Only 9% of the U.S. population is bilingual, and less than 8% of college students enroll in foreign language courses (Baron). The United States has not put enough emphasis on the importance of foreign language education. People are not aware of the price this country pays due to a lack of language professionals. Its national security and diplomacy are lagging behind. American companies are becoming less prevalent in the international economy. Americans are isolated from culture that thrives in their communities. However, the future generations can be salvaged from this weak state with foreign language education. The teaching of foreign language in American public schools will help shape a culturally-nourished nation ready to advance into international political, economic, and social affairs.
The national security and diplomatic affairs in the United States has suffered and will continue to if foreign language education is not rectified and strengthened. Perhaps the most severe tragedy on American soil, 9/11, exposed the language-related weaknesses of the U.S. government and intelligence agencies. After 9/11, the intelligence community revealed that it was only 30% prepared in languages crucial to national security (Holt). Although the government, had 123,000 hours of Arabic language recordings following the attacks, there weren’t enough linguistic professionals to analyze the information (Holt). In 2006 the FBI reported that only 33 FBI employees had limited skills in Arabic (Holt). However, they weren’t even in departments in which their skills could be used towards counterterrorism (Holt). The breach in national security is widening when intelligence agencies can only offer agents with “limited” language skills. There are intel...
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the English language worldwide, developing countries, included Chile have promoted the use of modern English as a foreign language in their classrooms. Learning and using this new language through subjects such as history, geography or others, is what the CLIL (Content and language integrated learning) Approach intends to do, thus opening doors on languages for a broader range of learners, nurturing self-confidence in young learners and those who have not responded well to formal language instruction
and in this part of this essay; these problems are going to be explained. In Turkey, perception of learning a foreign language is affected different factors such as ideas; purposes, culture etc. according to Dogancay-Aktuna and Kızıltepe (2005) these factors include that “attitudes of Turkish students towards the British and Americans, motivational intensity, interest in foreign languages in general, attitudes towards learning English, instrumental and integrative orientation, English class anxiety
When it comes to the topic of studying foreign languages, education should begin from kindergarten age, most of us will readily agree that it can help one become more open minded and leads to an appreciation of cultural diversity. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of is it an investment that wouldn’t pay off? Whereas some are convinced that it can improve our employability. For example, between two candidates with the exact same skill set and experience, the person who
American Sign Language is considered a foreign language by 40 states around the United States. American Sign Language is not considered a foreign language, because a foreign language is defined by “any language used in a country other than one’s own; a language that is studied mostly for cultural insight”. By definition American Sign Language does not fit that description because, it is only used in America. American Sign Language is also not qualified as a foreign language because people say that
Language is a key part of any family, community, culture and the human race. Without language the world today would be much different. From cavemen, to the Egyptian use of hieroglyphics, to Old English, to more than 6,500 languages spoken around the world today, the advances that humans have made in language is remarkable and inspiring. The ability to speak, read, write and understand more than one language is also remarkable and expands the liberties in life, especially for young people. High school
American Sign Language has grown to become a popular outlet to fill the gap between hearing and deaf communication. Because of this, many schools, colleges, and universities teach the language to their students. However, the debate is whether it should be considered a foreign language and count for a foreign language credit. Although there are several kinds of sign languages, ASL is controversial because it is indigenous to the area like Navajo, the Native American language that was present here
universal language, and for this reason, in order to communicate with others, we need to learn the language of others. In other countries, such as Germany, London and India, it is required that students learn English as a second language in their schools. I believe that speaking a foreign language is an important skill to have because it can be helpful in so many different areas. Given the decreasing number of English speaking people who live in the United States, there should be a foreign language requirement
you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language that goes to his heart.” ‒ Nelson Mandela. Since the 1960’s learning a second language has decreased by 30 percent in today’s society. People who wish to learn an additional language often do so to communicate with people who reside in different countries. With an increase in today’s globalization, it is forcing companies throughout the world to break the language barrier. However, with
Language is a vital part of communicating and understanding each other through conversation. Language has been around for plenty of centuries, and with such a long history, many countries have more than one language that they speak. In the United States, there are many languages that are spoken daily, but in most cases, American public schools oblige one language course from kindergarten through college, and that is English. American students should be required to take foreign language courses in
The U.S. government has acknowledged the demand for foreign languages, but managed to reduce funds that support language programs for K-12 grades. However, advocates have been emphasizing the importance of learning a foreign language at a younger age to promote the program. School districts have developed a plan to incorporate a foreign language curriculum in grade schools, which is designed to improve communicative competencies. Learning a language at adolescent years helps with the memory, creativity
learning foreign languages for numerous reasons. Languages are the biggest source of freedom for me as a result of with a language you can accomplish almost anything, anywhere. Languages allow you to live anywhere in the world, which means the world is the limit. New locations means innovative job opportunities, a unique culture, and new friends. To me that is the biggest source of freedom available to anyone who is willing to spend some time and effort into learning a innovative language. Especially
communicate in a language other than one’s first language has been considered highly important. The necessity of teaching foreign languages to Young Learners (aged 5-12 years old) has been widely recognized and, as a result, recent years have witnessed an explosion in the number of children learning English as a foreign language as part of their primary education. In fact, in many countries worldwide a tendency to lower the age at which school children begin their foreign language learning has been
children in a foreign language class at a young age, even parent of children with no prior learning disability have these concerns. Some parents may have the option of withdrawing their children’s from foreign language studies which is understandable and completely up to their choice. However, it can deprive learning opportunities and experiences for these students. In which, could be useful and important for other things such as opening up to new interest of cultures, knowledge, and language. One thing
Foreign Language at a Younger Age (Lariat) Imagine you are sitting in a classroom full of people who are bilingual, but you are the only one who cannot speak another language except your own. What do you do? Are you going to try and communicate? Or wonder why you did not take the foreign language classes that might have been available to you during your earlier years of education? The key words here are, “might have been available.” Some schools may not have foreign language added to their curriculum
music in the foreign language classroom offers an approach to enhance students' awareness of another culture, and also can aid in the practice of communication skills (Seeman, 2008; Lee, 2009; Thares, 2010; Yang, 2011; Yuliana, 2003). Music plays a predominant role in the part of learning. Singing songs rhythmically with actions could help children pronounce