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 higher-order 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 Have more job opportunities! (Gutek, 1993) Get a promotion! (Hall 2001) Have more opportunities to travel for business purposes!

More Economic Benefits Jobs on a global scale Learning a foreign language makes you more competitive for jobs around the globe By 1998 nearly all students in Europe had studied at least one foreign language by 5th grade 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: 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