Benefitso fforeig nlanguage study

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


Cognitive Benefits:

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).

Academic 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)


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


Economic Benefits:

How can learning another language

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


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


Interdisciplinary Benefits:

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

It’s easy to connect FL study with other disciplines!
 Geography – How many Spanish-speaking countries are there?




On how many different continents are these countries located? If
it’s summer in Petal, MS, then what season is it in Santiago, Chile?
Language - 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
and muralists
Math – Let’s 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
Hernán Córtes?


Societal Benefits:

Can learning another language help my
community and the US?
 Study of another language can also increase one’s
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.


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.

– Foreign language skill increases study abroad
opportunities

• 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.


Resources:
/> /> /> /> /> /> /> /> /> /> />