Nation urged to learn second language

Release Date: Mon Apr 18, 2006

By By Kelly Kendall - April 18, 2006

For work, for travel or for fun, many adults are realizing how useful it can be to acquire a second language.

In February, the U.S. Senate declared 2006 the "Year of Foreign Language Study," urging more language learning at all levels, from elementary schools to the business world. The Senate bill mentioned American economics, foreign policy and international relations, among other factors, as its motivators.

It also pointed out that the United States has some serious catching up to do. According to the European Commission's Directorate General for Language and Culture, 53 percent of Europeans speak at least two languages. In the United States, according to the 2000 census, that number is 9 percent.

The United States is not big on languages at the college level, according to a survey by the Modern Language Association, a national organization of teachers and scholars. Although the numbers have been creeping up since 1995, as of 2002, only 8.6 percent of college students were enrolled in a non-English language class

By the time you're an adult, you may need to approach your study differently, says Gabrielle Bersier, chairwoman of the World Languages and Cultures department at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

While teaching German there, she's noticed that the students straight out of high school tend to get bored with grammatical discussions. But adult students respond to this kind of learning better than the rote memorization that works for younger students.

"Adults tend to be more analytical and really want to understand what they are saying," says Bersier.

When you're ready to pick up a new language, you'll find no dearth of options including commercial language schools, interactive software available online or at home computer and electronics stores, tapes and CDs for the car, individual home tutors and classes at local colleges and neighborhood centers. For the adventurous, travel agencies offer travel-study program concentrating on learning language skills while also learning its accompanying culture."