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Aracely Garcia
Mrs. Tyree
English III, Per. 4
31 January 2014
Take the Advantage and Be Successful
There has been a dispute about whether student should be required to be fluent in a
second language. Schools require that students take a foreign language, but that doesnt mean
that students comprehend it fluently in some circumstances. Students of today dont really care
about taking the foreign language class. Some students dont even feel that its important for
students to be fluent in a second language never the less take a foreign language class. What
some students dont know is that it could really benefit them in so many ways such as having a
higher education, higher paying employment, and better communication skills. The ones that
have taken advantage and actually learn a second language fluently are the ones that are going to
be successful and thankful that they did. Students should be required to achieve fluency in a
second language because it will help them achieve in the diverse ways of life such as a higher
education, better job offers, and high-quality communication skills.
The countrys continued difficulty through the late twentieth century in educating
immigrant children, mostly from Spanish speaking countries led the federal legislature to
institute bilingual education (B). This is probably one of the best decisions that was made for our
nations education. The federal legislation since the 1960s has recognized the United States as a
multilingual nation (B). All high school students should be fluent in a language other than
English, and its a matter of national urgency (E). It is important that students learn and become
distinguish in a second language because todays generation of students will later be our nations
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future people of America. An economy with a higher intellect will lead our nation to a better
society. 96 percent of the worlds population lives outside of the United States and countries that
border our nation speak a language other than English: by learning a second language we will
more effectively communicate with our neighbors (J). That is a main reason why students should
learn a second language because if we can communicate with our neighbors it shows we have a
more effective collaboration with one another. With the skills necessary to become productive
member of our society, literacy in a second language is among the most important (A).
Multilingual people, especially children, are skilled at switching between two systems of
speech, writing, and structure (F). Learning a language involves memorizing rules and
vocabulary which helps strengthen that mental muscle (F). Exercising that mental muscle is a
high-quality way of learning because that is how most people gain knowledge and understand
information. Your memory improves: educators often link the brain to a muscle, because it
functions better with exercise (F). Learning a foreign language draws a focus to the mechanics of
language: conjugation, and sentence structure (F). Not only does it increase that mental muscle
but will enhance your skills in additional class courses. Students who study foreign languages
tend to score better on standardized tests than their monolingual peers (F). This skill also boosts
your ability to negotiate meaning in other problem solving tasks. (F). That will definitely help
you throughout your entire life. One of the advantages of learning foreign languages has always
been its importance in the language itself, including ones native tongue (E).
Another advantage of being bilingual is that many times workers will need to
communicate in various languages in different work environments (M). The outcomes of
knowing a second language in life leads to better opportunities which may also lead you to a
successful life in the future. An employer sees employees who know a second language as a
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bridge to new clients or customers (M). The employee with the second language fluency will be
more successful than other employees because they are more likely to bring in more business.
The benefits of learning a second language are also great meaning that jobs offer more money if
one has foreign language skills (J). Knowing a second language will without a doubt help
stabilize your future plans financially. The more we know about our world, the better we will be;
hence, being bilingual can open countless doors of opportunity in the years to come (J). Having a
second language is a real advantage (M).
Researchers have conducted various studies to show the differences of people who speak
a second language as opposed to someone only speaking one. In one study involving driving
tests, they found that people who spoke more than one language made fewer errors in their
driving (F). This is very important because many lives are lost in car accidents due to language
barriers. If more people were to know a second language it might very well fix that problem.
Researchers show that math and verbal scores climb higher with each additional year of foreign
language studies which means that the longer one studies a foreign language, the stronger the
skills become to succeed in school (M). This is also important because most employers require
high standard employees that are well versed in the math and verbal communication. This is
important because if knowing a second language increases test scores then why not take
advantage of the opportunity. According to studies from Pennsylvania State University, this
juggling still makes students good multi-taskers, because they can easily switch between
different structures (F). Thats another reason why students should achieve a second language
because some people dont really know how to be a multi-tasker at all and if knowing a second
language can help switch between different structures then maybe some things in life would be
easier just by that knowledge of a second language. Researchers have found that monolingual
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adults, have an average age of 71.4 for the first signs of dementia (F). For adults who speak two
or more languages, the mean age for those first signs is 75.5 (F). So this also shows that knowing
a second language will improve some health purposes. Researchers concluded that bilinguals are
more confident with their choices after thinking it over in the second language and seeing
whether their initial conclusions still stand (F). Linguistic studies show that children who begin
learning a second language before adolescence, will exhibit more native like pronunciations and
are more likely to become fluent speakers (H).
I recently conducted an interview with a C.C.I.S.D teacher by the name of Teresa Garcia.
She believes that students should achieve fluency in a second language. The benefits of knowing
a second language later in life outweighs the unknown (D). People who know a second language
is defined differently than people who dont know a second language. For example say theres a
company getting ready to extend their businesses further south of Texas. That company is going
to hire employees who speak fluent Spanish because Mexico borders south of the United States.
When there is a language barrier, many times the company is more likely to favor the bilingual
candidate. Being bilingual can be rewarding when you are able to help in situations when
translation is needed. (D). A personal experience Ive encountered was when I was able to assist
a new student who was a non-English speaker complete a math equation correctly. One of the
things I do feel strongly about is that when students do pick out the two languages they want to
learn, it should be a language that most benefits the area or part of the country they plan to live
in. (D). For example here in Texas, Spanish should be the second language acquired, where as in
New York it could be French, Italian, or Japanese because almost every language is spoken there
(D). Knowing a second language not only enables them to communicate with others, they can
also use it to their benefit as adults by becoming translators for majors companies which are high
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in demand now at days (D). In addition, you never know when you will need that additional
language in a case of an emergency (D). I do believe that knowing a second language can only
be an asset for a student (D). They may not realize it now but will be thankful for it later (D).
Students will be very successful if they achieve fluency in a second language, because
the facts prove that being bilingual can make you more intelligent, increase better job offers and
communication for foreign purposes. Students will have a great education if they achieve fluency
in a second language. Some brief examples of that would be that they would have better writing
skills, better decision making, and becoming a great muli-tasker. This will of course help you
throughout the rest of your life. Not only is that a good reason why students should achieve
fluency in a second language but also help your future career. With a better career, the more
successful you will be as an adult. Another good reason why students should acquire fluency in a
second language is because researchers have proven numerous kinds of health reason why its
good to have it no matter the language chosen. Even statements from a school teacher say that
its important that students should learn a second language fluently because they are able to help
newcomers from foreign countries communicate with one another. If teachers and educators
believe that students should acquire a second language, then dont you think we should believe
them? That is our teachers main job, which to help us learn, be successful in life and to help
guide us in the right direction or path. As for myself, I have taken Spanish for three years in
school. Although I may not be proficient, I do plan to take my teachers advice and become
better at this second language. Ever since I was little I can always remember some of the
moments I had with my grandma when she would be watching her novellas. I enjoyed the beauty
of the shows because its apart of my Hispanic culture. In addition, it will help me understand
my grandmas novellas.
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This is good, but you need to work on grammar and MLA. There is no Works Cited page
and you did not convert the alpha listings into the appropriate parenthetical citations.
Content: 40/40; Organization: 26/30; Grammar: 15/50; MLA: 2/10 Grade: 83