The world has become a much smaller place in the last several decades. Small enough that foreign language has become a requirement for many secondary schools and for some majors at colleges and universities. But is there any use to a policy that lacks uniformity?
At IPFW, taking courses in a foreign language is only required for certain majors, and even then the amount of time students spend in these courses is different across the board. A student pursuing a degree in psychology is required to take four semesters of a foreign language, while a biology student, also part of the College of Arts and Sciences, is only required to take two. And for a computer science major or student studying public affairs there is no language requirement at all.
Most schools create a foreign language requirement because they believe that it’s necessary in a world that is as connected as ours is today. If this logic is used, then shouldn’t all majors be required to study foreign language?
If the purpose of foreign language classes is to connect American students to an understanding of other cultures and prepare them to work with individuals from these cultures, shouldn’t the languages offered be expanded? IPFW offers courses in Latin, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Arabic, Russian and Spanish, but these only represent a fraction of the languages and cultures that graduating students might encounter.
It should also be taken into account that not everyone will be working in a job or field that requires them to know a foreign language. So while students are spending tuition money to learn a language, they may not use it in their career.
Rather than trying unsuccessfully to create an umbrella policy in respect to foreign language study, it seems to make more sense to let students make their own decisions. If learning a certain language would make a student more prepared for their intended field, then by all means they should consider taking courses within that language. However, students who don’t see their future line of work involving the use of a language offered by the university should have the right to use that time and tuition money on credits that will actually benefit them down the road.
Knowing a foreign language is useful, and many students show interest in learning about different languages and the surrounding culture without being prompted to do so by requirements, so why not let them choose what works best with their interests and goals on their own.
Dissent by Alysen Wade
Foreign language requirements should be standard and of equal terms for every degree program on campus.
However, at $248.45 per credit hour for a resident student, I find it hard to believe that any student would finance the extraneous cost and purchase a book with an average price tag of over $100 for a class that would not get them closer to graduating.
Aside from the students pursing specific foreign language degrees, it is unlikely that those classes would be populated with students who were sincerely interested in wanting to learn a second language.
Requiring foreign language studies obligates students to take responsibility for a robust education while developing better study habits along with a greater understanding of English structures as well as the target language.
