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Tuesday, 27 February 2007 |
Learning new language difficult, but rewarding
A Bachelor of Arts degree at Appalachian State University requires a certain amount of foreign language credits.
Some students taking classes in the foreign language department, particularly those taking Spanish, have found the courses a “daunting” task.
The
Appalachian believes students taking a foreign language need to rise to
the challenge and work through the difficulties that come with learning
something new.
“Most research in foreign language instruction says it’s important to
create an immersion environment for the student,” Catherine A.
Fountain, a foreign language and literature assistant professor, said.
While it can be difficult, immersion is a beneficial way to learn a new language.
Immersion education offers an exciting opportunity for students to
reach high levels of academic achievement and acquire strong
proficiency in another language, according to the Center for Applied
Linguistic.
“Another issue sometimes can be that introductory courses can have
students ranging from no Spanish instruction all the way up to possibly
even six years,” Fountain said.
The Appalachian also understands that while it is frustrating for
students who have never taken Spanish classes to be enrolled in a
course with students who have, it is college and there are students
with different levels of knowledge in every class.
There are students in math 1010 with different math backgrounds. It may
seem like an unfair advantage, but it is something everyone faces
during their college career.
Knowing a foreign language is also an important part of participating
in the ever growing global world, and every college student, no matter
their major, should be doing their best to learn at least a little bit
of a foreign language.
Learning a foreign language allows one to communicate with other people
in other cultures, develop insight into their own language and culture,
have greater awareness of self, gain access to additional bodies of
knowledge, and participate more fully in the global community and
marketplace, according to the American Council on the Teaching of
Foreign Languages.
English is the third most spoken language in the world after Mandarin
Chinese and Spanish, according to the CIA World Fact book.
Appalachian offers both Chinese and Spanish in the foreign language
department. The programs allow students a way to communicate
effectively with nearly 20 percent of the world who speaks either
Chinese or Spanish as their first language.
If students want to be competitive with their counterparts in other colleges, foreign language is something they must excel in.
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