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Reasons to learn a foreign language essay
Reasons to learn a second language essay
Reasons to learn a second language essay
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Introduction
Being able to speak more than one language is proving to be a valuable skill in modern society. Many children across the world are at least bilingual, leaving many American parents wondering if they too, should learn to speak another language. While this debate remains ongoing, many adults are seeking to learn a second language either to communicate with a new client base or to attain higher status within a corporate setting.
Most Americans learn a second language in adulthood. Many public schools do not begin teaching second languages until high school, and all college students must study a foreign language in order to graduate from the university. Another population within the United States that is learning a second language are those immigrating from other countries, particularly Mexico. Most of these immigrants who are learning are adults, their children will not have to deal with learning a second language because they will most likely learn two languages, English and Spanish.
For the purposes of this paper, I have defined adulthood as including any person who is at or above the age of eighteen, because there is so little research on language learning in early adulthood versus middle or late adulthood. It is not possible to find studies about particular divisions of adulthood that have been verified by subsequent research trials, so I have included research about all ages of adulthood. Throughout this paper, I will discuss the major aspects of the body of research literature that separates adult second language learning from that of natural bilingual persons, including full immersion into the language, biological and neurological factors, the structure of both the native and second languages, age of acqui...
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.... Journal Of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception And Performance, 34(5), 1305-1316. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.34.5.1305
Lemhöfer, Kristin, Dijkstra, Ton, Schriefers, Herbert, Baayen, R. Harald, Grainger, Jonathan, & Zwitserlood, Pienie. (2008). Native language influences on word recognition in a second language: A megastudy. Journal Of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, And Cognition, 34(1), 12-31. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.34.1.12
Cunillera, Toni, Càmara, Estela, Laine, Matti, & Rodríguez-Fornells, Antoni. (2010). Words as anchors: Known words facilitate statistical learning. Experimental Psychology, 57(2), 134-141. doi:10.1027/1618-3169/a000017
Abrahamsson, Niclas, & Hyltenstam, Kenneth. (2008). The robustness of aptitude effects in near-native second language acquisition. Studies In Second Language Acquisition, 30(4), 481-509. doi:10.1017/S027226310808073X
Most people who grow up with a foreign language spoken in there house grow up with an advantage in society. This advantage can only occur once the individual learning that foreign language also learns the dominant language spoken in that country. Once both of these languages are learned and mastered, the individual has now placed them se...
It is important to maintain children’s home language as it may help them learn and understand a second language. Barratt-Pugh (2000) discusses the benefits of bilingualism and maintaining it through early childhood settings, also mentions the concerns families have for their children maintaining two languages through schooling. Research within the article states that children who speak more than one language will have a higher level of understanding literacy content, form, genre, as well as understand the differences and translating within both languages. This demonstrates a contrast of strengths and experiences with literacy (linguist...
In Suzette Haden Elgin’s Native Tongue, infants of linguistic households are required to acquire various alien languages to become native speakers of Earth for the new languages studied. Our society, for the most part, understands that adults acquire foreign languages differently from the acquisition of a second language by a child. Furthermore, most people generally have the understanding that children learn languages quickly and easily compared to adults. Adults, however, are able to acquire foreign languages in fair or controlled conditions. There may be resulting differences between language acquisitions of new languages, but the rate at which adults acquire second languages should not be a factor.
Right now, imagine a person in a future job. More than likely that person will encounter somebody speaking a language besides their native tongue. If someone would find themselves in that position, would they be prepared? There is a growing need for translators and other jobs that require a different language other than English. Demands for bilingual workers have doubled in the past five years, and employers say that job is now one of the highest requests by employers when applying for a job opportunity in the US. The Army, NYPD, and the State Department all can’t get enough workers with this important job skill (Kurtz). A second language should be mandatory in American schools because it makes employees more marketable, creates social interaction with different cultures, and increases cognitive skills.
After Lenneberg's (1967) advanced analyses and interpretation of critical period in regards to first language acquisition, many researchers began to relate and study age issue in second language acquisition. In this area of study, Johnson and Newport (1989) is among the most prominent and leading studies which tries to seek evidence to test the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) in second language (L2) acquisition. This study aims to find identifying answers to the question of age-related effects on the proficiency for languages learned prior the puberty.
There are more than 6,500 languages around the world. We can't control where we are born nor what will be our native language. Although, we can choose which we are going to speak as a second language. Speaking more than one language has obvious benefits in today's internationally growing world, and it has become common to know more than one. Being bilingual is a benefit, that one is never too old nor too ahead to experience and learn from
In today’s society, especially in the United States, most people are monolingual English speakers. As a result, these monolingual speakers are at a significant disadvantage compared to those who speak more than one language fluently. This disadvantage is crucial to realize since it is important to learn how individuals and the nation can be enhanced. Multilingual speakers have an advantage in global affairs that involve countries that speak different languages. Speaking multiple languages makes it easier to communicate with people when involved in foreign affairs. Those who speak multiple languages are also more aware of other cultures in society. Monolingual speakers are not as exposed to other cultures and have difficulty understanding or even recognizing them. Furthermore, being multilingual increases your
Many parents concerned about negative effects on child development. However, second language does not have any negative effects such as child’s speech delay or language confusion. Let’s look at r...
The characteristics of the phonological system of the first language may be evident throughout the life of the successive bilingual. Lexical Acquisition in successive bilinguals The
LANGUAGE FLUENCY is also affected for bilinguals because they became confused and double minded before choosing appropriate words for particular object in particular
Wolter. B. (2001). Comparing the L1 and L2 Mental Lexicon. Studies in Second Language Acquisition. 23:41-69.
With the increasing popularity of dual immersion programs in schools and the widespread notion that language acquisition is something that needs to happen early on life, is there an ideal age to learn a second language (L2)?
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.
Research also confirms that children learn best in their mother tongue as a prelude to and complement of bilingual and multilingual education. Whether children successfully retain their mother tongue while acquiring additional languages, depends on several interacting factors.
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.