Fluency in a Foreign Language Should Be Required Before Graduation

The need for bilingual education is not directly related to the need for the student to have a more pleasant learning experience, but based more on the increasing need for these individuals to learn about their heritage, how they can present themselves to others in different scenarios, and being knowledgeable in both languages at a dual equivalence. The key

This study is important as it extremely relevant in the globalized society that we live in today, in addition to the fact that it offers further evidence on the tangible benefits of raising a child to be bilingual that come later in his or her life. Even if the study does not show a clear and convincing correlation between raising a child to be bilingual and higher academic performance in college, I believe that my study will encourage people to think more about the potential benefits of raising a child to be

That is because bilinguals’ switching between two language systems provide them with a larger linguistic reservoir, which includes “metalinguistic” skills, knowledge can potentially be transferred between language and thus may be helpful when acquiring a new language. However, they suggest that students who speak another language at home tend to lag behind their monolingual peers in the majority language of the community, and this gap in the language of instruction can affect their academic performance across learning domains (Maluch, Kempert and Stanat 6). They think weak majority language student might have trouble in “comprehending explicit information” and might “have limited resources with which to engage linguistic transfer” (Maluch, Kempert and Stanat 6). In brief, bilinguals have more advantage in cognitive and other skills than monolinguals do, yet several factors like background characteristics and language proficiency can affect this result.

Ask the average American adult if he or she knows a foreign language, the most common response is: “I took a foreign language in high school but I don’t remember it” (Why Learn a Second Language?). This response is no longer an acceptable response as communities in the United States become more diverse, full of many different languages and cultures. Foreign language is defined as “any language used in a country other than one's own; a language that is studied mostly for cultural insight,” according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Foreign language requirements in the United States are scarce, but important factors to educational development. Only about 15 states in the U.S. have specific requirements for foreign languages in their

The earlier purchase of the second language and adeptness, increases the volume of grey matter which provides a balance between the two languages. However, the benefits of bilingualism isn’t limited to people born bilingual, but also the ones who gain it later in life. Bilinguals excel monolinguals in an improved metalinguistic alertness, memory and creativity. Dr. Mercola deduces that some researchers claim that adults may be better at learning a new language than children. Where, adults have more developed skills and knowledge as compared to children. Children excel in obtaining a similar accent of the new language without the influence of their native language like adults. However, the accent doesn’t affect the fluency and communication skills where adults outdo children in; due to the greater knowledge. She then suggests that it’s never too late to learn a new language, and to obtain the best skills you should engage yourself in a class rather than learning it by yourself. Mercola enumerates other activates that can lift your mental health and

College students believe a two-year foreign language requirement is too much to ask for. However, college students do not realize in today’s economy, many careers and job opportunities such as doctors, teachers, law enforcements, and military, are careers that are demanding proficiency not only in English comprehension, but in a foreign language as well to accommodate customers, patients, and recruits. Out of all the languages in the United States, Spanish specifically is in high

Multilingualism allows for those capable of it to understand and appreciate different cultures and life styles and encourages open-mindedness, dismisses ignorance and boosts positive social relations. The argument regarding multilingualism’s importance is rife; although there are many benefits from language skills it seems there is a lack of drive to learn another language.

Living in the modern era, learning a foreign language provides various opportunities while also benefitting oneself. As the world gets more globalized, the benefits of learning a foreign language become more noticeable. According to Chandler (2014), more parents want to enroll their kids in foreign language classes; likewise, they know the benefits that learning a foreign language will bring to their child, thus making them study a foreign language. However, teenagers in college may not be well informed on these benefits, thus dismissing the study of a foreign language as a waste of time. It is known that college students are bombarded with academics and are faced with stiff competition once they enter the job market. Therefore, foreign language learning should be included in college curriculums for it not only gives one an edge in the job market but also improves one’s skills while also having health benefits.

Adolescents should have to learn a foreign language due to the many advantages in everyday life. According to a recent study in Louisiana, “A study of 13,200 third and fifth graders in Louisiana public schools revealed that, regardless of race, gender, or academic level, children taking foreign language classes did better on the English section of the Louisiana Basic Skills Test than those who did not”

Learning a second language can help improve students’ cognitive skills. Students who are bilingual have more creativity. According to Janice Stewart, “Children who study a second language are more creative and better problem solvers than students who do not study a second language… These children not only develop an ability to reproduce those sounds in a way to make meaning, but also begin to compare and contrast the ways different languages use combinations of letters and sounds to create meaning” (Stewart). Students are expressing themselves more not only through speaking, but in their writing as well in both foreign and native languages. Children can increase their problem solving by just learning a second language. In Stewart’s article, research has shown that elementary children develop diverse thinkers from a foreign language program in the school setting. Students’ test scores can increase just knowing a foreign language. Marie Anderson said that bilingual students are more likely to do well on college entry exams such as the ACT or SAT (Anderson). This is because they can maintain the materials learned longer for exams. Students’ cognitive skills would gain improvement from a second language.

In today’s increasingly globalized world, the ability to speak a second or multiple languages provides a wide range of benefits. Since people who have foreign language skills surely spent much time not only in studying the language itself but also in engaging with its culture, they can see things from other different perspectives, not from a single perspective. The latest study actually shows that bilingual children are more capable of understanding others’ perspectives than those who speak only one language (Whyte, 2016). Moreover being multilingual can also prevent Alzheimer’s and other diseases that affect the brain. In the international business world, workers who can speak foreign languages have more flexibility to choose their jobs than monolingual workers. Foreign language skills allow people to communicate with each other and to negotiate more successfully. Foreign language skills also can be a useful tool to fill a gap between different cultures, which leads to the success in building a good business relationships.

Language is one of mankind’s most powerful inventions. From the scribbles in caves, thousand-page stories of a French Revolution, to men and women standing in front of thousands eager to listen; the written, spoken, and oration of language is a vital component of the human experience. Interestingly, the greater an individual’s mastery of language the greater his or her ability to understand the world itself, and more importantly those that live on it. The following is going to be an in-depth analysis of the impact multilingualism has on an individual’s perception, exposure, and appreciation of foreign culture. First, multilingualism has several benefits to people without taking culture into account. The difference in neural activity between monolingual and multilingual speakers has shown the later to have a marginal advantage over the other. Research shows this advantage as a result of the brain’s executive function. (Diamond 1-3) This portion of the brain relates to intelligence, it affects a person’s memory, attention, forethought, impulse control, etc. The executive function of the brain is especially active in bilinguals, but what causes this phenomenon? Simple, the constant competition between two or more languages presents a level of exercise within the brain that monolinguals do not experience. So, the mental stress of alternating between two languages increases one’s mental acuity and ability.

Bari Walsh, a graduate student at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, explains the numerous benefits bilingualism has on the brain in “Bilingualism as a Life Experience.” The article title is indicative of what bilingualism is for me. While bilingualism for some people simply means being proficient in two languages, for me, bilingualism

Many researchers have hypothesized that language could be acquired only within a critical period, which is from early infancy to puberty. If this is true, this should be extended to second language acquisition as well, and, if so, young children should be better at acquiring the second language than adults, and the individuals who started to learn the second language in their early childhood should reach higher levels of proficiency in the second language compare to those who started to learn the language in their adulthood. If this prediction is true, it would importantly demonstrate that children should be exposed to language with rich vocabulary and grammar within the critical period, and foreign language exposure at school should take place in early grades in order to maximize their opportunity to learn the language effectively. However, the self-motivation and the value of learning the language may differ depending on the individuals and those factors can limit or expand the exposure to the target language. In this paper, I would like to discuss the correlation between the age that bilingual individuals are exposed to the second language as well as their motivation, and the value of learning the second language. I would like to suggest that regardless of the age that individuals are exposed to the second language, if one values the importance of learning the target language and maximize their exposure to it, they can reach to the native level of

Given the appropriate environment, people tend to pick up a new language easily at a young age. Multilingualism doesn’t require complete fluency in another language, or the ability to speak two unrelated languages. The benefits of multilingualism are so stupendous that they extend outside the area of language. Children and elders learning a foreign language have been demonstrated to be consistently better able to deal with distractions, like holding two languages concurrently without allowing words and grammar slip from one to another (Bialystok). Multilingual speakers also develop a greater vocabulary size over time (Kosmidis), a markedly better language proficiency in, sensitivity to, and understanding of their mother tongue (Johnson), and have a better ear for listening and sharper memories (Lapkin, Ratte). Furthermore, evidence has shown that skill in several languages fosters creativity and innovation: multilingual people are aware that problems can be tackled in different ways according to different linguistic and cultural backgrounds (European Commission). They can use this ability to find new solutions.