1. Benefits of Foreign Language Study
Walt Whitman HS
World Language Dept.

2. How can studying another language help me?
There are many benefits to studying another language!
Cognitive
Academic
Communicative
Economic
Interdisciplinary
Societal

3. 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).

4. “Being bilingual, or even learning a second language late in life, has been shown to slow the decline of some key brain functions, said Ellen Bialystok of York University in Canada... A study co-authored by Bialystok found that people who spoke more than one language were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease 4.3 years later and reported the onset of symptoms 5.1 years later than monolingual patients.”
“Speaking more than one language protects the brain against cognitive decline and makes a person better at multi-tasking,” said a report by Karin Zeitvogel for Agence France-Presse.

5. Some Comparisons Bilingualism World-wide Bilingual’s Peformance

6. 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)

7. 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.

8. 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?

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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!

12. 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

13. 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.

14. Queens College, CUNY
General Education Requirements Effective Fall 2009
as of December 11, 2008
College Competencies
Foreign Language:
The Foreign Language Requirement may be satisfied by successful completion of one of the following:
A course taught in a foreign language or American Sign Language at the third-semester level or higher.
Three years of high school education in the same foreign language.
A minimum grade of 80 on the New York State Regents exam in a foreign language.
Completion of 11th grade or higher in which the language of instruction is a foreign language.
A satisfactory score on a scheduled departmental proficiency exam at Queens College*.
A satisfactory score on an approved external placement exam in a foreign language*.
(* Consult the Arts and Humanities web page for a list of approved departmental and external proficiency exams in foreign language.)

15. Minimum High School Foreign Language Requirement
for Massachusetts College/University Application
American International College 1-2 years
Amherst College 4 years
Ana Maria College 2 years
Assumption College 2 years
Atlantic Union College 2 years
Babson College 4 years
Bard College at Simon’s Rock 2 years
Bay Path College 2 years
Becker College 0 years
Bentley University recommended
Boston College 4 years
Boston Conservatory 2 years
Brandeis University 3 years
Bridgewater State University 2 years
Clark University 2 years
College of the Holy Cross 3 years
Curry College 2 years
Elms College 2-4 years
Emerson College 3 years
Emmanuel College 2 years
Endicott College academic elective – 4 years

16. Fitchburg State University 2 years
Framingham State University 2 years
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering 2 years
Gordon College 2-4 years
Hampshire College 3-4 years
Harvard College 4 years
Hellenic College 2 years
Lasell College 2 years
Lesley University 2 years
Mass College of Art and Design 2 years
Mass College of Liberal Arts 2 years
Mass College of Pharmacy 5 years general electives
MIT 2 years
Mass Maritime 2 years
Merrimack College 2-3 years
Montserrat College of Art 0 years
Mount Holyoke College 3 years
Mount Ida College 2 years
New England Conservatory of Music 0 years
New England Institute of Art 0 years
Newbury College 2 years
Nichols College 2 years
Northeastern University 2-4 years

17. Pine Manor College 2 years
Regis College 2 years
Salem State University 2 years
Simmons College 3-4 years
Smith College 3 years
Springfield College 3 years
Stonehill College 2-3 years
Suffolk University 2-3 years
Tufts University 4 years
U. Mass. Amherst 2 years
U. Mass. Boston 2 years
U. Mass. Dartmouth 2 years
U. Mass. Lowell 2 years
Wellesley College 4 years
Wentworth Institute of Technology 0 years
Western New England College 2 years
Westfield State University 2 years
Wheaton College 2 years
Wheelock College college preparatory program recommended
Williams College 4 years
Worcester Polytechnic Institute 2 years
Worcester State College 2 years

18. Resources: http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-924/study.htm