In today’s interconnected world, schools play a crucial role in preparing students to understand and participate in a global society. One of the most powerful ways they can do this is by encouraging language learning and exposing students to a wide range of dialects. Learning languages and hearing different ways people communicate improves communication skills, builds empathy, and cultural knowledge.
Sophomores Anoushka Chowdhury and Anna Sachko both are bilingual, meaning they speak more than one language. While both speak English, Chowdhury speaks Bengali and Sachko speaks Russian. By speaking more than one language, they can communicate clearly with more of the world. “Five minutes a day increases your vocabulary exponentially,” Sachko said.
According to Chowdhury, it is important to keep goals in mind, especially when looking into future job opportunities. “It will help them communicate with international businesses, because there’s a lot of affairs in other countries that people need to communicate with,” Chowdhury said. Communicating with more than one source of clientele gives a business an edge in their respective market.
Despite this, West Morris only supports three languages, Mandarin, Spanish, and French. By expanding the selection, students can broaden their world views and challenge the idea of only having one correct way to communicate.
On average, schools offer two to three foreign languages, but Chowdhury believes that students should be fluent in three languages. “One can be English, two can be their home language, and three, Spanish.” Being able to effectively express oneself to another is the principle of connectivity, language acting as a bridge into one’s heritage and ancestry.
Students who regularly hear different dialects become better listeners and communicators, and this is even true for non-verbal. “I feel like a lot of people would be interested in that, especially sign language”, Chowdhury said. The likelihood of WMC students choosing a different language curriculum is strong, and the student body desires a wider range of selections.
