The Benefits Of Learning A Foreign Language

Learning a foreign language can be beneficial in future settings and handy when it comes to global presence when well educated, but very difficult processing and learning especially at an older age. Foreign language classes should not be mandatory while in college because there is lack of time, it should depend on individual interest, and because many believe it is a waste of time.

What is your first language? Do you remember your first words? How about learning to pronounce or spell words of your first language? Would you ever learn a foreign language because it sounds like a lot of work. Today some students are required to learn another language. However all students in the US shouldn't have to be required. Some reasons may include students never using the language, not learning another language would free up time, and students may not learn as much as people think. This is why students in the US shouldn't have to be required to learn another language.

“Learning a foreign language draws your focus to the mechanics of language: grammar, conjugations, and sentence structure”(Merritt). Before I began learning Spanish, I did not even know that conjugation was a thing, but in speaking a different language, I have had the opportunity to push myself to learn about conjugation in Spanish as well as recognize it in English. “The positive effects of learning to speak a second language can train the brain to analyze and process different linguistic structures” (9 Big Advantages). In the same way a foreign language affects one’s first language, it also creates skills that are highly beneficial to those who choose to use their brains. Benefits include: improved memory, increased attention span, improved multitasking abilities, more logical and rational thought, increased awareness of surroundings, and more. “Speaking a foreign language improves the functionality of your brain by challenging it to recognise, negotiate meaning, and communicate in different language systems” (9 Big Advantages). Consequently, these cognitive benefits translate into different aspects of one’s life such as affecting their professional life.

Students with foreign language skills can find jobs more easily than students without. Many employers look for applicants with basic foreign language skills. Language skills are also important for positions with international companies. Job security and higher pay for employees who know a foreign language are other possible benefits. Since only twenty percent of students in the United States take a foreign language, the ones who do have an advantage. Also,

While some may think that this is not certain studies have proven otherwise. In The Power of a Bilingual Brain, Jeffery Kluger states that, “Research is increasingly showing that the brains of people who know two or more languages….. Multilingual people, studies show, are better at reasoning, at multitasking, at grasping and reconciling conflicting ideas.”(1) Clearly, a bilingual education places students a step ahead not only in their education careers but, as well as in their daily life’s outside school. Jeffery Kluger discusses how a bilingual brain is not necessarily smarter brain, but is a more flexible and practical brain. Evidently, demonstrating to us one of the many benefits of a bilingual

Why High School students should learn a new language? A recent study in Brain and Language by University of Washington researches generated this somewhat surprising statistic: bilingual people are about half a second faster at executing novel instructions than

    Being able to speak another language strengthens cognitive skills. When speaking one language, both of the language systems are active which forces the brain to resolve that conflict (Bhattacharjee). If students learned to speak another language it would strengthen their cognitive skills because the brain would be forced to resolve the internal conflict which, in turn, gives it a workout. Being bilingual is good for strengthening cognitive functions in the brain.

“Cognitive functions can be defined as cerebral activities that lead to knowledge, encompass reasoning, memory, attention, and language that leads directly to the attainment of information and, thus, knowledge” (What are cognitive functions). Many students at Doulos are unaware of the benefits of knowing two languages. Ironically students also don’t know that their own brain and its skills are improving because of their second language. Doulos teaches classes throughout the whole day in both English and Spanish. Students are regularly changing between languages and their brain is always active with both languages. “This constant practice strengthens the control mechanisms and changes the associated brain regions” (Marian, Viorica, and Anthony Shook). People who are bilingual are capable of switching between tasks more efficiently. “For example, when bilinguals have to switch from categorizing objects by color (red or green) to categorizing them by shape, they do so more rapidly than monolingual people, reflecting better cognitive control when changing strategies on the fly” (Marian, Viorica, and Anthony Shook). Students’ cognitive and sensory process skills are more developed due to being bilingual (Marian, Viorica, and Anthony Shook). These improvements allow students to better process and understand information in different environments, thus leading to better

Being bilingual comes along with many benefits and some of those are receiving higher test scores and also being able to converse

Lots of people have many different opinions on if americans should start learning a second language, but the ratio of foreign people to americans is growing. A percentage of 13.7% as of 2015 is foreign born people in America, it is projected to go up to 14.9% by 2025, a record according to the United States Census. Taking the time to learn a second language can have some very positive side-effects on your attention span and memory. A study conducted by Northwestern University in 2012 showed that knowing multiple languages forces your brain to pay attention to relevant sounds, while blocking out irrelevant sounds. A psychologist at York University in Toronto, Ellen Bialystok, has found that students who study foreign

Bilingual people are smarter than monolingual people. In fact, it is proven that bilingual people are more cognitively developed and receive higher scores in academics. However, this can be improved among monolingual students by teaching more foreign languages in American public schools. By raising foreign language requirements, monolingual students are forced to exercise new regions of their brains, thus improving brain function and academic performance. It is imperative to the cognitive and academic betterment of American students that multiple foreign languages are taught in public schools.

Hola, yes all U.S. students should be required to learn a second language. There are many benefits of learning a new language. You can grow your vocabulary skills and learn about a whole new culture! As a matter of fact, we should all be equal.

Should all students be required to learn a foreign language? The need to learn foreign language is older than human history, growing with the ever increasing span of globalization. Today, being able to speak a foreign language is an invaluable skill, as the likelihood of meeting someone who cannot speak English grows every day. The business opportunities that foreign language bring are outstanding, a few examples being the large amount of John Deere products being bought by China, or how many food products that Americans buy were grown in Mexico and other Latin countries. In a country like the United States, a crossroad where different cultures clash, a global market becomes inescapable

In conclusion, U.S. grade school children should be required to learn a foreign language. Students should be required to learn a foreign language because of educational gain. Students should also be required because learning foreign languages promotes cultural awareness and sensitivity. Finally, students should learn foreign languages early because of cognitive development and greater skill in the

Some students would argue that taking a foreign language class in high school would not benefit them after graduation, as they plan to study a major in which being multilingual is not essential. This may seem reasonable as some majors, such as cosmetology or psychology may not ever use a foreign language nor require further study of a foreign language. However, studies have shown that studying a foreign language builds more skills than just language. Memorization, critical thinking and interpretation skills improve immensely in those students who take a foreign language class in high school (“Benefits and Opportunities” 1). Students can then use these skills to improve academic performance in other areas, improving overall college success.