Journal 2 on the necessary of learning a foreign language
A Chinese may boast the prosperit of Chinese literature in front of a foreigner without faltering. We Chinese have been enjoying a high level of cilvilization which on a large scale yield tremendous influence upon the development of global literature. Why, you may wonder, should we learn a foreign language?
Learning a foreign language has become a habit of most youth no matter he or she is willing or not.
Questions of this kind are frequently set forth by a group people, confidently as if they are filled with patriotism. And my grandparents keep pouring scorn on me for the ill command of my mother tongue and the tendency of referring some objects in English unconsciously. Media, speaking as fortune –teller, give scaring prediction of a day when our valuable language culture becomes relics. Why English courses are scheduled everyday since our elementary education, if the practice of a foreign language itself is that dangerous?
While the doubt over learning a foreign language often serves as excuse to escape the hardships in study for those so-called ‘patriots’, the fear of distinction of our own language is abject and illogical, for there are countless notable figures who can master more than two or three languages including their mother tongues. Besides, the need of foreign languages arises during the process of globalization. We are getting more and more likely to trade with a foreigner than our own folks. Imagine the chaos it the language barriers cannot be removed on an international expo, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games or in a trade with WTO member.
On the other hand, being able to speak one or more languages means more advantages over other candidates in a job interview. As the time is approaching when a second foreign language is required, those who insist on absolute use of Chinese are surely being left behind.
To my surprise my bookshelf has been occupied by the books on English and Japanese within only one month after entring the college!
More often than not delusions of grandeur mist eyes of Chinese. Learning to communicate with the world has always been a vital task for us – history has made that quite clear.
3 Comments
Hey!…I Googled for history of the chinese language, but found your page about se Only? at ELFVision…and have to say thanks. nice read.
Hello~ Kaila Yu, are you a native speaker of chinese or not?
If your are a chinese speaker, you should read more poetries and proses to have the full appriciation of history of chinese. If not, I recommand find a related book to read in your own language……
this is only a casaul talk about my sudden idea.
Thank you for your reading!
Sweet.