By Tiffany Ayuda
Foreign languages are essential in every job nowadays, so it’s surprising to see so few students taking an initiative to learn another language or take any of their foreign language classes seriously. Recent studies show a slow decline in the number of students enrolled in classes taught in foreign languages. Moreover, English is no longer the most widely spoken language in the world. Chinese and Spanish have replaced English, and many countries rely on international businesses from the United States to reach out to their population. Many Americans are reluctant to learn languages, studying geography and educating themselves on international news, and this is reflected in the University’s student body. There’s a common misconception that learning another language is just another good thing to put on your resume. But that’s far from the truth.
In most companies, learning a language or several languages is a requirement. At my time here, I’ve taken quite a number of French classes at the University, and I’ve noticed that there are not many students who take French or any other language. The students that do take foreign language classes are only taking them to fulfill their degree requirements. It’s ashamed that the French department at the University doesn’t have the big enrollment of students it used to and that French professors have to work around the system to teach the few students they have.
The University requires that each class have at least eight people enrolled; this has affected the French department at the University tremendously because students who are trying to finish their minors and majors are struggling to find classes that will have at least seven other people in them. As a result, French professors have to work out a separate schedule with their students and set up independent study time. Because of this, students who are taking the independent study don’t benefit or gain as much as they can if they were in a classroom with other students, learning from each other things they would never get from just reading the book or listening to a professor lecture. Whether people like to acknowledge this or not, it has become a big issue, and it’s affecting the enrollment in the romance language department. What’s more upsetting is to see the hard work and dedication of the French professors at the University to teach their students and students who take French go unnoticed. Admittedly, learning another language isn’t easy, but learning anything new is challenging. This isn’t to point fingers or blame anyone for the state of the language department at the University but to make people realize that there is an incentive to learn another language, and it doesn’t have to be French.
Learning another language can really make a difference not just in your education but in your life. When it comes to meeting new people and traveling to other countries, people are going to expect that you can speak with them in their language, even if you aren’t fluent, it means something when you try. There’s nothing worse than visiting another country and not be able to communicate with the people there. After traveling to parts of Europe and Asia, I’ve realized the consequences of not learning a language. I’ve brushed a few bad experiences of when I couldn’t speak the language, and I was not able to fully enjoy my visit. Moreover, the conversation usually ended in a misunderstanding. So whether you’re looking to get into the industries in business, journalism, politics medicine or even just traveling around the world, learning another language is going to make your life easier and better in all ways.
Tiffany Ayuda is a senior print journalism student. You may e-mail her at [email protected].
