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The Benefits Of Foreign Language

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Verbal language is how the human race communicates. Without it, nations would be severed from the worldly ties it needs to survive. A hundred years ago language loss wasn’t a concern, but now, it threatens the world. There is a great urgency for plurilingual people amongst the military, political, business, and international world, particularly in the U.S. If efforts are not taken to increase foreign language capabilities amongst the people of America, the future of cross-cultural communication will be grim. Foreign language understanding is crucial in society, and so a greater effort should be taken to educate the students of America for the benefit of globalization.
In the United States, foreign language study is in huge decline. In the past, the U.S. has attempted foreign language study. In fact, 100 years ago the United States’ foreign language study was roughly similar to Europe’s foreign language study (King). But, “after the United States entered World War I… almost half the U.S. states criminalized the teaching of German or other foreign languages in schools” (King). This was because the United States was nervous that German speakers could transmit secret war information. Now, over the decades, foreign language study has plateaued, especially in the U.S. In fact, “in some states, fewer than 10 percent of students are learning languages other than English, painting a grim picture of foreign language education in U.S. public schools” (Mitchell). The young students of
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