Why Study Foreign Language?

The world is full of languages. How far do you have to go from your front door to know that this is true? Think about how many more people and places you could really get to know, newspapers and books you could read, movies and TV programs you could understand, Web sites you could visit with another language!

Competitive Edge- Did you know that studying a second language can improve skills and grades in math and English and can improve your student’s ACT and SAT score? Research has shown that math and verbal scores climb higher with each additional year of foreign language study, which means that the longer your child studies a foreign language, the stronger his/her skills will become to succeed in school.

• Studying a foreign language can improve analytic and interpretive capacities. And four years of language study on a high school transcript will catch the eye of anyone reading your student’s college application.

•  Job Advantage in a Global Economy More and more businesses work closely with companies in other countries. They need many different kinds of workers who can communicate in different languages and understand other cultures. No matter what career your student chooses, he/she will have the advantage with a second language.

• A technician who knows German, the head of a company who knows Spanish, or a salesperson who knows French can work successfully with many more people and in many more places than someone who knows only one language. Professionals who know other languages are called on to travel and exchange information with people in other countries throughout their careers.

• Knowing more than one language enhances opportunities in government, business, medicine and health care, law enforcement, teaching, technology, the military, communications, industry, social service and marketing.

Learning about other cultures Students who study a foreign language discover new worlds and get an insider’s view of another culture.

• Knowledge of other cultures will help your child become a responsible citizen.

• The ability to talk to others and gather information beyond the world of English will contribute to the community and country.

• Learning a language is not just learning grammar and vocabulary. It is learning new sounds, expressions and ways of seeing things; it is learning how to function in another culture, how to know a new community from the inside out.