Why Should you Learn a Language - A Learners Perspective - Anuj

"Die Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeuten die Grenzen meiner Welt."
The limits of my language are the limits of my universe. (Ludwig Wittgenstein)

Communication is the only thing that can bring people close to each other. The thread that connects people from diverse culture is called language.Learning a new language is a gradual process which could be real fun. Learning another language opens up new opportunities and gives you perspectives that you might never have encountered otherwise. People learn new languages for different reasons i.e. passion for learning new languages, job prospects, business reasons, pleasure, to build formal and informal relationships, e.t.c. A language is not an academic topic that you can pass or fail, but a means of communication. There is no failure here but various degrees of success when you can use that language. Even a small success of being able to buy lunch in the language with an average grammar is worth being proud of. Hence when we learn a new language its always advisable to enjoy the process of learning it rather than thinking it as an exam to pass. This rejection of mere idea to score marks and thinking it as another examination will change the way you think and learn a new language.

"I speak English, so I don't have to learn a foreign language"

Everyone speaks English, right? Well, certainly not everyone speaks English. According to the CIA World fact book, only 5.6 % of the world's total population speaks English as a primary language. That number doubles when people who speak English as a second or third language are counted. By conservative estimates, that means that well over four-fifths of the world's population does not speak English. It's true that English has become a global lingua franca over the past several decades. This fact, however, really should have little effect on your decision to learn a foreign language. The attitude that English alone is enough in fact creates self-imposed limitations. To remain monolingual is to stunt your educational development, to restrict your communication and thinking abilities, and to deny yourself the ability to fully appreciate and understand the world in which you live.

"No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive." - MK. Gandhi, Indian nationalist.

Learning another language gives the learner the ability to step inside the mind and context of that other culture. Without the ability to communicate and understand a culture on its own terms, true access to that culture is barred. For survival in the global community, every nation needs such individuals. A person competent in other languages can bridge the gap between cultures, contribute to international diplomacy, promote national security and world peace, and successfully engage in international trade. As globalization and mobility and communications are bringing the world closer together, even more urgent is the need for global citizens to be competent in other languages.

Pedagogy

There are many places and ways to learn languages in any country. There are some well established institutes associated with teaching languages. The pedagogy followed may be slightly different among institutes but most of them concentrate on spoken and written communication. The language courses for each levels range from 3 to 6 months.  The good thing about certain institutes is the key principle of  restricting students to use English or any other language apart from the one that is learnt. A learner may feel like a fish out of the water initially but that just changes for the better and he/she starts taking cue from the visuals, body language, symbols e.t.c.  Certain Institutes do not even permit students to use a dictionary in class which may be surprising initially but is helpful in the long run. Thanks to these institutions that language has gained significant importance in many countries and this has encouraged people to become more dynamic.

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.
If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.
(Nelson Mandela)


Anuj
Niveau 4