Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The role of language in intercultural communication
Kids essay advantages of learning a foreign language
The importance of language in intercultural communication
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The role of language in intercultural communication
Should students take a foreign language in Elementary school, or Middle school, or High school? Students should learn a foreign language in school because it expands someone's opinion on different cultures and a different point of view on the world. It gives them the chance to help others if people that speak a different language. It helps you if you go traveling and don’t speak their language. It will also help them if they need to get a job because some jobs do require you to take a foreign language. Learning a foreign language in school will give people more opportunities in the real world. Students should learn a foreign language in middle school because it gives them a different opinion for different cultures and gives them a different …show more content…
Students that learn a second language of people that don’t speak their language can help your child to help communicate with and understand different people with different cultures. It is important that our kids learn not just about words but about people with different cultures. Students that are exposed to a foreign language will help incorporate different cultures of native speakers both abroad and down the road. “As the United States moves very rapidly to become a bilingual society, we almost have an ethical responsibility to our children [when it comes] the language skills they most likely will need later in life” says Hershberger. “I’m convinced that exposure to a second language at an early age relates to a more open and diverse worldview later in life. When a child is exposed to a variety in speech patterns, he or she learns that the world is a diverse place and that heterogeneity is the norm. If this child is immersed in or exposed to, a variety of cultural settings in which these languages are spoken, then he or she will learn that language is a means to bridge these communities.” this is in the article “5 Reasons All Children Should Learn a Foreign Language.” by Leah
When a baby is born, he/she comes into this world eager to learn. Always taking in information and absorbing it like a new computer. Every experience he/she encounters could possibly stick in that baby’s mind. However, some of the things that a child hears or perceives can either benefit or corrupt their learning. Teaching a child a second language has the same concept as putting in new software in a computer. Many advantages come with a safe and powerful computer and the same would come with knowing a second language. If a child was not taught a second language in their early years, that child might be at a disadvantage in their future, and as that child grows up not knowing a second language could potentially hold him/her back with grades and obtaining a job. Knowing a second language can benefit from those things and can also help with keeping strong ties with their family, culture, community, and even music.
In Richard Rodriguez’s memoir he explains how children who speak another language, excluding english, do not receive the best education, as in today, being a bilingual speaker is an academic enrichment (Potowski). In today’s time, language is an advantage for both children and adults. It is an advantage for children because they can communicate with more people and can be more open-minded towards different people and would grow up with better communication skills. Bilingualism at a young age also has many advantages for children's
In the United States, it is important for a person to speak English fluently because it is the official language in America and everybody communicates in English. Many people believe that English should be the only language in America and that sometimes people may face prejudice when they speak English with an accent. For some parents, the fear of prejudice makes them decided not to teach their children their native tongue. On the other hand, there are many other reasons why some parents want to teach their children their native tongue. Gabriela Kuntz explains in My Spanish Standoff why she did not allow her children to speak Spanish at home. Kuntz’s explanations are acceptable, but some research studies reveal that most young children can learn two or more languages. Also, many researchers say that children can learn a second language faster than adults.
To start, a second language should be mandatory in American schools because it makes employees more marketable.For example, 4 out of 5 new jobs in the US are created by foreign trade; therefore, foreign language is imperative for the future (Latimer). Also, when applying for a job position a person is more likely to get a job if he has previous foreign language skills because this makes him a more valuable employee to their potential
Foreign language classes are a benefit for students, as they will know more than one language. They will be able to communicate with more of the world and not be limited to one region of the globe. Narciss and Koerndle (2008) stated that for scholars, “Foreign language learning is crucial to students’ academic and personal education. In many domains, a person’s professional and individual success is related more or less to her ability to communicate at least in one if not several foreign languages” (p. 281). Hence, they will have more education, as they will be fluent in not just one language that is common like English.
If they lose their home language, they lose important family connections, tradition, heritage, which could lead to self-esteem and social emotional problems in their youth. For all these reasons, supporting and encouraging dual language learning in young children makes sense and is crucial to their long-term success (Magruder, et al. 2013).... ... middle of paper ... ... Early Childhood Education Journal, 38(6), 421-429.
Bilingual education is important to enforce in schools because it not only helps students but their parents as well. Since their first language is not English, bilingual education will really help them because it not only helps them succeed in mainstream classes that give instructions in English, but also aims to preserve the native language as on is mastering English; they cannot learn if they do not understand what the teacher or professor is saying.
Foreign languages should be taught in school is because it is better to learn a new language at a younger age. ¨While new language learning is easiest by age 7, the ability markedly declines after puberty¨ (“Unraveling how kids become bilingual so easily”). Already, most schools are waiting to give the option of learning a foreign language in high school. When children reach high school, the majority have already had a decline in learning a language due to puberty. While learning another in high school is better than learning as an adult, it is still not the best.
People will use a language all their lives and high school is the best place to start. The ability to learn more than one language while in school can give a student an advantage in the modern world (Lombardo). It is also important in college because you are more likely to communicate with people that speak other languages. In the most transitional programs, students move into full-time instruction in their major language after three or four years (Lombardo). It gives students more employment opportunities (Lombardo).
I think taking a foreign language in high school should be a personal choice. If you plan to travel the world and have a lot of people in your neighborhood speak a foreign language it is highly recommended you take the class. My friends in high school told me the reason they chose to take a foreign language class is because they didn’t want to study technology in college and wanted to know a second language. Also if you decide to not take an advanced technology course you only have one other alternative, a foreign language. I think you cannot force people to do anything and that’s why a foreign language is optional instead of mandatory. You can always take a foreign language class in college if you didn’t take it in high school. Taking a foreign language has it benefits but should not be a requirement ...
Speaking a language other than your mother tongue opens a door onto the world. Becoming proficient in a foreign tongue equates to a wider range of options in love, career, and friendships.
Of course, opponents of mandatory foreign language courses will say that immigrants and naturalized citizens should learn and speak the "de facto" official language of the United States--English. It is a valid point, but misses the bigger picture. People who speak English as a second language are already bilingual, while American-born students typically are not. Language is the most fundamental aspect of a culture. Students who learn the not-so-foreign language of the predominant minority group in their region of the country will gain at least some insight into the different cultures of their neighbors and perhaps have a better understanding of them at the personal level.
Language has pioneered many interracial relationships and historical milestones. Language is a necessity for basic communication and cultural diversity. Being multilingual is a skill proven influential to a successful future. Due to rapid globalization, countries all over the world are stressing the importance of learning a second, or even third, language. With the exception of time and lack of resources, adults have very few widely applicable disadvantages to learning multiple languages. However, language learning as a child presents more complications. Some of those include not having enough funding at the elementary school level to introduce a program for secondary language, academic overload for the youth, stress for both the parent and student parties, and the mixing of languages. Not all of these complications are true in any or all situations, however, and the absence of them provides multitudes of opportunity for future career and academic success. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the parents or the education legislation to decide whether they encourage the learning of a secondary language at the young age necessary for retention. “The general consensus is that it takes between five to seven years for an individual to achieve advanced fluency,” therefore the younger a child begins to learn, the more likely they are to benefit to the maximum potential (Robertson). Keeping the language learning in high school or beginning the process earlier is a greatly controversial discussion that is important to address because of the topic’s already lengthy suspension.
Therefore, this is able to encourage the ability to communicate and appreciate the depth and diversity of the world. Communication with two different countries, or three, or four, will further bring the world closer together, in hopes of closing the divide between some countries. By learning a second language, it can significantly broaden your native language as it gives you stronger vocabulary skills, improved literacy skills and a better understanding of the grammar and construction of your own native language. Furthermore, this can help you in other educational studies. Though it is possible to travel to another country without acquiring the native language, the experience you will have is greatly diminished as you will not see beyond the surface of their culture. Additionally, knowing the native language makes travelling easier, by being able to order meals in restaurants, ask and understand directions. Additionally, it makes it easier to find accommodation, it’s more enjoyable, informative and more satisfying. You are able to further understand and appreciate international literature, music and films, by being able to understand word plays, innuendoes, cultural references, metaphors and further improve your ability to speak the
As time goes by and as the global community develops, the world grows more and more international, making second or third language acquisition become necessary to the majority. With the growing importance of multiple language ability, more and more parents think of bilingual or multilingual education, which means acquisitions of two or more languages, for their kids. In fact, we do have many reasons showing why multilingual education is important and beneficial, such as aspects of interpersonal relationship, employment, brain health, and so on.