ABC's for Studying a Foreign Language
WHY ASK WHY?
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Analyzing skills improve when students study
a foreign language.
Business skills plus foreign language skill
make an employee more valuable in the marketplace.
Creativity is increased with the study of
a foreign language.
Dealing with another culture enables people
to gain a more profound understanding of their own culture.
English vocabulary skill increases.
Foreign language study creates more positive
attitudes and less prejudice toward people who are culturally different.
Graduates often cite foreign language courses
as some of the most valuable courses they took in college because of the
communication skills they developed in the process.
Higher order thinking skills, like problem
solving, dealing with abstract concepts, and inferencing, are all increased
when you study a foreign language.
International travel is made easier and
more pleasant through knowing a foreign language.
Job mobility and chances for promotion are
often attributed to knowledge of a foreign language.
Knowledge of a foreign language promotes
understanding of the difficulty immigrants face as they attempt to learn
English.
Liberal arts training which includes foreign
language study is sought more and more by prospective employers.
Memory is enhanced through foreign language
study.
Overseas business and joint ventures mean
fluency in another language is now practically a requirement for employment
in many American corporations.
Personnel in the army are paid more than
others if they have foreign language skill.
Quality of English writing among students
improves with foreign language study.
Reading skill in English improves when students
study a foreign language.
SAT scores are higher for foreign language
students, particularly on the English section.
Traveling abroad enhances cultural awareness
and self-concept.
Ugly Americanism as a national stereotype
is partially based on our belief that the whole world speaks English.
Various verbal and even non-verbal tests
of intelligence have shown bilinguals to out perform monolinguals.
Working-class students do just as well in
foreign language study as middle-class students, and there is no difference
between genders or races in this area.
eXpertise in a foreign language aids the
cognitive development of children.
Years spent studying a foreign language
are proportionally correlated with increases in SAT scores.
ZZZZZ...wake up and smell the coffee! There
are lots of vocational opportunities for foreign language speakers from government
service to hotel management to Peace Corps service, Business and travel occupations.
Pat Kessler, from Dr. Jeffra Plaitz, University of South Florida, on FLTeach
-Taken from AATSEEL Newsletter, May 1997