Benefits of Foreign Language Study

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Benefits of Foreign Language Study

• Petal High School
• Foreign Language Dept.
• Created by Laura Lee Moore

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How can studying another language help me?

• There are many benefits to studying another
  language!
• Cognitive
• Academic
• Communicative
• Economic
• Interdisciplinary
• Societal

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Cognitive BenefitsHow 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).

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Academic BenefitsCan 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)

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Communicative BenefitsCan 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.

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Economic Benefits How can learning another
language benefits me economically?

• Knowing how to communicate effectively in another
  language can lead to opportunities in todays
  global marketplace. Research clearly shows that
  multilingual societies have a competitive
  advantage over monolingual ones in the area of
  international trade.

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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!

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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

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Interdisciplinary BenefitsHow could a foreign
language possibly help me with other subjects?

• Its 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 its 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 Lets 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?

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Societal BenefitsCan learning another language
help my community and the US?

• Study of another language can also increase ones
  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.

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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.

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Resources

• http//www.ericdigests.org/pre-924/study.htm
• http//www.adfl.org/resources/knowing_other_langua
  ges.htm
• http//www.foreignlanguage.org/advocacy/brochure.h
  tm
• 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/Be
  nefits.html
• http//www.aiusa.com/otoole/results.htm
• http//www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/0
  00132.htm
• http//www.olvchicago.org/school/spanish.htm