Learning foreign languages
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Avik Sengupta
Increasingly students are evincing interest in learning a foreign language. The reason - knowledge of local languages is far from being adequate, whether for higher education or for job prospects in a globalised world. Cutting across academic disciplines, students must start to realise the advantage of learning at least one foreign language in the recent years. For many, knowledge of a foreign language is an "extra asset," especially when it comes to employment avenues. While French is the favourite for many students, languages including German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Italian and Russian also find several takers.
A cross-section of senior academicians feel multi-lingual skills are imperative for students in the present-day scenario. From my own experience, as a student of Biochemistry at McGill University who have learnt Bengali, English, French and Spanish as part of the curriculum both in Bangladesh and in Canada, those are always advantageous for me and alike. Fluent in a number of International languages, I find French to be a vibrant language and loves the intonation.
Bureaucrats, diplomats and other professionals are placed in various operations. Though English is spoken widely by those professionals, knowledge of a foreign language will facilitate better communication with them. Several students of engineering, medicine, tourism, international studies and social work are keen on learning a foreign language while languages are gaining popularity now.
Multi-lingual skills are the need of the hour. More and more companies including call centres, banking and other multi-national companies are looking for candidates having such skill. It is definitely an extra asset. This is particularly so about knowledge of French. Even Bangladeshi students aiming to pursue higher studies in medicine and engineering in France will learn the language. One of the primary reasons for students to learn French is their desire to broaden their career prospects. If students are looking at jobs abroad, it is essential to learn the language of the place. Any study in international relations calls for knowledge of foreign languages. For example, knowledge of Chinese language is important for a student of international studies if he/she wants to focus on China. They can collect information directly, as often translation in English leads to loss of some information.
Every individual is at once the beneficiary and the victim of the linguistic tradition into which he has been born - the beneficiary inasmuch as language gives access to the accumulated records of other people's experience, the victim in so far as it confirms him in the belief that reduced awareness is the only awareness and as it bedevils his sense of reality, so that he is all too apt to take his concepts for data, his words for actual things. Thought is the blossom; language, the bud; action, the fruit behind it. Quoting from Bertand Russell: By studying the principles of symbolism we can learn not to be unconsciously influenced by language, and in this way can escape a host of erroneous notions.
(The writer is a student of Biochemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, He can be reached at e-mail: avik.sengupta@mail.mcgill.ca)
Increasingly students are evincing interest in learning a foreign language. The reason - knowledge of local languages is far from being adequate, whether for higher education or for job prospects in a globalised world. Cutting across academic disciplines, students must start to realise the advantage of learning at least one foreign language in the recent years. For many, knowledge of a foreign language is an "extra asset," especially when it comes to employment avenues. While French is the favourite for many students, languages including German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Italian and Russian also find several takers.
A cross-section of senior academicians feel multi-lingual skills are imperative for students in the present-day scenario. From my own experience, as a student of Biochemistry at McGill University who have learnt Bengali, English, French and Spanish as part of the curriculum both in Bangladesh and in Canada, those are always advantageous for me and alike. Fluent in a number of International languages, I find French to be a vibrant language and loves the intonation.
Bureaucrats, diplomats and other professionals are placed in various operations. Though English is spoken widely by those professionals, knowledge of a foreign language will facilitate better communication with them. Several students of engineering, medicine, tourism, international studies and social work are keen on learning a foreign language while languages are gaining popularity now.
Multi-lingual skills are the need of the hour. More and more companies including call centres, banking and other multi-national companies are looking for candidates having such skill. It is definitely an extra asset. This is particularly so about knowledge of French. Even Bangladeshi students aiming to pursue higher studies in medicine and engineering in France will learn the language. One of the primary reasons for students to learn French is their desire to broaden their career prospects. If students are looking at jobs abroad, it is essential to learn the language of the place. Any study in international relations calls for knowledge of foreign languages. For example, knowledge of Chinese language is important for a student of international studies if he/she wants to focus on China. They can collect information directly, as often translation in English leads to loss of some information.
Every individual is at once the beneficiary and the victim of the linguistic tradition into which he has been born - the beneficiary inasmuch as language gives access to the accumulated records of other people's experience, the victim in so far as it confirms him in the belief that reduced awareness is the only awareness and as it bedevils his sense of reality, so that he is all too apt to take his concepts for data, his words for actual things. Thought is the blossom; language, the bud; action, the fruit behind it. Quoting from Bertand Russell: By studying the principles of symbolism we can learn not to be unconsciously influenced by language, and in this way can escape a host of erroneous notions.
(The writer is a student of Biochemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, He can be reached at e-mail: avik.sengupta@mail.mcgill.ca)