The ability to speak a second language and to understand the cultures who use that language has never been more important in our students' lives than today, when business is conducted at a multinational level and the demographics of our own country's schools, workforce and neighborhoods are becoming increasingly diverse.

The Modern Languages Department offers courses in Chinese, French and Spanish, establishing for each student a sequential program that stresses the utilitarian and the humanistic elements of foreign-language study. Groton considers that the study of the languages, literature, history, and institutions of other lands helps students to understand both other cultures and their own and to develop an appreciation of the variety of human experience and expression.