Why Americans should learn French (or another foreign language)

Today I sent a money wire transfer to my son in Canada. I spoke with my landlady in order to pay various utility charges at our house. I completed and sent a form to our local government office so that I could be assessed a tax for living here. I made a plane reservation online. I bought my morning apple turnover and loaf of bread with nuts.

All of those transactions happened exclusively in French.

In addition, I spent three hours in a French class. I read a French newspaper and an article from a French magazine outside of class. Before the day is over, I will listen to French radio and test myself with questions from a series of short dialogues.

There are people in this world who know me only as a person who speaks French.
Several months ago one of my classmates who is from Brazil called me to invite me to a party. When she heard my answering machine she was unsure if it was me (I was speaking English) and in fact she didn’t leave a message because she didn’t understand mine. It was a terrific reminder that the world does not inevitably pass through an English filter.

In this week’s edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education (which is unfortunately only available through subscription), Mauro Guillen a professor at the University of Pennsylvania provides several outstanding rationales as to why we should study and try to master a foreign language. Here are several of the reasons he cites:

“Acquiring a language involves learning the culture or cultures intimately associated with it... (T)here is nothing like knowing the local language to become aware of the nuances and the sensitivities involved in everyday life or work situations.”

“We also know from research and experience that acquiring another language makes students better problem solvers, unleashing their ability to identify problems, enriching the ways in which they search and process information, and making them aware of issues and perspectives that they would otherwise ignore.”

“Learners of languages, by exposing themselves to other cultures and institutional arrangements, are more likely to see differences of opinion and conflicts by approaching a problem from perspectives that incorporate the values and norms of others as well as their own. Knowledge of other languages also fosters tolerance and mutual understanding.”

Professor Guillen concludes his commentary with the following statement:

“Learning a language exercises the mind and enriches the spirit. It is a fundamentally humbling process by which students learn that their culture and way of expressing it are relative, not absolute. That perspective makes them more open to other points of view, and more likely to avoid one-size-fits-all solutions to the problems of the world.” I couldn't agree more.