By Lily Jones | Editor of Arts and Entertainment
You’re sitting in your introductory language class, a course you are required to take in order to fulfill your core curriculum. You’re here because you have to be, not because you want to. You frown as your maestro asks, “¿Qué hiciste el fin de semana?”
You don’t understand anything the professor is saying, and honestly, you don’t care. All your friends and family members speak English. English is the only language you’ll need for a future career after you graduate. What good is language to you?
In reality, learning a second language can help you in a variety of different ways: cognitively, professionally, and personally. Language may be a requirement at your school, but it might end up being essential to your growth and success as a person in general.
Many studies suggest that those who speak multiple languages receive cognitive benefits. According to an article in The Atlantic, multi-linguals have scored higher on standardized tests and excel in spelling and grammar.
Studies have also shown that people who speak two or more languages are better decision-makers, are smarter spenders, and are less likely to contract diseases that attack cognitive function, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s, and if they do, it is several years later than a monolingual.
Languages not only strengthen the brain, they can strengthen a resume well. Dr. James Mitchell, Department Chairman of Modern and Classical Languages at Salve Regina University, would not have his career if it were not for language.
Dr. Mitchell first became interested in the subject when he heard his grandparents speaking Italian as a child. When he got to college, he became fascinated with learning French, and is now fluent in both languages, in addition to English. He also has conversational skills in Spanish, has studied Romanian in the past, and is presently studying Portuguese.
When it comes to encouraging students to pursue a second language, Mitchell described it as a “hard sell.”
“A lot of students, especially in the U.S., don’t readily see the utility of learning another language because there aren’t a lot of opportunities to speak another language in their day-to-day life,” Mitchell said.
In Mitchell’s opinion, learning a second language is useful, both professionally and personally. He said that language proficiency is required for careers working in embassies and consulates, and in many jobs in the international business world.
Individuals interested in becoming interpreters must be fluent, and translators have to be fluent as well as literate in the language they are translating. Of course, educators, like Mitchell, who wish to teach a foreign language, must have proper training, too.
Mitchell said that speaking to someone, whether it is to a client or friend, in his or her native language makes that person feel more comfortable. He also said that there are not always direct translations from English to another language, so when you work with or meet others who speak a different language, there are some concepts that are “untranslatable.”
On a personal level, Mitchell believes that language broadens one’s view of the world, and of oneself. “Ultimately, it’s just the ability to see beyond yourself and see beyond your culture,” he said. “To be able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.”
Christelle Miskizak knows this feeling well. She is from Aix-en-Provence, France, and speaks French, English, Spanish, and Italian, and is conversational in Catalan and Chinese. She has taught French in Spain and Italy, as well as some English in China.
Miskizak is a Fulbright scholar who was selected by the French Fulbright commission to teach French at Salve for the school year. She is also taking two courses per semester, in order to better her understanding of American culture.
Although Miskizak loves learning different languages now, this wasn’t always the case. While in school in France, she didn’t care for her English classes that much.
“At first, my vision of languages was very negative, because for me, learning English was very hard,” Miskizak said. “Then I realized I can travel with languages, and it helped me a lot to speak in English.”
As Miskizak began traveling, she noticed how helpful English was. When she visited Germany, she could not speak the native tongue, but was still able to communicate through English.
However, it soon became clear to Miskizak that learning English wasn’t enough. “I started learning other languages because I think the languages are so related to the culture. If I just learn English and speak English with my German friends, then maybe I’m missing something from them,” she said. “But if I learn to speak their language, I will get more from their culture.”
In Miskizak’s experience, language and culture are unequivocally connected. “You don’t just learn the language, you learn the culture and civilization,” she said. “I think it broadens your perspective and you become more aware of other people.
Miskizak currently lives in Salve’s Language House, an on-campus community based out of Carnlough Cottage on Shepard Avenue. Here, students can immerse themselves in language and culture, as they are required to only use Spanish or French to communicate, giving them the opportunity to hone their language skills. The Language House also offers a monthly movie night, showing either Hispanic or French films, as well as other cultural activities open to all Salve students.
Jennifer Sutherland, a freshman at Salve, is a Spanish and Secondary Education double major who hopes to one day be a Spanish teacher. According to Sutherland, learning a new language “pushes you to keep an open mind.”
“It helps you a lot even when you’re learning your own language,” she said. “I’ve learned so many things about English through Spanish.”
Sutherland agreed with Miskizak that learning another language enables one to share in other cultures. “I think it’s really cool to be able to communicate with a whole different world of people,” she said.
Sutherland said that studying abroad is the best way to experience a nation’s culture. She has been to Spain twice and hopes to study abroad there while in college.
At Salve, Sutherland enjoys going to the language conversation tables offered twice every week. She encourages friends to go with her to speak Spanish over lunch, citing the reason that practice makes perfect when learning a second language.
