Friday, April 09, 2004, 08:45 GMT
I was reading an article the other day about a college that did away with its foreign language program. The dean of the college, who incidentally had majored in Russian when he was a student, argued that one doesn't gain fluency by reading literature, which is pretty much what one does when taking advanced courses in a foreign language at the university level (Although there are many universities that offer foreign language courses on business these days).
The dean recalled a story from his college days when he went to do post-graduate work in Russia. After four years of reading Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, etc. he thought he would be ready upon arriving in what was then Leningrad. While moving his stuff into his apartment, a man called over to him. The man had to repeat himself three times before the dean understood that he was just asking if he needed some help.
The dean's new plan was to introduce a bunch of "study abroad" programs so that students could gain practical knowledge of the language. Needless to say, the staff of all of the foreign language departments were none too happy about all of this.
When it comes to conducting business and knowing "just the bear necessities" of a foreign language, then I guess the dean has a point. One doesn't learn how to shoot the breeze with a bartender reading the works of Realist authors from the late 19th century. However, if one really wishes to learn a language (in other words, if the person is passionate about it), which is in essence learning a different way of seeing the world, I think it is necessary to have an understanding of the culture and the history of the country whose language you wish to learn. It's for this reason that I think students are missing out if these courses are taken away, not to mention the fact that this undoubtedly leads to ignorance.
I'd be interested to hear the opinions of others.
The dean recalled a story from his college days when he went to do post-graduate work in Russia. After four years of reading Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, etc. he thought he would be ready upon arriving in what was then Leningrad. While moving his stuff into his apartment, a man called over to him. The man had to repeat himself three times before the dean understood that he was just asking if he needed some help.
The dean's new plan was to introduce a bunch of "study abroad" programs so that students could gain practical knowledge of the language. Needless to say, the staff of all of the foreign language departments were none too happy about all of this.
When it comes to conducting business and knowing "just the bear necessities" of a foreign language, then I guess the dean has a point. One doesn't learn how to shoot the breeze with a bartender reading the works of Realist authors from the late 19th century. However, if one really wishes to learn a language (in other words, if the person is passionate about it), which is in essence learning a different way of seeing the world, I think it is necessary to have an understanding of the culture and the history of the country whose language you wish to learn. It's for this reason that I think students are missing out if these courses are taken away, not to mention the fact that this undoubtedly leads to ignorance.
I'd be interested to hear the opinions of others.