The national world language standards created in 1996 to represent critical concepts in world languages were modified in 2015 to include real-world applications but were not developed with student input. Guided by a framework of critical theory and critical pedagogy, which gave voice to the people most affected by the standards, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of recently graduated high school students regarding the critical concepts and needed changes to the national world language standards. Interviews with nine recently graduated high school students from a Midwest U.S. public school district regarding the critical concepts and needed changes to the national world language standards were analyzed through inductive coding. Findings revealed six themes: conventions, criticality, exposure to global opportunities, inclusion, inclusive knowledge, and unification. Positive social change may occur through further modification of the national world language standards to better reflect the viewpoints of those the standards were designed to serve.
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