People often find themselves in scenarios in which knowing a second language is beneficial, but because of a lack of education, they are unable to communicate.
Learning an extra language in college should be a requirement, such as with science credits or humanities courses.
On campus, every student, regardless of major, is required to complete a minimum of two science courses and three humanities courses, including a history classification, a literature classification and an art and humanities section.
However, there should be an added requirement for a course in a new language. These requirements do not have to be fulfilled by a brand new language to the student, but could be completed by furthering understanding of a previously taken language course.
This requirement could take the place of the free elective that is required as part of the general education courses in Degree Works. Students are already required to complete a minimum of 11 elective hours, so a foreign language course could easily replace the free elective.
Typically, Texas high schools require a minimum of two years in a foreign language course, but these skills are often lost after graduation. Having a college requirement would keep the new language usable and growing.
Knowing a second language benefits brain function by strengthening the portions of the brain that improve memory and multitasking abilities. Another benefit is growth in career opportunities because companies often look for bilingual hires in order to reach a wider customer base.
In addition to these practical uses, learning a new language can give a higher appreciation for other cultures and histories.
Having a second language under your belt can make traveling to foreign countries easier, even through things as simple as being able to read signs on how to get out of the airport.
However, fluency is a hard feature to accomplish, especially in only one or two courses. There is so much material that goes into learning an entire language that it would be detrimental to cram it all into a three-hour course.
However, these course requirements could be beneficial in the sense that a basic understanding is gained, even if fluent conversation is not. Learning enough words to speak broken Spanish is better than not knowing any Spanish at all.
English is such a widely spoken language, and often foreigners learn English at a very young age or are sometimes forced to if they come to the United States. Why should native-English speakers not learn a second language as well?
Native English speakers often have every opportunity to learn a new language and have all the resources, but they often do not take the time and effort to learn something new, relying on the fact that others will accommodate them instead of the other way around.
Tourism-based locations in the United States are often inhospitable to foreigners in terms of language accessibility.
Native-English speakers are capable of acting with an air of privilege around themselves simply because they speak English, and they expect everyone else to learn it, so they do not have to put forth effort and be accepting of other languages and cultures.
Why should native English speakers not learn another language when many other cultures do?
