As a student who chose to
spend her four years at university dedicated to a foreign language and plans on
spending the rest of her life teaching it, I absolutely believe that a foreign
language should be required for all students at the university level. As
technology evolves and our global economy and affairs more closely intertwine, it
is crucial that the lines of communication between speakers of other languages
remain open. It is much more beneficial for a company to hire someone who can
not only be a great businessman, but who can also speak the language of his
clients without the use of a translator.
By learning another
language and living in a host country of that language, a student really gets
to experience a completely new culture. Without knowing a foreign language, the
options for studying abroad are limited unless the school offers an intensive
language class and the student is extremely dedicated. If someone only knows
English, they cannot easily study abroad at a school in Germany, for example,
where all the classes are taught in German. I am a big advocate for studying
abroad as well as learning foreign languages and believe that they are very
closely related. The majority of students who study abroad in places that do not
speak English, are either majors or minors in the host countries language. I
feel as if those students “get more” out of their study abroad experiences than
students who decide to study in England or Australia. This is not to say that
it is not still a great experience studying in English speaking countries, but
it is definitely a different experience. My own study abroad experience was definitely positive, coming out of it feeling like I really grasped the new culture and gained a better hold onto the language. It is always something I refer back to and make constant comparisons of. The reverse culture shock really made me think about my own way of life and how maybe what we do here in the United States is not necessarily the ideal way of doing things.
Not only is learning a
foreign language great for communication, but it also offers other useful
aspects as outlined in the Standards for Foreign Language Learning. A student
who learns a foreign language gains knowledge and understanding of other
cultures which allows them to more easily make connections with people outside
of their typical communities. They are able to use these insights to make comparisons
between this new culture and that of their own. They are able to see other ways
of life and potentially find something in there that could change their daily
life for the better, for example a new diet or political system. Recently, I have felt like I have heard more and more people (students and adults alike) say that their one regret in college was not learning a foreign language. Our world is changing and knowing just one language is no longer going to suffice. If it becomes a requirement in universities, we no longer have to deal with these regrets and our country can move forward with those connections to non-English speaking countries. Even if this requirement goes only to the advanced level (500's), I believe that the basics are better than nothing and may even spark a new interest for the student. I believe that the benefits of having a foreign language requirement are beyond the benefits of having other requirements as part of the Discovery program, such as the fine and performing arts requirement or the biological science requirement. I know from personal experience, I got a lot more out of taking Spanish than I did taking Germs.
I completely agree with you that learning a foreign language and studying abroad is something incredibly valuable to my subject area, my future profession and my life. I think that it is important for people to learn a second language, but it is not always possible like this. Taking one class did not make me become an expert or even able to really understand psychology for instance. I think that dedication is an important aspect that students taking the class as a requirement often times lack. Without the desire to proceed with that subject area, the topics become irrelevant to life, which make the information less and less easily remembered and used.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you both, Shela and Melanie. I like what Shela said about how dedication is an important aspect to learning something. I'm sure a lot of Spanish majors/minors weren't in love with Spanish the first time they took it in probably late middle school/early high school, but maybe they will turn out to love languages...if not what they first started with, perhaps a different one! I also think that it's easy for early Spanish students to say that they don't see the real world application to learning a language, especially when we live in an area with such a lack of diversity compared to other places. It's hard to imagine when they will ever use their second language during their life but as we know, it is essential for networking with others outside of the country or even others outside of New Hampshire.
ReplyDeleteI am a huge advocate for cultural understanding around the world and I do think that learning another language and studying abroad is one of the best ways to do it. If you study abroad, then you get to experience every aspect of a culture as it is. This is very important for cultural language understanding. In fact, taking every class in a foreign language helps to develop an extensive vocabulary. When I was abroad I met many students who did not only have an English class, but they had to take science, history, etc in English during certain years to ensure their fluency. If we required that here students may be more likely to continue study with a language so that they can travel abroad and make cultural connections. Right now the biggest issue is dedication as you mentioned Shela. Students have to want to learn. In other nations students want to know other languages, but in the US they do not see how it can benefit them.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you mentioned that students do not need to become experts in a foreign language to feel as though it has benefited them - just having a little basic knowledge of a foreign language can go an awfully long way. Every person I know who has ever travelled abroad has given me the same bit of advice: just TRY to speak the language. Although I've never been out of the country, it does seem like simple common courtesy to try to speak the language of the place that you are in. For example, if someone came up to me in Durham, NH and started speaking Russian and expected me to understand/respond, I would be a little off put. The fact that they did that would not make them a bad person, but it would frustrate me a little. On the other hand, if a person from Russia came up to me and tried to speak to me in English, even if it was the most broken English I've ever heard, I would be grateful that they tried. If people know at least a little bit of the basics of a foreign language, I think it shows a great deal of respect for the foreign country, and I think it makes the people of that foreign country respect you more as a person. A person does not need to be a language expert right off the bat - a general knowledge of the basics are very valuable too.
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up a great argument that students who want or need to study abroad cannot easily do so without knowing the language. I know that it may be important for a Spanish major to study in Spain, or a French major to study in France, but it may not be so obvious that a business major may want to study in Germany or an art history major might study in Italy. These students may face greater challenges in foreign countries; challenges which may have been alleviated by studying the language beforehand.
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