ACQUIRING a second language is easy whether you’re a child or an adult. Even a parrot, a myna or a seal can acquire a second language that is the human language other than their own. It is easier for humans to do so simply because we have the most advanced brain among all other animal species. Babel is definitely not a hindrance. Anybody even at the age of 60 can definitely acquire a second language.
As a child, one can acquire a second language in the primary school. One strategy is for half of the children in the class to be non-English speakers while the other half are speakers of English as a native tongue. As the school year progresses, the two groups of students are expected to mingle together. One tactic to fast track their learning of the second language is for English and non-English speakers to sit side by side. In this way, the English speaker will be enticed to teach the English language to his or her friend who is a non-English native speaker. In return, the non-English speaker is also expected to share his or her native language to the rest of the class. This will surely foster cultural awareness and eliminate racism at this early level of childhood.
Childhood is surely a critical phase in instilling education of the child. The child’s brain is still precarious enough to absorb and retain everything that the environment has taught him. Teaching adults tends to be a headache because one’s brain has developed already and has a mind of its own so to speak. The adult brain can already discern and accept or reject some things that are inputted to it. But this is not the case of a child’s brain. The same is true when teaching a second language. A child’s brain easily absorbs everything and by the time the child reaches fifth grade, he or she will definitely be fluent in the second language that one has learned, including a specific accent. But teaching accented English is not favorable for a child to learn. You either have to choose teaching rhotic or non-rhotic English to the children. An ideal way of teaching English to a child is to use the Associated Press or CNN stylebook. Have you ever listened to the anchors over at VOA or C-SPAN? This is the way general English sounds. There is a separate stylebook for children for that. Never ever teach Brooklyn or New England accents to foreign children. These will just confuse them later on.
Adults who are taught the second language – English or otherwise – are only the ones who are really interested to learn the course. Learning a second language is definitely not for vacationers. If you’re in a foreign country like Poland and you really want to learn Polish, the training is intensive and excursions are only done on weekends. Of course, there is still fun in the process because one will be mingling with other foreigners who are also willing to learn that second language like you.
Did you experience having a foreigner visitor but unfortunately you could not understand what they are trying to say to you since you could not understand the language they are uttering with? Wew! That would be a difficult job then, both of you would never understand each other until the end. Nowadays, we noticed that most of the classes have one or two foreign languages being taught because it has an important role even outside the country. Did you not know that learning even the basic foreign language has the big impact to the progressiveness of our economy and generally to our country? Ohs?! Maybe you were shock about it? It is because you don’t have much knowledge about what could foreign language can brought us then. Well why not screwed your self for awhile and read some bit information below?
Well, how can foreign languages affects the growth of our economy? Since foreign dialects can be our weapon in negotiating foreign investors who fled to our country and wished to invest some business industry here. When you knew the basic of the language they are speaking with, it is definitely a plus factor with your behalf since both of you can understand each other. The discussion you are discussing then will run smoothly. Vise versa, if you are the ones who come and visit a foreign language for investing business you would never experience any difficulties negotiating foreign people since you are confident that you knew their language well and you are sure that they can offer you the best services you are expecting with them.
Language as we all know is the most important tool in communication. Is this way, we learn to appreciate different cultures all over the country as well as we learn to appreciate every words we utter. Foreign language can be useful not only in negotiating businesses abroad, but it can also be very useful in negotiating assailants who try to worsen the world. Through your foreign language, you can safely talk to them in a smoother way. This could lead then to a continuously peaceful community. Language has a lot of things to do, it can be your guide in interpreting tourists who come and visit your place. If they could not understand your dialect then you are fortunate to know theirs then you can be the best interpreter in the world. You can help them understand the true meaning of culture you have by demonstrating and explaining to them whatever arts and literature your country has.
In this sense, you are about to help your country to improve, since those tourists will surely enjoy your company and they will be the bridge in promoting your country through some of their friends way back in their homeland. Maybe you think that learning foreign language is just tip of the other subjects you are currently studying, and then you are very much wrong since language is the best tool for improvement and progressiveness of ones economy, not only to yourself but to the whole world.
