Over the next few years, GW’s top academic administrators have a chance to redeem themselves.
The University undercut students’ incentive to think globally three years ago when GW’s largest college, the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, removed the requirement for its undergraduates to take a foreign language. Now, with GW’s 10-year strategic plan calling for a new core undergraduate curriculum and a sharpened focus on globalization, students need foreign language requirements more than ever.
Since incoming freshmen will now be admitted to GW as a whole rather than to an individual college, all undergraduates should have the same core language requirements. It’s disconcerting that under the current system, only two of GW’s schools — the Elliott School of International Affairs and the GW School of Business — make students take these essential courses.
All GW undergraduates share only one course requirement – University Writing. Other than that, requirements differ by school. It’s strange to think that we all go to GW, but we won’t all graduate with the same basic body of knowledge.
And just as UW provides first-year students with a fundamental understanding of college-level writing, foreign language proficiency creates opportunities for students to function around the world. Foreign language classes throw students out of their comfort zones, forcing the kind of engagement and face-to-face interaction needed more in college.
In fact, it would help students excel in their other classes. Students who learn a second language attain skills that help them score higher on standardized tests, according to a 2004 study from York University. And the Department of Education proved in a 2007 report that learning foreign languages can actually help students’ aptitude with grammar and sentence structure, benefits which carry over to speaking and writing in English.
GW strives to compete with schools across multiple continents and send more students abroad. But we’ll fall behind schools like Georgetown and New York universities, two of our main competitors, who mandate that all liberal arts students achieve some proficiency in foreign languages. If we don’t start insisting that students – even those not studying business or international affairs – obtain these skills, they won’t stack up to others looking for jobs in this global age.
Language skills wouldn’t benefit only international affairs and business students, as they aren’t the only ones who might consider pursuing a career abroad. In 2012, GW placed first on the list of medium-sized universities producing Peace Corps volunteers for the fourth year in a row. These students hail from all academic departments, and learning the basics of a second language could encourage even more students to volunteer.
But even for students who do not wish to join the Peace Corps, foreign languages are still inescapable in the professional world.
By 2020, the number of Spanish-speakers in the United States will rise to somewhere between 39 and 43 million, according to Pew Research. Mandarin is the most-spoken language in the world – not English. And Arabic is quickly becoming a popular subject for college students, especially at GW.
The stage is set for changes in GW’s curricular requirements and foreign languages should be first on the docket.
The writer, a sophomore majoring in political communication, is a Hatchet columnist.
