Foreign language: vital facet of a general education

To the Editor:

The extension of the current arts and sciences general-education requirements to all UB freshmen is a positive step, but the failure to include the foreign-language requirement in them is not.

While the debate about having a foreign-language requirement is often phrased in practical terms (e.g. how useful foreign-language skills are in an increasingly global economy), the ultimate justification for such a requirement at a university like UB must be intellectual, not practical.

There are at least three strong intellectual justifications for a requirement that all UB students who are native speakers of English meet a foreign-language requirement. First, studying a foreign language broadens a student's intellectual world through the encounter with different ways of thinking about the world as expressed through language. Monolingual individuals typically believe that the way their language characterizes things, actions, events and ideas accurately reflects what there is, and as soon as one begins to learn another language, be it Spanish, Latin or Korean, one is immediately confronted by the fact that there are other ways to characterize the world and the things in it and that the ideas and concepts expressed in other languages are not always the same as those expressed in English.

This should be an intellectually liberating experience and one of the most important facets of the general education part of a university education. Part of learning to think creatively and think critically is getting out of the intellectual paths one has habitually followed, and learning a second language inevitably forces one out of those ruts. Second, the recognition of intellectual diversity is a crucial part of the recognition of other types of diversity. Studying a foreign language contributes to the university's goal of fostering an appreciation of diversity. It complements the American Pluralism requirement in a natural way, since most of the modern languages offered at UB are spoken by a minority group in the U.S.

Third, studying a foreign language enhances a student's knowledge of, and appreciation for, English. It is only when one comes into contact with another language that one can begin to appreciate one's own language in a new way, as now for the first time the student is forced to grapple with new words and a new grammar, i.e., with a new way of formulating his or her thoughts.

This leads inevitably to a comparison between the new way and the old, familiar ways. This, in turn, leads to enhanced native-language skills, and thus, perhaps paradoxically, foreign-language study furthers the university's goal of improving the native-language skills of its students.

Finally, studying a foreign language is traditionally part of a liberal education, and the AAU schools with which we compare ourselves require it.

There are, of course, numerous practical reasons for acquiring foreign-language skills. The primary one concerns the globalization of the economy. Studying a foreign language gives students a skill that is of ever-increasing importance in the global economy. Americans in international business, politics, etc. are held in much higher regard when they are at least minimally knowledgeable about the language of the people they are dealing with. If one always deals with others while relying on them to speak English, then one is at a perpetual disadvantage.

Hence, students with foreign-language skills will be more competitive for the increasing number of jobs with international connections than those without any foreign-language training.

Second, the U.S. is becoming increasingly multilingual, especially in large states like New York, Texas and California, and job applicants with foreign-language skills will have an advantage in the competition for many jobs in these states.

Third, for students interested in graduate school, many graduate programs have language requirements, and in many fields, graduate students must be able to read material in languages other than English.

There are, thus, compelling reasons, both intellectual and practical, to extend the foreign-language requirement to all UB students who are native speakers of English as part of their general-education requirements.