President

I am thankful for Mark’s observation that the widespread use of English in the world today may seem to let native speakers thereof “off the hook,” in terms of struggling to acquire a second language, because it casts a light on a misconception with very serious ramifications. What this global phenomenon of English domination really means, with more people in the world today speaking English as a second language than as their first, is that all those people have an additional world-view and set of subtly different interpretations, and nuanced reactions and approaches, giving them an added depth of perception, akin to nothing less than the relationship between binocular and monocular vision. To gain this “second sight” (which most Americans still sadly lack), a person must go beyond merely learning “about” a language. Most of us have come to understand something about the basic building blocks of particular foreign languages, and the rules that govern their manipulation into words and sentences, through explicit classroom instruction. The difference between this and “global experiential” education is that the latter can only happen when seekers experience meaningful interaction with those people who possess a different world-view and, more often than not, this requires the ability to actually communicate in their language.

It is interesting to travel to India and Nepal where many people do speak English. But they speak a local variety of English among themselves which has a different cadence and set of metaphors than the English we speak in the U.S. and the UK. I’ve noticed that Africans speak yet other versions of English. These speakers can code switch to standard (though accented) English, but in their own communities they have made the language their own. It’s an interesting process.

For a really unique experience, take a stab at a non-Indo European language. You will feel your mind strain in a way it never did for French or German. But at the same time, it’s still a language. It’s fun to catch onto the figures of speech and little twists that form the patterns. Adult learners may find it difficult to shake an accent. But we can still gain fluency if we’re not afraid to sound like little kids again for a while. Or should I say, if we push past that fear. Language is in our very DNA.

As a Spanish and political science major at Central, I had a wonderful experience, living in the “International House” in its inaugural year, spending a year in Spain, completing an internship my senior year with a Mexican governor in Toluca. I gained a great level of comfort with the language that persists today. But immersion in a language and culture is essential to a successful attempt at fluency.

I have used my Spanish wherever I’ve worked, in Washington, DC, as a translator for our municipal court in Ohio, in selling ads to Latin American tour companies. My wife says I still use the subjunctive impeccably in my sleep!

I do think that some people are more “wired” for language than others. Just as some are mathematically-inclined. Language seems to be a right-brained endeavor. But we should continue to strive to be lifelong learners, and language study will keep our minds razor sharp.

These are excellent observations regarding language and cross-cultural understanding. My initial language learning as requirements of reading knowledge in French and German for a PhD were superb examples of the type of sterile language which does little to enable one to “enter another culture.”
Fortunately, my later attempts to learn language while living within another culture, though more limited than I’d have preferred, have been much better in helping to understand and enter other cultures. I doubt that one can ever fully appreciate one’s own culture without having experienced language embedded in another culture-at least at a beginning, functional level.
Students such as those who are fortunate enough to study in Central’s Study Abroad programs often are unaware of the excellent opportunities for personal growth by immersing themselve in another language and culture. There are opportunities for both practical and intellectual growth inherent in these programs which one must experience to fully appreciate.

Language is a complex and incredible subject to study, full of frustration and rewards. I graduated from Central in May, with a major in Spanish and having studied abroad in Mexico. After graduating, I began a whole new language experience-through the Peace Corps. I am struggling to use and understand my first African language, Setswana. And as a Volunteer in South Africa, which has 11 official languages, I am constantly being bombarded with one new language after another.

Even so, I am placed in a country where English is the language used at all schools, and anyone wishing to go to University must have a superior understand of my moth tongue. Many volunteers find themselves conversing solely in English throughout their service, and see no need to learn their target language. I was initially frustrated because I thought I would not have the opportunity to learn and use Setswana. However, upon arrival to my deep-rural village, I quickly realized that learning Setswana would be a matter of survival in an area where few people know enough English to speak.

Learning the language of the Tswana people has opened my eyes to parts of their culture in a way that an English speaker would not be able to understand. And being a white person in post-Apartheid South Africa who is learning the tongue of a black people-the Tswana-and not Afrikaans, sends a powerful message to those living in my informally-segregated area. Language can unite people in a unique way, and I am able to experience that on an intimate level.

As Nelson Mandela once said: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, it goes to his heart.” I see this often when a child hears me resort to Setswana in class, or when I see the joy in a stranger’s face after greeting him on the street, in his language.

English may be a powerful language in our world, but it is not the only language. And if we seek to learn new languages, we may indeed discover gems from a different culture.

Language, global citezenship, experiential learning, and how it may or may not pertain to each of us are interesting and complex issues. When we are immersed enviroments that are foreign to us we automatically become more engaged in order to gain a better understanding of our new enviroment. Language is not a linear utterance of sylabols or written words, it’s spoken with gestures and expressions that often go unnoticed when we speak to others of a familiar dialect. When we talk with someone of forien dialect we automatically become more engaged as we struggle to understand and be understood.
In much of our daily conversation we can get by on auto pilot, just like a familiar drive to work, your mind drifts disengaged until something new or unexpected jumps in front of us. When we fully engage interesting things happen, we learn about the people that we are speaking with, where they are from, what they are like, what we do and do not have in common, ultimately we think about them and ourselves in a different context.
The aquisiton of these skills applies to all of us in different ways, whether it’s fitting into a new job or finding our way in a forign country, learning to find commonalites ultimately helps undue biases and quell the fear of the unknown.
During a year long stay in Japan I had the privlege of living with Japanese troops. Although I did not speak Japanese we found ways to communicate, to tell each other about our famlies our hopes and expectations and became good friends. Upon reflection I was saddened that my Grandparents generation could not have done the same.

I have noticed when traveling to other countries the bond made when one tries the native language is much stronger than when people are not willing to comprimise at all. In Japan my Japanes was awful but my host family was so greatful that I would take the opportunity to try and make myself vunerable at the same time. I also studied in Wales and one of my closest mates was a Welsh speaker, I tried my hardest to pick up on the language and I was reinforced by natives appreciating my effort. I also speak Spanish and I have had several chances to use this as well. When people take the effort to speak your antive language there is a respect earned and understanding acheived. I think in terms of Central’s responsibility it would be extremely beneficial for the students to have an Arabic class and more Chinese classes based upon world numbers of people who speak these languages.