THE Tongue-Tied American by Paul Simon reports the following exchange. "A Georgia school board member asked Genelle Moran of the University of Georgia, "Why should a student who will never leave Macon, Georgia, study a foreign language?" Moran's reply: "That's why he should study a foreign language."
I read the April 13 lead editorial, "Scrap language requirement" and cringed with embarrassment as I imagined how it would sound to international students, teaching assistants, professors - anyone, for that matter, using English every day as a second language. The arguments delineated in the article concern me because they reflect some common misconceptions about the purpose and value of learning foreign languages. More insidiously, though, they reinforce what I see as an escalating spirit of anti-intellectualism and national arrogance that many students and educators find disturbing. I hope that the handful of students taking language courses earlier in the day than they would like will look beyond the temporary inconvenience and consider the larger questions of learning and cultural understanding at stake.
Practicality. Do all of the students who take two years of a foreign language end up using it in research, travel or business? Of course not. Nor do all students who take basic chemistry, math or history necessarily retain or use what they learn once they devote themselves to other interests.
That's not the point. Whether or not these courses instill a life-long passion for the subject, they give students the opportunity to experience the fascinating and sometimes daunting differences in how one thinks and how one learns in various disciplines. A liberal arts education is by definition multi-disciplinary. Students who get into liberal arts programs should then, by definition, be those who are the most motivated to take on the challenge of courses outside their immediate focus of interest, and beyond the comfort zone of their individual talents.
Fluency. Do children learn foreign languages more easily and quickly than adults? Yes. They also learn reading, writing and arithmetic more easily than adults. Yet adults don't stop learning, and they frequently learn foreign languages. The evidence is all around us, even in our own families. Students should not expect to be fluent after taking courses as infrequently as one hour per day, three to five days per week. Yet they should expect to make considerable progress.
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Near-native fluency requires time and dedication. Fortunately, language acquisition is a process that benefits learners at every stage of the game. I receive letters from students who, after taking no more than the Summer Foreign Language Initiative (French 101-202 in one summer), have served as translators for their friends when traveling abroad, have conducted research and taught in French universities. Their French isn't perfect, but it keeps getting better.
After as little as two years of college French, American students enroll in French universities, where they read and take all their exams in French. Language teachers frequently hear from alumni who never dreamed that they would use their language skills as much as they do after graduation. Many adults who do not have time or money to travel continue to read and seek out films in the language they studied in college, just to broaden their knowledge and keep their minds sharp.
TAs vs. professors. Are professors better teachers of language than TAs? Sometimes. Part of what makes U.Va. a quality institution is its population of motivated, energetic and knowledgeable graduate students. It is worth noting, too, that what separates an ABD (All But Dissertation) from a Ph.D. may be a year, a month or a day. Today's TA is tomorrow's professor.
I work closely with French TAs, the vast majority of whom are extremely dedicated and professional, and, as students point out over and over again on evaluations, they care deeply about their subject and their students. Judging from the number of bright and devoted TAs who give presentations and attend (on their own time) the many workshops sponsored by U.Va.'s Teaching Resource Center, I have every confidence that the majority of language TAs at U.Va. are exceptionally good.
Monolingualism. Should busy Americans bother to try and learn a second language, even when it's a struggle?
Absolutely. Every culture is inscribed in its language. Gaining even a minimal competency in a foreign language demonstrates respect and recognition for people and cultures outside our own. Cultural understanding and intellectual flexibility merge in the study of foreign language. Learning another language forces us to think outside our standard frame of reference, to recognize that our familiar mode of communication is just one among a myriad of possibilities. American students slogging through the alphabet in a language class should feel humility, not humiliation.
Students who apply themselves in foreign language courses take on a discipline that demands an exceptionally high level of self-motivation and regular, active engagement. As director of the French language courses, I visit French classes every semester. I am always encouraged and inspired to see students move from repeating single words and yes, the alphabet, in the first weeks of French 101, to role-playing real-life situations, writing persuasive essays and even reading and discussing difficult films and texts in French 202. Whether or not they continue studying French, students reviewing the dreaded subjunctive and reading eloquent excerpts from Marcel Proust and Mariama Ba, should look back on those alphabet days and congratulate themselves. They, and students of any foreign language, have transcended the cultural box of monolingualism, and internalized an understanding of intellectual diversity.
(Cheryl Krueger is an associate French professor.)
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