Language as a Business Requirement
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Subject: Language as a Business Requirement
Historically, educators have argued about the wide variety of courses students must take in college, guiding them towards becoming a well-rounded graduate. A very common argument between educators has been whether or not a student should be required to taken foreign language courses during their four years at a college or university to attain a bachelor’s degree. Diversity is becoming more widespread throughout our nation and America’s largest companies are gaining more business-related relationships with our foreign nations. Due to the mobility of communications and globalization throughout businesses, our world is growing closer together, making it more urgent for students, especially business students, to be competent in other languages. Currently, I serve in the United States Air Force. About a year ago, I was deployed in South America for about three months. I had taken a few basic Spanish classes in high school, and knew just the basics of this foreign language. Around the same time I was deployed, a group of business students from a United States university were studying abroad around the area I was stationed. I was astonished that each one of these students were having comfortable conversations with the locals in Peru. I approached the student’s supervisor, and complemented on how fluent each student was when speaking Spanish. The supervisor informed me that it is a requirement of their university for business students to take at least three foreign language courses, of the same language. Not only does taking those courses help when studying abroad, but it prepares them for the business world they may very well enter after graduation. The United States is the only country that routinely graduates high school students with a lack of knowledge in a foreign language. Statistically, 52.7% of Europeans are fluent in both their native language and at least one other language. Sadly, only
From:
Date:
Subject: Language as a Business Requirement
Historically, educators have argued about the wide variety of courses students must take in college, guiding them towards becoming a well-rounded graduate. A very common argument between educators has been whether or not a student should be required to taken foreign language courses during their four years at a college or university to attain a bachelor’s degree. Diversity is becoming more widespread throughout our nation and America’s largest companies are gaining more business-related relationships with our foreign nations. Due to the mobility of communications and globalization throughout businesses, our world is growing closer together, making it more urgent for students, especially business students, to be competent in other languages. Currently, I serve in the United States Air Force. About a year ago, I was deployed in South America for about three months. I had taken a few basic Spanish classes in high school, and knew just the basics of this foreign language. Around the same time I was deployed, a group of business students from a United States university were studying abroad around the area I was stationed. I was astonished that each one of these students were having comfortable conversations with the locals in Peru. I approached the student’s supervisor, and complemented on how fluent each student was when speaking Spanish. The supervisor informed me that it is a requirement of their university for business students to take at least three foreign language courses, of the same language. Not only does taking those courses help when studying abroad, but it prepares them for the business world they may very well enter after graduation. The United States is the only country that routinely graduates high school students with a lack of knowledge in a foreign language. Statistically, 52.7% of Europeans are fluent in both their native language and at least one other language. Sadly, only