World Cultures

World Languages and Cultures

Program Overview

Our mission is to promote bilingualism, biliteracy, and cultural competencies through standards- and proficiency-based teaching and learning of World Languages and Cultures; to help all students, regardless of their home language, meet or exceed the district's graduation and UC/CSU "a-g" admissions requirement in languages other than English. Crucial to this mission are more than 652 teachers of World Languages and Cultures, countless school counselors and site administrators, who serve over 178,000 students every day across the LAUSD. Our secondary schools offer Spanish, French, Korean, Mandarin, American Sign Language, Italian, Japanese, Arabic, Russian, German, and Latin throughout the district. Most of our schools offer Spanish courses and many offer French courses at various levels.

Please refer to the program directory to find schools and the LOTE languages they offer. 

The Importance of Biliteracy

Our students today live in a more interconnected world than that of any previous generation.

Knowledge and appreciation of different languages and cultures of the world contribute to increased global competence and are valuable and necessary skills for our students. Citizens of the United States share and shape the future with citizens of all countries of the world.

The ability to communicate with peers in other languages --in addition to English-- and to engage with others in culturally-appropriate ways increases educational and employment opportunities, strengthens personal relationships, and adds to the enjoyment and appreciation of life. Proficiency in a language other than English can aid significantly in the pursuit of learning by granting access to information that may only be accessible in another language. Furthermore, acquiring another language can provide the learner with a better understanding of English through new perspectives.

As 21st Century Americans and global citizens, our students need to understand, appreciate and respect the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of all people. Currently, both the University of California and the California State University require successful completion of at least two years of secondary-level study of a language other than English as part of their admissions requirement. 

In alignment with the district's vision for all our students to graduate "college prepared and career ready", the LAUSD requires a minimum of two years of secondary-level study of a language other than English for all graduates.  Hence, World Languages and Cultures is an integral part of LAUSD's instructional program.

Once commonly known as "foreign languages", these courses and programs are now referred to by the LAUSD and by an increasing number of learning institutions and professional organizations, including the University of California-- as "world languages" to affirm that, in a community as diverse as ours in Los Angeles, such languages are not necessarily "foreign", but rather "languages of the world", other than English.

For additional resources on the value of bilingualism, biliteracy, and multilingual and multicultural education, please see the Seal of Biliteracy section of our general resource page.