Benefits of Foreign Language Study

Petal High School Foreign Language Dept. Created by Laura Lee Moore

How can studying another language help me?

There are many benefits to studying another language! Cognitive Academic Communicative Economic Interdisciplinary Societal

How can FL study increase critical thinking skills?

Research shows that FL study enhances higherorder thinking skills - analysis, interpretation, comparison and contrast, improvisation, synthesis.
It also can improve listening skills and memory. Recent research indicates that the length of time students study a foreign language relates directly and positively to higher levels of cognitive and metacognitive processing (Rosenbusch, 1995).

Cognitive Benefits:

Can learning another language really help me academically?

As a result of improving critical thinking skills, many who study a FL make higher test scores!! FL study improves academic performance in English grammar & vocabulary, math, reading, and writing. (Andrade, 1989; Armstrong & Rogers, 1997)

Academic Benefits:

Can learning a Foreign language improve my communication skills?

Learning another language, by comparing it to your native language, can increase your knowledge of vocabulary & grammar in your own language.

Communicative Benefits:

Learning another language can augment your interpersonal skills by developing your ability to interpret, discuss, interact, and recognize patterns of behavior/gestures/social cues.

How can learning another language benefits me economically? Knowing how to communicate effectively in another language can lead to opportunities in todays global marketplace. Research clearly shows that multilingual societies have a competitive advantage over monolingual ones in the area of international trade.

Economic Benefits:

More Economic Benefits

Being Bilingual could mean that you o Have more job opportunities! (Gutek, 1993) o Get a promotion! (Hall 2001) o Have more opportunities to travel for business purposes!

More Economic Benefits

Jobs on a global scale o Learning a foreign language makes you more competitive for jobs around the globe o By 1998 nearly all students in Europe had studied at least one foreign language by 5th grade o 80% of school-aged children in Asian countries can speak at least one foreign language

How could a foreign language possibly help me with other subjects?

Interdisciplinary Benefits:

Its easy to connect FL study with other disciplines! Geography How many Spanish-speaking countries are there?

Language and muralists

On how many different continents are these countries located? If its summer in Petal, MS, then what season is it in Santiago, Chile? Use context clues to determine the meaning of a new word. Use cognates to help increase understanding of a reading passage.

Arts Latin dance, Afro-Cuban Music, French & Spanish painters

Math Lets convert 980F to degrees Celsius! Culinary Arts What are the staples food products of the

countries where the language is spoken? How is food prepared in these countries? How do you convert grams to pounds? How many cups are in a liter? History What is Bastille Day and why is it celebrated in France? How were the ancient Aztecs so easily conquered by Hernn Crtes?

Can learning another language help my community and the US?

Study of another language can also increase ones awareness of other cultures, thus increasing mutual understanding and meaningful communication between nations. Those than communicate in more than one language will be an asset to their community. More and more jobs in the US require knowledge of a second language so in order to effectively interact with clients, coworkers, and employees. 4 out of 5 new jobs created in the US are a result of foreign trade.

Societal Benefits:

What do colleges want?

Foreign Languages are important to colleges! Colleges would rather you study one language in-depth, than to study beginning levels of two or more languages. Elite, Ivy-league schools want applicants with 4-5 years of the same language. Those of you who want to qualify for MS Scholar must have at least 2 years of the same language.
Foreign language skill increases study abroad opportunities

Resources:
http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-924/study.htm http://www.adfl.org/resources/knowing_other_languages.htm http://www.foreignlanguage.org/advocacy/brochure.htm

http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/acad/id/curriculum/frnlng/docs/MSFL.pdf
http://cchs.churchill.k12.nv.us/WaiteN/a_rationale_for_foreign_language.htm http://www.utm.edu/departments/french/flsat.html http://www.languagescope.com/Benefits.html http://www.ncusd203.org/north/depts/foreignlang/Benefits.html http://www.aiusa.com/otoole/results.htm http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000132.htm http://www.olvchicago.org/school/spanish.htm