Chapter I.
1.1:What is the importance of language learning?
This chapter deals with the importance of language learning and with the question what is the language learning.
According to a French overview in today’s era, multilingualism has become more than just important. Speaking well foreign language other than your native language as evolved to be extremely beneficial. Whether viewed from the financial or social aspect, being able to communicate in a foreign language helps to make “real” connection with people and provides a better understanding of your language.
Here arises the question, why should you learn a foreign language? Learning a foreign language opens up employment opportunities. For businesses, it is essential to develop and sustain a strong footing in the global economy. It is better achievable if they can understand the psychology and the language of their clients.
Apart from the financial gains learning a foreign dialect can offer a unique experience to travelers. People, who love to explore different parts of the world, know about diverse cultures, places, and lifestyle, knowing the local language can offer a life changing experience.
Another reason why you should learn a foreign language is that the knowledge of a foreign language enhances your cognitive and analytical abilities. Learning a foreign language is tough and involves a lot of mental exercise. On the individual level, it improves personality and increases your sense of self worth. The need of language faculties has increased due to the growing interest in students to learn foreign languages. People associated with social services need to work with diverse groups from several countries. Ability to speak in a foreign language enables them to communicate and serve people better.
The next important decision is to choose from the number of foreign languages – French, Spanish, German, or Italian to be learnt. Whether you learn a language for a specific reason or out of interest, learning a foreign language will lead to long – term success. It will open up new avenues before you. The more language you know, the better you can express yourself.
As for Pink Ninja Hater, (1994) China, there are a number of reasons why you should learn a foreign language. In our world today, only one fifth of the population speaks English. So learning another language is important for both work and travel. It is also important to make connections with people, and lastly it can give you a greater understanding of your own language.
Here is mentioned an another reason for the importance of learning foreign language is to show the locals that you are interested in their country and they will appreciate this and immediately like the speaker more. Understanding the local language will also help the learner to create new relationships with the locals, and find new friends there besides the ones that speak your language. It is important viewpoint, speaking a language gives the speaker understanding of a country’s culture. It enables the speaker to see how other people see the world around them.
Finally, although it is difficult to grasp at first, but the truth is that if you speak a foreign language the speaker will actually improve and the speaker’s own first language better. Once the learner has learned a different language , that would have something to compare to, this way the learner would better understand prepositions, and all the other parts o speech that we normally take for granted. Other languages open our minds to new ways of thinking. For example, Eskimos have more words to describe snow and ice as it is such an important part of their lives. It follows, Greeks have many different words to describe love – love between a parent and child, love between brothers and sisters, love between friends. The Indians have different words for uncle and aunt that let the learner know exactly how that person is related to the speaker.
While some people learn a different language because of a practical need, many others learn a language because of interest or because they want a challenge. Yes, some languages can be extremely hard to learn, but once they are learned they benefit the learner greatly. Language is what makes us human. It is how we share our thoughts with the world. A world without language is unthinkable, without it there would be no way to communicate and express ourselves.
However learning language is not easy. The result greatly depends on both, the learner and the teacher. According the statistics the most difficult in the process of learning is the learning and teaching grammar. As for Wayne Thomas and Virginia Collier ”The Second Language”,1990 one of the most frequently asked question is about teaching grammar rules to very young English language learners. Those of them, who follow the “Ask Judie” bulletin board already know the answer to that question. I would not teach grammar out of context to young students. The author was asked for grammar lessons for 1st and 2nd graders. Research has shown that out of context grammar drills do not work with students any age. Teachers of English language learners should really be developing the oral communication, reading, vocabulary, and writing skills of their young students. The grammar will take care of itself. Read predictable books. Teach thematic units. Any mention of a grammar rule should be within the context of those texts.