it’s something that you actually use,” Lisa Richman, German teacher, said.

According to Richman, students will either start in German and then pick up another language as they go along, or when they’re almost done with one of their languages they’ll pick up German as a second language towards the end of their high school career.

“The main reason I take more than one language is simply because I love to travel,” Phillip Huttermann ’17, German and Spanish student, said. “Every year I go to Europe, and hopefully I’ll put Spanish to use someday. Of course it (taking more than one language) also looks good on your resume, and can be a nice GPA  booster as well.”

According to Richman, learning another language, especially German, can make people more marketable in areas of math, science, and engineering.

“Last year it was hard because I had them (French and German)  back to back classes and tests that I had on the same day were sort of hard because my brain wouldn’t switch quick enough to a different language.” Sophie Leslie ’18 said.

According to Hutterman, taking multiple languages is great for anyone who is interested in traveling abroad or intrigued by learning about other cultures.

“I think the more languages you get, the more you discover what’s out there, the more courage and interest you have, you have to go out and see those things yourself,” Richman said.