Raymond Yu, Q3 Week 3 - A Second Language
Q3 Week 3 - A Second Language
By Raymond Yu
American high school has a second language requirement for graduation. What is it about a second language that makes it a mandatory requirement? What is it about a second language that is so vital that it takes its place among math, science, and history?
As it turns out, an article called How a Second Language Can Boost the Brain by Ramin Skibba in Knowable Magazine shows that a second language seems to correspond with increased cognitive function. Learning a second language improves executive function, the skills which involve managing attention and planning as well as focus. This corresponds to increases in gray matter volume and density in the brain. Being bilingual also protects white matter in the brain from the effects of aging, allowing the brain to maintain its efficiency. Another benefit of knowing a second language is an increase in metalinguistic awareness, "the ability to think about language as abstract units and associations" (Skibba). Finally, a second language slows the decline in brain function associated with aging.
All things considered, the benefits of learning a second language seem to far outweigh the cost of the time spent doing so. Being able to ward off the effects of aging is a huge benefit for anyone. Language, it seems, has great physical effects in addition to its social ones. Not only does language help us to communicate with others, but it also protects and enhances our brains and cognition. Being able to think better as well as being able to communicate to more people is something that is a huge advantage for any up-and-coming young adult. Learning a second language is definitely a worthy investment for the future in high school.
Image Source: https://mymodernmet.com/second-languages-of-the-world-infographic/
Article Source:
Skibba, Ramin. “How a Second Language Can Boost the Brain.” Knowable Magazine | Annual Reviews, Annual Reviews, 29 Nov. 2018, https://knowablemagazine.org/article/mind/2018/how-second-language-can-boost-brain. Accessed 16 Feb. 2022.
I think learning a second language is important, but how effective is the curriculum we have at school? I took a good two years of French, and the only thing I took away from those two years are the French Alphabet and some semblance of a French Accent. However, I do think learning another language and delving deep into another culture can be a source of creative inspiration. There are a lot of Chinese metaphors that I think can bring so much nuance into English writing. There are plenty of connections that the conventions of other languages use to enhance communication that can be used to improve imagery. However, I believe the best way to make learning languages effective would be to make it a course in elementary school because younger children can learn languages more effectively.
ReplyDeleteHi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteWhen I first heard that we were mandated to complete two years of a foreign language in High School to graduate, I was quite annoyed. I had been learning Hindi for the past few years at that point, and I hated every minute of it, as I thought it was useless for me who lives in an English-speaking country. I never considered that learning a foreign language would have so many important benefits on the brain! Your blog post has enlightened me.
Sincerely,
Krish
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post and we learned how language affects cognition in my AP psychology class, so it was nice to read about it again from your post. Along with the health benefits learning a language has, it also creates more inclusion and diversity in the world. Learning Mandarin for three years was a big challenge to me, and I had never been more lost than in my first few weeks of taking Mandarin at American, but at the end of the last year, I felt more comfortable with the language and truly appreciated it. I don't take Mandarin anymore, but I often try to review what I learned so I can keep in touch with the language.
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteI've watched a lot of YouTube videos and talked with a lot of people on the topic of learning languages in school. What I found was that most people tended to forget their learned languages straight out of college, as soon as things like work and other things took over. Without motivation, it's hard to retain the communicative skills we hone for so long in school. That's why I believe it's more productive to attempt to learn languages by yourself outside of school, so that you can 1. go at your own pace and 2. learn to love the learning process so that it persists outside of school.
Sincerely,
Sean Wang
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteAlthough learning a second language in order to graduate high school is mandatory, I don't think I know that many people who truly learned a second language through the high school course. Even people who have gotten up to the AP level are still unsure about what they are doing and will probably forget it later on in life if they stop practicing and learning after they graduate. There are also many people who take language classes in high school for a language that they are already fluent in. There are also others who barely try in the classes just because it is something they must do in order to graduate. Although learning a second language has many benefits, many high school students will not see them if we continue to view classes in such a way.
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteI see what you did there. You used the other definition of "language" and tied it to power. How very clever of you. I think the idea that you bring up of second languages being beneficial to the brain is very interesting. I am personally fluently bilingual. However, I learned my second language at a very young age, so I feel as if I am not as applicable to the scenario you describe in your post. I find myself agreeing with Sean quite a bit. I think that most high school students simply forget their learned language as soon as they leave high school, so it does not truly help the brain. That is not to say that learning a second language does not improve cognition, only that it isn't as applicable to high schoolers as we would hope it to be.
Yi-Kuan Cheng
Hi Raymond, I do agree that learning a new language can be a really valuable experience (and obviously according to your research, it's probably a good idea for everyone to eventually try it out), but only if it's taught properly. The standard high school setting doesn't really seem like the best place to learn a foreign language. I don't know about you, but I'm getting a little tired of SpanishDict, workbook pages and PowerPoint-based projects. If I could learn a language the way I wanted to, I would go live in that country for a few years, immerse myself in the culture, and it would just come naturally. I also heard that even native speakers don't do that great in high school language courses, which seems a bit off to me. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteEven though taking a second language is required, I did not really learn much. In fact, I don't remember a lot of the things I learned. Plus my teacher (not at american this is at my old school from freshman and sophomore year) would speak so fast that you could not comprehend what she was saying. Even worse, our final was a 100 question MCQ plus a writing assignment that was basically an essay and then a presentation. I don't get how people got an A in that class and managed to remember what they learned. But then, as you say, there are benefits to learning a second language.
Sincerely,
Vivan Waghela
Hey Raymond!
ReplyDeleteI have always felt the same way about taking a language in school. I was always super upset that it was a requirement because I would have much rather taken an elective. It seemed so useless but i understand how there could be benefits to learning a second language. Personally I did not find it helpful at all. It is super hard to learn a second language when you are no longer a little kid. I found myself resorting to SpanishDict most of the time and I genuinely did not learn a single thing after three full years. I just felt like I needed to pretend to know things purely for the purpose of doing well on the insane amount of assessments we received.