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The effects of studying abroad
The importance of learning foreign languages
The importance of learning foreign languages
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“Bonjour”,” god dag”, “hyvää paivää”, and “hello” were part of my vocabulary when I first came here in USA. I am from Finland, which has two main languages; Finnish and Swedish. I also started English courses in elementary school and French in high school. I have always been really interested about different foreign languages, because it introduces me to different countries and cultures. It also helps me to communicate with people around the world while I am traveling. There are also many other advantages to learn foreign language, like for example to get better job, and be able to communicate with foreigners in or out of your own country. Because of English I was able to come here in NCWC to get my college degree. When I first came to North Carolina Wesleyan College at spring 2008 I planned to continue with my French studies, and maybe start Spanish. I was really surprised and mad that the school didn’t offer any foreign languages at that time. I couldn’t believe that college in this big and global country couldn’t offer even Spanish, even though Hispanic origin is the nation’s largest ethnic/race minority (lahde). The world has become a global village and so on foreign languages are even more important. Now when the world is more international, it is important to know different languages. Student exchange programs have increased a lot, mostly because young students want to improve their foreign languages and learn more about different cultures. As we know that language and culture goes hand in hand. For me, without learning English at school it couldn’t be possible to come here and study in English. Also now when traveling around the world has become easier and cheaper, it is useful to know even little bit about the particula... ... middle of paper ... ... Sullivan admits that there are students that are interested about different foreign language programs, but still he thinks that language programs wouldn’t bring more students in to NCWC. My survey reveals that 29 out of 30 studied French or Spanish in High school. 60% (18 out of 30) can speak more than 2 languages. I also made survey for international students and it revealed that they are use to learn at least 2 foreign languages in middle school and high school. There were many students who were surprised that NCWC doesn’t offer any languages. “It was shocking to me that our school is the only school in our conference without a foreign language course” says Javon Boddie. Freshman Dennis Tasche from Germany thinks that it would be great if school would offer foreign languages. “That could be great for American’s to learn a different language”, he continues.
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...
Teaching world languages is a very specific, extensive field, and it should be noted that the texts presented here are only a small sample of what is available. Though it has long been known that language, culture and identity are interwoven, and extensive research to this effect has been presented, there exists an enduring trend to teach language solely as language. The texts presented within this annotated bibliography make it obvious that, as language is the main conveyer of culture, opportunities are being missed to help students develop their cultural understanding, and thus, their own identities, through the acquisition of second, or subsequent, languages.
America is often referred to as the “Great Melting Pot” where many people of various ethnicities, cultures, etc. have made their home. However, the primary language spoken in America is English, and most Americans believe that speaking English should be a requirement. Foreign students, whose primary language is not English, are usually automatically placed into bilingual educational programs. Bilingual education programs are used to educate students in the English language while they slowly transition from their native tongue into the American educational system. Sometimes these automatic placements have a negative effect on the students: the foreign students often do not receive the same amount of exposure of learning in one uniform language as other American students do.
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.
Language can bring people together but can also isolate. The United States is known as a melting pot, not only does that refer to culture but also the many different languages. We know of language barriers, but very seldom do we think of the language barriers within our borders. Even with the language barriers it solidifies the need for a national language, the United States of America should allow the freedom to express one’s culture while maintaining English as our national language, therefore offering common ground to its citizens.
One who is hard of hearing might only be able to communicate through sign language. What becomes of them if no one near can understand them? This demonstrates the importance of knowing multiple languages whether it is Sign Language, Spanish, French, Dutch, Mayan, or any other translation of words. Language is a fundamental component of any interpersonal relationship. Cultures throughout history have crumbled as a result of language barriers, leaving only artifacts and records to tell their story. This has been exhibited in various indigenous civilizations across the globe, such as the Coast Miwok language, which had been spoken from the San Francisco Bay to Bodega Bay. The various languages spoken throughout the world demand a medium of translation
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.
All Students Should be Required to Study a Foreign Language Educators historically have argued over the propriety of offering various academic courses. One recent yet continuing argument on American college campuses tends to pit school against school, professor against professor, student against student, school against professor, professor against student and student against school. The issue is whether or not courses in a foreign language should be required to attain a Bachelor's degree. Some believe the idea is absurd, while others believe it is a progressive move toward 21st century education.
Currently there are about 6,000 languages (Language Loss). “10,000 years ago, there may have been 12,000 languages (Cancio).” In the next century about ninety percent of all world languages could go extinct, because “languages are no longer being learnt by children” (Law). Some of these languages are also being lost because people move to the United States in search for a better life. Another cause would be that “the United States is failing to graduate enough students with expertise in foreign languages” (Saiz, and Zoido 523). In 2009, there were 38,517,234 immigrants in the U.S. (Batalova and Aaron). In 2011, 23 percent of children from elementary school and secondary school in California had LEP, or limited English proficiency (Percent Limited English Proficient Student). Bilingual education is one way of teaching a child in his or her own native language while learning English at the same time (Bilingual Education). Schools should teach a child in their native language while teaching the child English because it helps preserve his or her culture, secure a better employment future, and bilingual students perform better in school.
The increasing impact of globalization has, in recent years, caused a significant shift in the goals of foreign language education from communicative competence to a requirement for intercultural communicative competence (Byram, 1997). He defined intercultural competence as the ability to establish and maintain relations with members of other culture but not necessarily linked to foreign language proficiency while intercultural communicative competence implies that the learner can do this in a foreign language (Helm & Guth, 2010). However, in a traditional language classroom, the focus of language teaching is to develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. If the focus on language teaching is to improve this set of
Learning another language provides high rewards including “improved cultural understandings, communication abilities and job prospects.” (Preston and Seedhouse, 2013) Because of the rapid development of technology, applying an array of media is being presented to students in different parts of the world in an effort to achieve different purposes such as educational needs.
When we know a new language, just we can start to see connections we couldn’t see before because each and every language approaches the world in a slight different way. As a result, we have the opportunity to understand the world from the respective of another culture and gain a greater appreciation of human society in all its diversity. Therefore, the importance of second language learning is gain reinforced. We became not just equipped to communicate across the cultures but empowered and to understand others’ point of view also.
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.
In 2009, teachers of a New Jersey school banned foreign languages and stated, “any language other than English will not be tolerated" (Debaron 1). This situation was soon no longer allowed. While over ten percent of the total adolescent education systems contain emergent bilinguals, a whopping sixty percent of those students are educated in only English (Bale). Maria Estela Brisk, a Boston College Education professor, believes, “schools has wasted much energy in the search for a "perfect" model and the best way to learn English” when they could just focus on proving “quality education” to every student in the system (1). Teacher’s main priority should consist of effectively teaching their students to prepare them for the future, but currently there are a lack of certified bilingual education teachers. When students are taught more in different ways, they can educationally benefit their cognitive abilities, involving the brain with “mathematics, problem solving, logic and memory”, can be improved to create an overall better student. Even by learning another language at a earlier age can contribute to __________. Learning another language will be
The issue focused on importance of learning of foreign languages. Many people ask "Why should I learn foreign languages?" Learning a foreign language takes assiduity and free time. In order to understand this importance we need first to understand benefits of knowing and learning foreign languages. I offer several groups of these benefits below, which may help to convince you to take the plunge, if you need such persuasion. One groups of benefits represent economic and practical reasons, others have intellectual and even sentimental content, but whatever reasons you choose, you will have a clear idea of why learning foreign language so important and how it can help to motivate you in your studies.