A Rationale for the Study of World Languages

An article by Francesco Bonavita, PhD, Professor of World Language Methodology at Kean University (NJ)

IntroductionThe study of World Languages (WL, henceforth) has shown a remarkable surge since the early 1990s. According to the Modern Language Association of America, the number of students studying a language other than English has increased dramatically. In the period between 2002 and 2006, the enrollment in language classes has increased by 12.9%.[footnoteRef:1] The same study points out that Italian language classes have registered a significant increase by 22.6%. So, too, a survey of other less commonly studied languages, such as Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean have generated an interest among foreign language learners that is unprecedented. Likewise, the demand of World Language teachers has increased substantially. Although the teaching establishment has not been able to meet the demand in the same way that World Language students have been flocking to the classroom, a number of states, such as Florida, New Jersey, and New York have gone as far as issuing alternate teaching certifications in an effort to meet the teacher shortage. Such a practice enables professionals with fluency in a WL with rudimentary knowledge of methodology to enter the classroom and to begin delivering the services. The problem with this tactic is that teachers, for the most part, are exceedingly ill-prepared to teach the subject matter, let alone to inspire youngsters to further pursuing the study of WL. As WL teachers, we have an important responsibility of not simply teaching a lesson in order to stay afloat during a forty-five minute period but rather to develop a coherent plan so that students can attain oral proficiency, acquire a greater appreciation of a culture other than their own and to become constructive citizens in a world that has become extraordinarily complex. The aim of this text is to afford WL teachers a whole range of teaching strategies and to enable them to develop a sound WL program that will sustain them during the course of their career. Our students deserve the best possible educational climate that we can create so that the initial enthusiasm that is often encountered during the early phases of WL study does not diminish but rather it is sustained and nurtured with excitement. [1: Nelly Furman, David Goldberg, and Natalia Lusin, Enrollment in Languages Other Than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education, Fall 2006, Web publication, 13 November 2007.]

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A Rationale for the Study of World Languages

The number of WL initiatives has multiplied across the country, thus, heightening the level of enthusiasm among second language proponents. While there is ample justification for this excitement, we, as educators and responsible parents, must be cautious so as not to squander this opportunity to promote authentic oral proficiency among children, as we implement WL programs in our schools.

A WL program ought to be designed primarily to develop listening and oral proficiency among learners, whereas reading and writing ought to occupy only a marginal role. This is particularly true in the early phases of language studies. Language acquisitions stages are intimately linked to the culture associated with the target language and, most importantly, are construed as content-based to the core curriculum.

Benefits of Knowing another Language

The debate surrounding the merits of studying another language is as old as academia itself. Some school reformers have even gone as far as entertaining the idea of phasing out WL altogether, on the grounds that it may hinder the focus for the more essential subjects, such as reading and math. However radical this proposition may seem, it is quickly dismissed for responsible educators know too well the historical significance of learning to communicate in another language other than ones own. Since time immemorial, knowledge of a second language was an essential component of trading. The citizens of ancient Palestine could not have survived the Roman conquest without the knowledge of Latin. Officers and plain soldiers interacted with the general population and the ability to communicate in another tongue must have facilitated that task. Similarly, in our global society, the importance of a second language has accentuated dramatically.[footnoteRef:2] One needs only to examine the need for Arabic in the aftermath of 9/11 to be reminded of the value placed on the significance of second language communication. [2: King, Kendall, Mackey, Alison. The Bilingual Edge: Why, When and How to Teach Your Child a Second Language. Harper Collins: New York, 2007. ]

The world has not only become increasingly small but it is also becoming exceedingly similar. The way people dress in the Orient, for instance, is identical to Western attires. The way people spend their leisurely time is essentially indistinguishable in many parts of the industrialized nations. Such closeness in culture, while comforting in some measures, it may also lead a multitude of people to opt for one language only. Now, given the dominance of the English language due to the exposure of the Internet and commerce, it may very well be that within a century or two some of the less commonly spoken languages will become extinct.

Our linguistic heritage, which accounts for who we are as a people appears to be seriously threatened.[footnoteRef:3] The question that must then be asked is what can be done to preserve an intrinsic part of our legacy? According to Daniel M. Abrams and Steven H. Strogatz, professors of linguistics at Cornell University, the survival of the less commonly spoken languages, according to this study, is contingent upon public intervention. Languages like Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Quechua, one of the oldest indigenous languages in the Americas, to mention just a few, may survive, in part, thanks to government policies designed to stem the further dissolution of these precious tongues. The French Canadian experiment, which has been in existence for sometime, is probably one of the most well publicized cases where government intervention has worked effectively. When bilingualism was first imposed, at least with respect to mandating dual language signs in French and English in all facets of Canadian public life, skeptics derided the plan and warned about the consequences of polarizing people. Fortunately, this fear has been abated and there are plenty of indications, on the surface at least, that Canadians have become tolerant of one another, respecting diversity and the right of self-expression. [3: Francesco Bonavita, We Are What we Speak, in Transatlantic Incorrect Tribune in http://www.tiesweb.org 2005. ]

Indeed, the wealth of human languages is an integral part of who we are as a race. The nuances of a language make up our linguistic heritage and if such peculiarities were to be lost we would be significantly impoverished. An argument can also be made that if the current rate of extinction is unabated, among living languages, the danger of losing a significant part of our identity may also impact on our ability to learn more on the indigenous cultures of this world. Many rare languages such as the ones spoken in the Brazilian rain forest, for instance, possess a wealth of vocabulary with respect to plants that may provide the answer toward curing the rare sicknesses that are plaguing millions of victims around the world. Professor Sutherland is correct in his assessment of establishing a correlation between biodiversity and the survival of species. Just as biodiversity is essential for a balanced ecology, so, too, the preservation of languages must be seen as an indispensable element of our multicultural society.

As WL teachers, we, therefore, play a significant role in the dissemination of languages, the degree of enthusiasm that students derive as a result of the exposure to a language other than their own and, last but not least, the notion that students become appreciative of other cultures so that the quality of life in a globally minded society may be ameliorated. As educators, we must stress the value of a second language on a number of levels, one of the most important of which is the intellectual enrichment that such an enterprise may have in store.

Traveling

The airline industry is poised to expand the billion dollar business into aggressive and sophisticated marketing strategies, designed to increase traveling around the globe. The European consortium, Airbus, has built super planes that can carry 800 passengers in a single flight. It is projecting a geometric growth in the tourist industry. These travelers are destined to learn a second language for the sole pleasure of interacting with natives during their visits. The image of the ugly American who is only conversant in English will have become a thing of the past. Chako Amano, a professor of Japanese studies at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, knows too well how frustrating it can be for a sophisticated traveler who lacks proficiency in a foreign language trying to order a meal and discovers that is not what she really wanted.[footnoteRef:4] Or, better yet, when a traveler purchases the wrong train ticket and ends up in a different destination that the one intended. The inability to communicate in a language other than ones own can not only make one feel inept but also incomplete as a human being. It is hoped that the newer generation would want to be much more selective and that it would want to partake of a language experience. [4: Chako Amano. Confronting Ones Real Self: A Benefit of Learning a Foreign Language, in Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Spring 2007), pp. 16-18.]

Cultural appreciat