RSSCan you say, “ben dan”?
January 27th, 2006 | View Comments
I meant to post about this a while ago, but never got around to it. Anyways, Bush is planning a new foreign language learning initiative to promote study of Arabic, Chinese, and other languages deemed critical to national security. To quote from the linked article:
The plans, which represent an expansion of some programs and the start of a few others, aim to involve children in foreign-language courses as early as kindergarten while increasing opportunities for college and graduate school instruction. They also would draw more linguists into government service and establish a national corps of language reservists available to the Pentagon, State Department, intelligence community and other agencies in times of heightened need.
Like so many of Bush’s initiatives, this seems like a great idea. Until you dig a little deeper and you realize the implementation is entirely half-assed because, as usual, they did not properly do their homework before deciding to spend taxpayer money.
A Washington Post editorial has already criticized the plan for being too little, too late. But there is a much bigger potential problem. Unless there are significant chunks of the plan not being reported in the popular media, it won’t even work.
Most people have heard that it’s best to learn languages while you’re young–the plan acknowledges this popular knowledge by attempting to introduce foreign language instruction as early as kindergarten. The problem is that this popular knowledge is not entirely correct. As often happens when results of studies get translated into the popular culture, a critical part of the message was lost.
Age is important when it comes to learning to hear and speak the sounds of a language–if you learn a second language after about age ten (many would argue even younger), you will almost assuredly have an accent–but it is not the most critical factor.
That critical factor is immersion. Unless you become immersed in the language you are trying to learn, and speak it constantly, you will never become fluent. It does not matter how early you start foreign language instruction if you never speak it outside of class.
Furthermore, when you have immersion, instruction becomes virtually unnecessary. Children will sort it out quickly using their fantastic capacity for language learning. Even adults who find themselves forced to speak a second language can reach a functional fluency in a few months, if they have access to certain supports.
Thus, a more effective policy for teaching foreign languages would provide funding for language immersion schools and would make it easier for those who want to enter the US to teach their native language in an immersion school to do so.
A more effective policy might provide grants or scholarships for students who wish to study abroad and to improve diplomatic ties so that this becomes easier. Combine these tactics with classroom instruction designed to expose and interest students in a second language and you might have something. But increased classroom instruction alone? Is not going to cut it.
Yvonne posted this on January 27th, 2006 @ 4:06am in Education, News/Politics | Permalink to "Can you say, “ben dan”?"
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